Mobile Welding Newbie

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Hello everyone I'm in school for combination welding right now and I started school last October and will be finished in 2 weeks. I have a two car garage that can be a full time welding shop. I weld at my job now all we do is fix roll off trashcans, I fabricate them fix doors fronts everything that can be done to them. I know how to use every machine and know how to do aluminum. Also after  school is done and I am going to be certified in gtaw 6g and smaw 4g.  i want have a mobile welding rig soon once I get everything in order so I'm looking for any advice would be good positive and negatives about running there own?Last edited by CW410; 09-08-2014 at 09:49 PM.
Reply:Wow,,.,,,..,
Reply:Punctuation is a fantastic tool! My brain hurts now.Home hobbiest:Build all sorts of BBQ pits & smokers (trailer & non)Lincoln 225 Cracker box (antique)O/P torchRedneck tools out the a$$.They get me by!
Reply:Originally Posted by JSmitty74Punctuation is a fantastic tool! My brain hurts now.
Reply:First thing first. Do you have a truck?Ranger 250 GXTSmith Gas Axe
Reply:That's 1 sentence? Um, okHome hobbiest:Build all sorts of BBQ pits & smokers (trailer & non)Lincoln 225 Cracker box (antique)O/P torchRedneck tools out the a$$.They get me by!
Reply:Sorry didn't think this was English class but I'm bout to get a truck prob f350 or something similar
Reply:Its not English class but simple punctuation makes it comprehendable. The post was nothing more than pure babble. You may know what your trying to say, but no one else could understand it.
Reply:Totally understand but just didn't think it matter I apologize
Reply:Edited for you now
Reply:If you plan on fabrication on site you will need good generator power, for grinders, saws and other tools. If you can get by without AC weld output a Trailblazer or Lincoln 305 would be a good choice. If you plan on MIG aluminum the Miller would be a better choice for spoolgun capabilities.
Reply:I was looking at used machines like a Lincoln Vantage 300 and also Miller Trailblazer 250 and above because I would like to work pipeline later down the road
Reply:If you do a search on here about running your own welding business, you should have enough reading for a day or two.The actual welding was the easiest part of starting a welding business for me.  The hard part was everything else...finding *good* customers, getting estimates right, figuring out what to charge, how much to pay myself, working through all of the taxes, licensing, and insurance, etc.I thought I had the world licked once I had my first truck set up and ready to go...then learned that the business world was a little more complicated than what I thought it would be.My advice would be to take a small business class (or two, or three...), at least a semester of accounting, and work for "the other guy" a little longer.  Building dumpsters and their parts is a great starter job for welding, but you might consider working your way into a job shop if you can.  A place like that will have you doing work closer to what you'll end up doing once you're on your own.
Reply:Yea I been reading for months about it asking people with there own business lots of questions and getting a feel for what they do. I would start doing under the table work just to get my name out there then once I got a good rep I would go full in. But think I was looking at the local community colleges for classes and luckily my mom does accounting so I can have someone handle the books
Reply:hopefully I will get this job have a interview this week already had a phone interview and wasn't expecting a call back at all so I think I have a good shot but I'm def looking to get into a shop and learn much as I can
Reply:Save money lots of money cause your gonna need it for all the wonderful tools your going to have to have That will include the one you need on the job site but is on the bench at home Backed my CATMA over your CARMA oops clusmy me  What would SATAN do ?? Miller Trailblazer 302 AirPakMiller Digital Elite  Optrel Welding HatArcair K4000Suitcase 12RC / 12 VSHypertherm PM-45Rage 3 sawRusty old Truck
Reply:Awesome!Where are you going to school? How old are you? Where do you live?Good luck on the Eaton job.Weld like a "WELDOR", not a wel-"DERR" MillerDynasty700DX,Dynasty350DX4ea,Dynasty200DX,Li  ncolnSW200-2ea.,MillerMatic350P,MillerMatic200w/spoolgun,MKCobraMig260,Lincoln SP-170T,PlasmaCam/Hypertherm1250,HFProTig2ea,MigMax1ea.
Reply:Originally Posted by shovelonAwesome!Where are you going to school? How old are you? Where do you live?Good luck on the Eaton job.
Reply:Originally Posted by 7A749Yup, then after you think you have everything either you'll need something you don't own or something you do will break, then you'll have to spend more money to fix it Personally, as far as a general purpose welding machine, I would look at something in the air cooled variety to get you started. The Lincoln Ranger or Miller Trailblazer series machines are at the top of their class and offer an affordable solution as far as an entry level machine goes. I certainly wouldn't go into debt to get set up. A good used machine and some basic tools will go a long ways in getting you started so when things do pick up you can purchase bigger equipment as needed. It may be best to outfit for general steel welding first, get the basics then add more advanced pieces as the need requires them. I personally think Miller machines are the easiest to outfit as far as a wire feeder, TIG setup, spool gun and remotes go.Build a setup around your core skills, build up from there. I'm not a fan of buying anything to do a job unless the job more than pays for it or you have a definite need for the tool in general.There's a lot more, but I'm sure the thread will expand as more details become available.Of course, you'll want your skill set to be advanced enough to handle general repairs, fab work, etc on the road. You know what you are and are not capable of. Start there and look to put a lot of hours in and not see a huge return on it for awhile IMHO of course
Reply:6g cert test tig+stick Root,hot pass and stick cap
Reply:Good luck 410.
Reply:Thanks I think It will pass
Reply:I envy your enthusiasm! You have a long road ahead of youBTW it might be the angle, but I see undercut or insufficient fill at the weld margins.Last edited by teachagmech; 09-17-2014 at 11:42 PM.Teach Ag Mech - Mike At Home:Lincoln Electric AC225Miller Challenger 172Gas AxeWork:eclectic bunch of 90's vintage blue boxes
Reply:Originally Posted by tbone550If you do a search on here about running your own welding business, you should have enough reading for a day or two.The actual welding was the easiest part of starting a welding business for me.  The hard part was everything else...finding *good* customers, getting estimates right, figuring out what to charge, how much to pay myself, working through all of the taxes, licensing, and insurance, etc.I thought I had the world licked once I had my first truck set up and ready to go...then learned that the business world was a little more complicated than what I thought it would be.My advice would be to take a small business class (or two, or three...), at least a semester of accounting, and work for "the other guy" a little longer.  Building dumpsters and their parts is a great starter job for welding, but you might consider working your way into a job shop if you can.  A place like that will have you doing work closer to what you'll end up doing once you're on your own.
Reply:It's just the angle I made sure and looked over it a lot of times but tomorrow I run stringers and def will look over it again
Reply:Attachment 847151 Attached Images
Reply:I would rather tig all day
Reply:Originally Posted by CW410 I would rather tig all day
Reply:Well at least you won't be working in a mig sweatshop ...I hopeBacked my CATMA over your CARMA oops clusmy me  What would SATAN do ?? Miller Trailblazer 302 AirPakMiller Digital Elite  Optrel Welding HatArcair K4000Suitcase 12RC / 12 VSHypertherm PM-45Rage 3 sawRusty old Truck
Reply:Lots of good advise listed by Tbone, Killdozer and others in this thread. I see a lot of businesses fail, not because the person can't do the work, but because they can't manage the business. With side work, a guy gets say $150 from a side job and thinks he's doing great. In reality, many times if he really knew what the rods, grinding disks, insurance, vehicle expenses, taxes, social security, license fees, workmans comp and so on all added up to, he'd realize he just lost money. Track EVERYTHING. You will find a lot of expenses are the same whether you are PT or full time like insurance, and today, you really don't want to be caught without insurance.Insurance is probably one of my biggest expenses. When you do work, it's not just about what can happen if someone gets hurt if something you do fails. It's also about covering damages if something unexpected happens, say a fire. There have been any number of stories over the past year about fires started by welders doing some pretty major damage. If I remember right  welders welding on a building in high winds, started one fire that ended up costing the lives of two fire fighters in Boston. Those guys last I heard were facing criminal charges for negligent homicide because they didn't have all the proper permits for the job and a dedicated fire watch. You can bet on top of that they are getting hit for damages to the building involved.Also note that equipment and materials on your truck, in the shop, on the job etc, is usually NOT covered by most insurance policies unless you carry a separate Inland Marine insurance rider, Many guys find out too late when they get stuff stolen that they are now SOL because they were not covered. I carry $15K and probably need to look at at least doubling my coverage, if not more, to cover what is on my truck now. I figure if I get hit, $15K will at least give me enough money to replace critical tools and keep my business running. Also many policies require you itemize tools over $1k and high dollar tools usually raise your rates. Most welders fall under that category. Originally Posted by CW410 I think it would be tons of work between the counties and the city always needs welders.
Reply:Originally Posted by DSWLots of good advise listed by Tbone, Killdozer and others in this thread. I see a lot of businesses fail, not because the person can't do the work, but because they can't manage the business. With side work, a guy gets say $150 from a side job and thinks he's doing great. In reality, many times if he really knew what the rods, grinding disks, insurance, vehicle expenses, taxes, social security, license fees, workmans comp and so on all added up to, he'd realize he just lost money. Track EVERYTHING. You will find a lot of expenses are the same whether you are PT or full time like insurance, and today, you really don't want to be caught without insurance.Insurance is probably one of my biggest expenses. When you do work, it's not just about what can happen if someone gets hurt if something you do fails. It's also about covering damages if something unexpected happens, say a fire. There have been any number of stories over the past year about fires started by welders doing some pretty major damage. If I remember right  welders welding on a building in high winds, started one fire that ended up costing the lives of two fire fighters in Boston. Those guys last I heard were facing criminal charges for negligent homicide because they didn't have all the proper permits for the job and a dedicated fire watch. You can bet on top of that they are getting hit for damages to the building involved.Also note that equipment and materials on your truck, in the shop, on the job etc, is usually NOT covered by most insurance policies unless you carry a separate Inland Marine insurance rider, Many guys find out too late when they get stuff stolen that they are now SOL because they were not covered. I carry $15K and probably need to look at at least doubling my coverage, if not more, to cover what is on my truck now. I figure if I get hit, $15K will at least give me enough money to replace critical tools and keep my business running. Also many policies require you itemize tools over $1k and high dollar tools usually raise your rates. Most welders fall under that category.I don't know about Baltimore, but if it's like Philly, you'll find a lot of jobs locked up by the union in the city. Yes there are nonunion jobs, but be prepared to deal with the union thugs. I've seen guys trucks trashed simply because they parked out front of a store that had work being done by nonunion workers. A guy I used to work with parked in the open spot that was easy for him to get his truck into and walked down the strip mall to go have lunch, only to come back and find a window busted and tires slashed... Broad daylight and no one standing around saw "anything".
Reply:What you say you do to your insurance agent or broker will drastically change your premiums. Some specific words can jump your premium thru the roof. Be VERY careful what you say that you do. Trailers is going to be one of those key words. Anything that rides on the road will carry a lot of liability, thus a much higher premium. Don't just randomly list things when talking to your broke/agent. They are going to either do two things. If it's a good broker, they are going to try and cover your but as much as possible, and if it's an agent working for the insurance company, they'll try to bang you for the most money they can. You want good coverage, but you don't want to jack up your rates for something you never do, or only do on very rare occasions. If welding on trailers jacks your rate over $1000 a year, you need to do a lot of trailer repairs to justify that coverage. It may just make more sense to walk away from those jobs. There's a lot of things I'm very capable of doing in my business,  but getting coverage for them isn't worth the cost. If a big job that looks like it makes it worth while comes along, you can always add that coverage, either full time, or just to cover that job. That's where a good broker can earn his money.I know using the word "scaffolding" kicks my rates way up, even if it's only a 1/2 section and I'm up only 4 feet. They don't care if I'm working off a 40 ft extension ladder, but scaffold has all sorts of liability issues with injuries. Also for me carrying building collapse insurance isn't worth the money. I don't do major additions and almost never do major structural changes or use heavy equipment in near proximity to existing buildings. A good broker will know some of these pit falls and can help make sure you don't say the wrong thing. He wants to make sure you are well covered, but doesn't want to loose a client because he getting them insurance they don't need..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:Yep, wording for insurance carries a lot of importance.  Trailers, hitches, scaffolding, forklifts, cranes, vehicle frames, etc.  If you say you weld on any of these, get out your wallet.  My insurance has a questionnaire I fill out every year with a lot of these buzz words scattered through it.  If you say you design anything that you build, get your wallet out again.
Reply:Finished my 6g pipe test today now just got to pay for it to be tested