latest job, balcony

[Wozzaaah]

every two bit who calls himself a welder round here seems on that game, minimal plant layout I guess is the reason.

That's maybe a little on the harsh side Snowy, you can't really criticise anyone for doing that sort of thing if it's what they enjoy, they can do it well and make a decent living out of it. It's the sort of work that anyone with a reasonable amount of fabrication skill and workshop space can make decent money out of if their work is to a decent standard and the very low setup costs make it even more appealing. The sort of work you do is way above and beyond making gates and railings for a living (sorry welderpaul, irondarren, baz-cem and others, no offence meant) which is why you won't do them, it's just not financially viable for you to do it.

 

[snowcat]

That's maybe a little on the harsh side Snowy, you can't really criticise anyone for doing that sort of thing if it's what they enjoy, they can do it well and make a decent living out of it. It's the sort of work that anyone with a reasonable amount of fabrication skill and workshop space can make decent money out of if their work is to a decent standard and the very low setup costs make it even more appealing. The sort of work you do is way above and beyond making gates and railings for a living (sorry welderpaul, irondarren, baz-cem and others, no offence meant) which is why you won't do them, it's just not financially viable for you to do it.

No of-fence was meant woz, I was just reinforcing the point, that Its a mystery to me how work can be knocked out so cheep, Even a simple set of gates to me looks like allot of work, and by the time you add a coat of paint, stuck diesel in the truck, then had the agro of dealing with the great unwashed, It just seams the margins are low...another problem is say someone like Paul, Unit, Tools, Rates, Staff, tax man to keep happy etc etc has to compete with matey down the road, who likes a bit of smithin at the weekend and few quid in his pocket so he can take the kids and Mrs out for Sunday lunch, where my two bit welder comment came from....

 

[Wozzaaah]

That is the good thing about that sort of work though snowy, it appeals to the likes of myself due to the fact that we can do it at home in our sheds (I don't but I could). Around £1000-£1500 gets you completely set up with a nice welder, a nice bench and a few self made jigs etc, not many businesses you can set up in so cheaply and have everything you need to get going. Someone like yourself or Paul have to invest several thousand pounds just to get started because of the type of work you do, there's no way you'd ever find backstreet joe repairing heavy plant in his garden shed which is why people like yourself will never be short of work. I agree that people like Paul have people like us to contend with but I suppose that's where diversity comes into it's own, the more you can do and the more equipment you have, the less of a threat 'backstreet joe' is to your livelihood.

 

[Paul.]

One of the problems with gates and railings, is the fact that most people cant tell the difference between a good job and a bad one, so they just buy on price, not saying that there any bad ones on here though, but its a different market to where I normally operate, Ill do those kind of jobs if i get my normal going rate, if not Ill walk away, the stainless juliet I made was cheap by about £250 for a reason, I needed to show this particular client the quality of my stainless fabrication, and a little incentive to open a door into his company, many (not All) "backstreet joe's" are untrained, uninsured, work for cash, and have little understanding of design requirements and regulations.

 

[nitronorm]

Wow! stirred up a bit of hornets nest here ooops

Look here's how it is.... Yes I work out of my garage, yes it was a cash job, no this isn't my main line of work and yes I take little jobs like this on from time to time so I can afford to give my family the things I feel we deserve.

However..... at NO piont would I ever undercut a price given by a professional welder in an attempt to get work, I don't advertise in anyway whatsoever, every job I've done I have been approached by the customer, word travels fast, and if you've done a good job for a client chances are they will recommend you to other people, in actual fact thats how I've got every paying job I've ever done (welding anyway) So no I don't think I've ever done anybody out of work.

Furthermore, no I'm not a coded welder with my own fab shop, but after going to college to learn how to weld I do have recognised qualifications in MIG and TIG welding which I did for my own benefit and paid for myself,

I value the opinions of more qualified and experienced welders than myself of course and that is why I post here. I'm not just some shmuck who has no idea glueing these things together with pigeon s$*t welds in my garden shed in an attempt to part people from thier hard earned, I work hard and pride myself on doing a good job for a fair price and I make no appolagies for that.

Sorry if that offended anybody but I've had a Tw#t of a day and right now would kill for a beer!

 

[Paul.]

Please dont take it personally Nitronorm, Im sure none of this was pointed in your direction, the thread, like many others sort of drifted away from the original subject into a wider discussion, as i said earlier youve made a nice job, there cant be many of us that haven't done a cash job from time to time, and not always in our own trade,

 

[Hitch]

And then, you get a few of us who do it during the week, but bang out a quick one for a mate of a mate on a Saturday afternoon. Profesionally made, but a lot cheaper.
For some it can be the make of brake of a project.

 

[nitronorm]

Listen guys please accept my appolagies for that little rant I've sat and had that beer now and calmed down a bit, anyway I think I made my point.

 

[Drains]

Listen guys please accept my appolagies for that little rant I've sat and had that beer now and calmed down a bit, anyway I think I made my point.

Better than the telly nitro.

Mind you, the union will have to be told....

 

[matt1978]

Better than the telly nitro.

Mind you, the union will have to be told....

Never mind better than TV or the Union being told, I am sure Gordon Browns tax cronies are reading this with great interest........all this talk of cash jobs!! (which I am sure have all been declared of course)

 

[Hitch]

Thats a good part of a forum like this. As long as your not particuly rude of abusive, you can had a 'ding dong' with another member
Rest assured though, youll be in trouble if you really kick off

 

[Tigman]

its been a long time since I banged one out on a Saturday Afternoon ! HaHa

 

[Rick]

I think they look really good.

Like others have touched on I think they look like a lot of work for not much money for a company to produce unless in vast quantities. Maybe a little more appealing to somebody like yourself who makes a 1 off for a quick profit in his garden shed and I suppose you enjoyed doing it.

I've never attempted to make anything like it to be honest.

How long did they take you to make?

Anyway, look really good, and good luck moving to Oz!