[jroark]

So I've put back a little over a grande on the side job stuff and don't know what to invest in. Kind of a weird question to involve everyone in but what would you guys do? I'm using a Lincoln 210 MP and a Kohler 7500 watt generator. I've got the tig and spool gun set up. Also have a cheap horizontal band saw and a Norther Toll chop saw with the dry cut blade. I've got a good Victor torch kit and a Porter Cable 4 1/2" grinder and a Dewalt 7" grinder. So where now? I've thought about getting a plasma or a square wave Lincoln 200 but just keep riding the fence. Also looked at a killer Martin guitar but not sure that'll help the welding business. Haha.

[Farmwelding]

Well that depends on what you want to do. If you want to get into a lot more aluminum jobs or more tig work then get a tig machine. If you want to do more fabrication and repair than you probably want to go with a plasma cutter. What kind of work is in demand in your area? What kind of work do you want to get into to? Have you done much tig welding? If you haven't done a ton of tig welding, I might get the plasma for now to grow your business and then pick up a tig welder later. Just remember a tig welder requires a tank of argon and a plasma cutter requires a good compressor. If you already have a good compressor then I would go with the plasma cutter.

[PeteM]

I'd just keep banking it for a while along the lines of a prudent reserve in case a need arises. Then it can be used as capital for metal stock as needed or to repair/replace essential pieces. Its hard to know whats next, but I've never heard of anybody having too much cash on hand.

[jroark]

True Pete. Never have had too much cash. I'm not a long time tig welder and I was thinking about a Hypertherm with the built in compressor since I don't have a big compressor already. I'm getting by with what I have and maybe that'll do for now. Just looking for some ideas I guess. I do fab work and repair work so like Pete said you never know what will come next but I'm mostly ready for it.

[Otto Nobedder]

jroark,

I am, for the first time in my 48 years of life, in a position where, if $1000 worth of shit happens to me tomorrow, I don't have to call a single soul. I can just handle it. It'll hurt, but not like calling someone does. This is a good place to be, and I'd suggest not letting that money burn through your pocket just because it's there. Wait for a real need, rather than seek one because you can.

Steve S

[Farmwelding]

jroark,

I am, for the first time in my 48 years of life, in a position where, if $1000 worth of shit happens to me tomorrow, I don't have to call a single soul. I can just handle it. It'll hurt, but not like calling someone does. This is a good place to be, and I'd suggest not letting that money burn through your pocket just because it's there. Wait for a real need, rather than seek one because you can.

Steve S

So before spending $1000, have $3,000+ before you do. Seems like a good plan.

[jroark]

I just have a little side hustle going but sometimes I take on a few hundred dollar in material cost project. It is nice to not have to borrow the money to fund a job. You know when you're in the middle of a job and you say "man I wish I had a ....)? That's probably when I could use it. Thanks for the input.

[homeboy]

If you are thinking plasma and possibly offsite work the Hypertherm air is as portable as a lunchbox. I have no connection with Hypertherm other than owning one. I had a torch but the tank lease without gas went to $200.00 per year so that made the decision easy. I have cut 5/8 bucket edge slowly of course but decent cut. Just a thought.

[PeteM]

I just have a little side hustle going but sometimes I take on a few hundred dollar in material cost project. It is nice to not have to borrow the money to fund a job. You know when you're in the middle of a job and you say "man I wish I had a ....)? That's probably when I could use it. Thanks for the input.

I just realized I may have been a wet blanket, and didn't mean to do that.

I don't know what kind of area you're in, but a thousand bucks can go a really long way at an auction around here. There was a machine shop a couple doors down from us that closed up a few years ago. The guy I worked for bought a Bridgeport mill that was in excellent condition for 6k, and that was the second most expensive piece in the auction. Number one was a big shear with an automatic/digital back gauge. 2 400 amp miller multi-process machines went for 4 and 600 bucks. I got caught with my pants down on that because I had no cash on hand, but there were whole boxes of drills, grinders and general hand tools going for 10-20 bucks a piece. A huge rack of structural shapes went for 2k, including the rack

So there is a ton (or 5) of stuff you can get for a grand. If I had one brand shiny new think on my wish list- it would be a Hougen mag drill and a couple of the more common sized cutters.

And congrats for doing well with a "little side hustle". If you keep doing that it my no longer be little or side!

[electrode]

jroark,

I am, for the first time in my 48 years of life, in a position where, if $1000 worth of shit happens to me tomorrow, I don't have to call a single soul. I can just handle it. It'll hurt, but not like calling someone does. This is a good place to be, and I'd suggest not letting that money burn through your pocket just because it's there. Wait for a real need, rather than seek one because you can.

Steve S

+1 on that. The problem is when you actually think about getting older and how much money you spend in a year is the amount you will still need when you cannot work. Then you start saving and become a tightwad and try not to impulse buy and you realize you can actually save some money. Then if something comes along make a game out of it. Say to yourself before I can buy that new something, I have to save $5000 and then once I save $6000 I can spend the $1000 for that something. It's a silly game but some people make it work.

[motox]

just a thought but when i was young (a long time ago)
i would save up the amount for something, then buy
it on credit and pay it off. that way if i got in a jam
i would have the cash to pay for it. funny though
i always seemed to be able to pay it off.
this leaves you money for a larger purchase later.
craig

[WoodpeckerWelder]

just a thought but when i was young (a long time ago)
i would save up the amount for something, then buy
it on credit and pay it off. that way if i got in a jam
i would have the cash to pay for it. funny though
i always seemed to be able to pay it off.
this leaves you money for a larger purchase later.
craig

I tend to only purchase things that I need, can afford to buy outright, and have either personally tried or have a solid reputation. That being said, I "want what I want when I want it" and will become very creative in achieving the goals of acquiring the items required (overtime, odd jobs, budgets etc.).

[jroark]

We'll I'm 35 now with two kids. 11 and 6. My wife homeschools and my income is all we live on. That said I've already hit the tight wad stage. Haha. You guys do have some good ideas on how to save $$ though. That's now where I'm finding myself is in the thinking of "hey, I can save money". However,,, I also realize it takes money to make it. I'm not too afraid of debt but with my wife and kids I dont stretch out too far. I like all the ideas so far. Auctions and borrowing the amount I've saved is pretty good.
My idea behind the plasma was maybe eventually getting a burn table. Lincoln has the plasmania sale going on and their torchmate stuff got me thinking. I have no idea what those cost though. The 625 model was what I was thinking about. Or the hypertherm. Those seem like the best way to go on a plasma. Thanks again for the ideas.

[exnailpounder]

Craigslist can be a gem for finding good used equipment. When I decided to get back into tig, I bought a used Syncrowave 200 from a guy off CL for cheap. The machine didn't look like it had ever been used and it worked great. I got a new machine and sold the 200 for $400 more than I paid for it . Quite a bit of my equipment I have picked up used at auctions and estate sales and like everyone else, I buy things as I need them unless I spot a deal I can't pass up. I buy old equipment and fix it up and resell too. Fills in the gaps when work gets slow and there is good money to be made.

[Otto Nobedder]

e-bay can be a remarkable source, too, if you're both patient and diligent. Our purchasing/parts manager recently found a $28-30K piece of equipment in "easily mistaken for new) condition in Singapore for $8000. Got it shipped for $800. Got what I needed to hook it up for $150. It turned out to have an internal problem that I could fix in less than five hours (about $425 in hours not sold to a customer, plus my burden rate), and now it works like it just came off the factory floor. Total investment less than half the cost of new for a precision instrument that doesn't have a speck of dust on it anywhere (yet).

e-bay also lets you research seller ratings and complaints for those who do regular business there.

(Oh, and it nearly doubles my productivity over the other, "simpler" one we were sold "rebuilt" and I had eight hours of internal repairs on...)

Steve S

[LtBadd]

e-bay can be a remarkable source, too, if you're both patient and diligent. Our purchasing/parts manager recently found a $28-30K piece of equipment in "easily mistaken for new) condition in Singapore for $8000. Got it shipped for $800. Got what I needed to hook it up for $150. It turned out to have an internal problem that I could fix in less than five hours (about $425 in hours not sold to a customer, plus my burden rate), and now it works like it just came off the factory floor. Total investment less than half the cost of new for a precision instrument that doesn't have a speck of dust on it anywhere (yet).

e-bay also lets you research seller ratings and complaints for those who do regular business there.

(Oh, and it nearly doubles my productivity over the other, "simpler" one we were sold "rebuilt" and I had eight hours of internal repairs on...)

Steve S

Patience and diligence of the good kind. Did you get a new helium mass spectrometer?

[Otto Nobedder]

Patience and diligence of the good kind. Did you get a new helium mass spectrometer?

I did! A Varian 979.

I couldn't be more pleased with the purchase. I meant quite literally that my time-to-test (or more accurately, time to the next test) has been cut in half.

Add to that, my confidence in results is much higher, so I waste less time repeating tests.

Steve S

[exnailpounder]

e-bay can be a remarkable source, too, if you're both patient and diligent. Our purchasing/parts manager recently found a $28-30K piece of equipment in "easily mistaken for new) condition in Singapore for $8000. Got it shipped for $800. Got what I needed to hook it up for $150. It turned out to have an internal problem that I could fix in less than five hours (about $425 in hours not sold to a customer, plus my burden rate), and now it works like it just came off the factory floor. Total investment less than half the cost of new for a precision instrument that doesn't have a speck of dust on it anywhere (yet).

e-bay also lets you research seller ratings and complaints for those who do regular business there.

(Oh, and it nearly doubles my productivity over the other, "simpler" one we were sold "rebuilt" and I had eight hours of internal repairs on...)

Steve S

My buddy is quite the bargain finder. He bought a fully automated machine that makes crown molding in one pass and he figured out how to make it produce top rail for pool tables. $90,000 brand new. Found it on some site and got it for $4500. The thing is huge and probably worth that in scrap.He took his truck and trailer to Texas to pick it up so shipping wasn't much. That sounds like the deal of a lifetime but the machine was older and obsolete and no one wanted it but it was rarely used so it was in really good shape and exactly what he wanted. Those deals are out there but you really have to look for them but persistence usually pays off.

[Louie1961]

The best advice is to save the money. In business you want to have enough working capital to operate for at least 6 months. Granted that may not apply to a side hustle, but still, I wouldn't buy anything until you need it for a specific job. If you are making money and generating cash flow, try to put aside enough money to pay the mortgage and feed the family for 6 months. Only when you have that covered would I look at other things.

[Poland308]

The best advice is to save the money. In business you want to have enough working capital to operate for at least 6 months. Granted that may not apply to a side hustle, but still, I wouldn't buy anything until you need it for a specific job. If you are making money and generating cash flow, try to put aside enough money to pay the mortgage and feed the family for 6 months. Only when you have that covered would I look at other things.

Solid advice! Especially if it's a side Hustle. No telling when you may need to turn it into the full time gig. Then that capital could very well be the difference between failure and success.

[Otto Nobedder]

The best advice is to save the money. In business you want to have enough working capital to operate for at least 6 months. Granted that may not apply to a side hustle, but still, I wouldn't buy anything until you need it for a specific job. If you are making money and generating cash flow, try to put aside enough money to pay the mortgage and feed the family for 6 months. Only when you have that covered would I look at other things.

Solid advice! Especially if it's a side Hustle. No telling when you may need to turn it into the full time gig. Then that capital could very well be the difference between failure and success.

That's an excellent point! In the present world economy, one never knows when his side hustle might become the only thing putting food on the table. My work, that at one time I thought bulletproof, was disrupted for three months. I spent that time working with others behind the scenes to make it come back, but not everyone has that (rare) opportunity. I was in the right place at the right time, or I'd have been looking for a new gig at 46, and I would not have been happy about it.

Steve S

[jroark]

Right now I mig weld on production pay and I know I won't be able to do this forever so I do need a backup plan. The side work so far has been a lot of friends and family but actually paying ones. Mostly family or friends that are in business and needed something welded. I'm trying not to get too spread out because I work a pretty steady 40 and don't feel like working another 40 with kids and a wife to spend time with. I love my family.
Saving is the solid way to go but I do decent on my day job so the side money is just extra money. It does come in handy though. I guess I'm just looking more for an investment in something work related since that'll probably do better than any 401k or stock market stuff at this point. I like Jody's saying "don't be afraid to invest in yourself".