Welding Tips and Tricks

Like most of you I'm sure, I get asked quite often how to go about starting a welding business out of the garage and that question always leads to what machines and equipment should I buy. It has come up here quite often, and will keep coming up forever. But I got a email from a guy asking the same who has absolutely nothing (welder, tools and even money) and requested my help with advise. Well, that email, as well as forum posts and private messages, has prompted me to ask a few questions and I thought I would pick the other members brains here.

If you wanted to start a welding business, and assuming you have the knowledge of welding, but had absolutely no tools or welder, what would your list be to purchase first? To take this further, let's say I gave you $2,000, or you got that back from your tax return or a bonus, what would you purchase to get things going? I am curious of what each would feel is most important to get started. And last, you have to spend it all. What would that list be?

I'll include my list as soon as I put it together but wanted to get the thoughts turning in your heads.
-Jonathan

200 amp mig machine 1200$. Grinders x2 150$. Portaband 200$. Oxy act torch 300$. Weld hood and consumables 150$.

Before any of that he should sit down and write up a business plan that identifies his market and his place in it.
The kind of service he intends to offer and any niche or advantage he may have.
Sales plan, advertising etc.
Expected turnover plan for at least three years and profit margins.
Where he intends to operate from.
Set up costs and operating overheads can now be considered. Will profit margins cover theses overheads and also put food on the table?

Starting a business by buying some gear and waiting for work to happen is the short route to failed business boot hill.

Coldman wrote:Before any of that he should sit down and write up a business plan that identifies his market and his place in it.
The kind of service he intends to offer and any niche or advantage he may have.
Sales plan, advertising etc.
Expected turnover plan for at least three years and profit margins.
Where he intends to operate from.
Set up costs and operating overheads can now be considered. Will profit margins cover theses overheads and also put food on the table?

Starting a business by buying some gear and waiting for work to happen is the short route to failed business boot hill.

These are my thoughts.... The business will determine what equipment I purchase.

Sorry, I should have said general repair out of the garage. I just wanted to keep this a simple tool list and not necessarily the business plan side. That is a huge topic all its own for sure and absolutely needs to be thought out before one starts their business.
-Jonathan

Superiorwelding wrote:Sorry, I should have said general repair out of the garage. I just wanted to keep this a simple tool list and not necessarily the business plan side.

...OK, but part of the business plan should also include impact on your homeowner's insurance, and cost of a contractor's license if necessary, and liability insurance.

Shopping for other people is always fun, but the list will also depend on your target audience. If your home shop is close to a grain elevator and you'll have combines and trailers stopping in, the equipment list will be different than if your target audience is homeowners wanting their rusted out lawn mower decks repaired. (Recently someone near me on Craigs List wanted to have their sunglasses welded back together, so be aware the homeowner crowd will include a few fruit loops.)

There are people who micro-weld for a living.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wif96db6xMM

Artie F. Emm wrote:Recently someone near me on Craigs List wanted to have their sunglasses welded back together, so be aware the homeowner crowd will include a few fruit loops.

But a 200 amp mig / tig / stick setup and some basic tools would be a good place to start. It would allow small production and repair work on most stuff.

Being under capitalised starting out, consideration can be given to good second hand gear with enough grunt so he does not have to turn work away. For example if a guy needs his bucket welded up fast a 250 or 300 mig would be good if power was available. A 200 stick/tig acdc would cover everything else. Plasma not necessary for start up. Make do with oxy acet for a while.
My 2c worth anyway.

The Lincoln Power mig 210 MP is a good machine for versatility. It'll also do aluminum with the spool gun. A decent grinder, torch set up, drill press, and the small stuff like chipping hammer, wire brushes, but don't forget gas bottles. It'd be hard to buy gas bottles for a torch and mix gas and argon for welding plus a machine for much less than $2000.

Insurance! Burning a guys tractor or you garage up is a trip straight to bankruptcy Court

mrmatt wrote:Insurance! Burning a guys tractor or you garage up is a trip straight to bankruptcy Court

This, what machine to buy if the least of your worries. In addition your are hurting the guys who are doing this legitimately as the primary or sole income. A good business plan, proper accounting and tax filing etc.

Sent from mobile. Not responsible for Typos

Yup, it's easy to get carried away with a list of kit, but the sure fire way to bankruptcy is to not have a plan...

To fail to plan is to plan to fail.

What's the hourly rate, what are the overheads, what's the expected time to break even.
Insurance is a must
As is the ability to book- keep (for the taxes and accounts) and to estimate correctly.
It sounds boring and dull, but it's a harsh world out there, and no amount of rose tinting will change it...

Then and only then do you start to think of the kit, and you need to think about it in terms of cost vs return. What will this investment give me in return?

And ironically, the kit list is fairly straightforward, dictated by the kinds of repairs needed.

A power mig MP 210 is a lovely piece of kit, but it is expensive, and by having all processes in one machine, if it goes down, then you are on stop.

Being a "make-do and mend" type, I'd plump for some carefully bought second hand machines over brand new, with a view to flexibility and some redundancy.

With so many favourably priced machines on the market, second hand is now very cheap in the small ads.
I bought a nice ( if battered) heavy duty 130amp mig for £100 a little while ago - this is ample for car bodywork and chassis repairs.
I found a cracking and small scratch-start 130a stick/tig for £80 - a little underpowered for heavy work, and doesn't have a great duty cycle, but hey - £80 for a tig!
I admit that I couldn't find a cheap AC tig set, so I forked out £600 for my 160a set from R-Tech, but I could have spent £200 more for the 200a.

So, for less than £1000, you can get a set of kit that can weld car bodies and chassis, reasonably heavy aluminium and steel tig up to 200a and even manage to fit a small scratch start kit in there for when you need to go where you cannot take big heavy kit. Also there is some redundancy in there to cover a mishap Or breakdown.

And if you are willing to do some fixing up to the welder, and need to do really heavy stuff, there are big 250-plus amp gen set welders out there for not much money, and would let you weld anywhere you can get your truck to.

Oh - yeah, you need a truck too!
And of course, PPE and consumables.

Only when the business is booming, and really busy, should a larger purchase be considered, with the experience of what's needed and what the returns would be.

I've been in business fro 40 years (not welding)
and still the most important thing is customers.
craig

A list with $2,000 to spend and you're starting with literally nothing...My first comment is to save more money. I don't do it for a business but I do it for a hobby and I have spent a lot more than that and I didn't start with nothing. Here is my bare bones list.

Tweco Fabricator 181i 1,201.00
Ryobi Grinder 40.00
Dewalt Porta-Band 302.00
Miller Digital Elite Helmet 245.00 One area that I wouldn't skimp.
MIG Gloves 15.00
Welding Jacket 35.00
Chipping Hammer 10.00
MIG Pliers 10.00
C-Clamps 36.00
Harbor Freight Welding Table 80.00
030 Flux Core 26.00

An oxy/acetylene setup some old coat hangers and a grinder. Everyone always they think that they need lots of tools, what you need is a demand for your services or you don't have shit.

ttreb4 wrote:A list with $2,000 to spend and you're starting with literally nothing...My first comment is to save more money. I don't do it for a business but I do it for a hobby and I have spent a lot more than that and I didn't start with nothing. Here is my bare bones list.

Tweco Fabricator 181i 1,201.00
Ryobi Grinder 40.00
Dewalt Porta-Band 302.00
Miller Digital Elite Helmet 245.00 One area that I wouldn't skimp.
MIG Gloves 15.00
Welding Jacket 35.00
Chipping Hammer 10.00
MIG Pliers 10.00
C-Clamps 36.00
Harbor Freight Welding Table 80.00
030 Flux Core 26.00

A tweco 181 can be bought for $7-800
$1200 is ridiculous.
I honestly can't think of a time I would ever need a portaband.
Spend that on a abrasive chop saw and a metal cutting skil saw.

But I'm just a hobbiest.

I would suggest that you keep your full time job for a few YEARS until the business starts to grow. I would also suggest that he follow the work - what I mean is that he may end up doing something else completely different than what he started out to do. The last business I had (and I do mean LAST in more than one way!), I started out expecting to do structural field work, equipment repair and custom fabrication, and I ended up doing ornamental iron handrails, stairs, fences and other decorative structures. I also ended up doing high end, very custom work for interior designers; that paid very, very good.
Gary

I am in the process of starting my own "garage business" some stuff I had already from previous jobs, now a plant operator, I just wanted to keep my hands in fabrication.

I have an ac/DC Lincoln jute box welder for stick, scratch start tig
Hobart 190 mig
Dewalt grinder I've had for years
And I rent my gasses oxy/act/C25/argon from a local weld supply. Rent on bottles is about 53 bucks a month.
Small fab table