Anything welding

I've given you enough shit already

 

It's the new age side-hustle stuff. Everyone thinks they can jump into something and charge 400% to everyone.

Banks Power did a video a little while ago talking about how so many people are buying these engine tune 'packages' of thousands of tunes, with the intent of starting a tuning company with the single download offering 10-100 tunes per vehicle/engine/trans option, and all of them are crap. Then people take the same crap, re-label, and sell to new unsuspecting entrepreneurs that want to start a tuning company of their own...

It seems most people are ignoring all the hard work that really goes into starting a business and remaining competitive. No one can simply charge 400% and get away with it for very long. I'm definitely jealous of your setup, but know I have neither the time, space, or energy to work that hard at it.

 

That specific statement though.

That's exactly why his post stuck out like a sore thumb.

Not because I can do it cheaper. Not because my cuts are better (I wouldn't say this if I wasn't personally giving the dude advice in the CNC group). Not because I want to undercut anyone (that's as unprofessional as it gets).

But because the item exists and is offered by a large number of people already.

Because the item sells for a lot less already by those other people.

Not to mention plenty of those other people are established, have a website, and have invested quite a bit to get to where they're at. It says something about their success long-term...probably had to break a few eggs and start off reasonably priced to get there versus the guy selling at 400% like you said.

And thanks, I do love the setup I've got but I like to pay it back by being affordable to everyone.

We all like money, we all need money (at least I do), but make it make sense both for you and your customers. Takes time to get to the point where you can offer quality work, plenty of time and hard work for sure.

I'm starting to understand the gatekeeping mindset now shared by many in the groups I help....

 

Absolutely. No one works free. But there's a difference between turning a profit to do something and outright price gouging.

During COVID, car dealerships were able to do crazy markups on new vehicles because supply could not meet demand. A great problem to have. But not a one of those dealers is charging the same kind of markup now that demand and supply have nearly equalized.

Coming from car computers and headlight retrofits, I've had a lot of conversations with certain people about this thinking they could jump straight into doing work for other people for incredible amounts over the raw material costs.

I'd always tell them, Great, you found a product that doesn't exist, a way to make it, and a market to sell it to. But what justification do I as an end user have to purchase that product specifically from you? What material/process/coating are you using that I can't access, that justifies the price point?

Maybe a bracket is custom designed with encrusted diamonds and hydroformed. But I've got a hammer and angle grinder and a bench vise to use for bending-- if I can make the same thing for 20%, why do I need to buy yours?

There's absolutely times where I'd rather spend an extra $200 on a bracket over the $100 it could cost me to grind out, that fits perfectly, and has an extremely durable finish, or is exposed to the world, and I want a specific look without appearing to be something made with a hammer and grinder. But that cost needs to be justified in the end result.

Everyone on Etsy is making packout stuff lately. I've been called an asshole, but I'd simply post a competing product and honestly ask, " what makes your version better or improved to justify the significantly higher price?"

 

Ahhh man I love it.

 

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This is exactly why I don't. I want my 400% and I know that no one will pay that so I'm not going to even bother. In the end it's not worth my time.

My favorite example of this are the people selling 3d printed stuff on Etsy and eBay for insane prices.

 

Regarding COVID and post COVID car prices. They are publicly traded companies. They figured out that selling less for a higher price made them more. Follow their quarterly profits and units sold and they are all making record profits. This is why we now have a $80k TRD pro Tacoma when it was $40k just a few years ago.

 

I need to build a kart stand. This is a wheeled stand to move around a race kart from the pits to the track. I'm considering trying to build one with fold out legs like a stretcher on an ambulance. This way, I can pull the kart and stand off the truck all in one go instead of in pieces. Has anyone seen anything like this before with fold out legs?

For more context, it needs to hold roughly 100lbs. Have large-ish pneumatic wheels. Here is an example of one without the foldout legs.

 

Super simple.

Use hitch pins to lock in place when folded out.

 

Ever look at how am ironing board works? I think that kind of mechanism would be perfect for your needs, but I'd still use a hitch pin to lock the height before moving too much

 

Well, the timing of this is fitting.....
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/bumper-swingout-alignment.837892/

 

I want to see someone put cam tabs on a tire carrier

 

You could be the first.

 

I need to be able to slide it off the bed and deploy the legs with 1 person. When loading the thing back on the truck, the edge of one side could be resting on the tailgate while I'm holding the other. How could I pull the legs up? Maybe a simple spring with a release latch?

 

Looking at this picture, it sort of looks like a one-way locked pivot, with a cam at the top that sort of kick-starts the folding process.



The ironing board concept is more similar to maybe one of those quick clamps
https://www.google.com/imgres?imgur...x/im/m1/2&kgs=ae0ba844b14f9041&shem=abme,trie

You very well might be able to utilize a quick clamp in the design. Maybe even using something like a screen door spring to assist in the upward travel as well.

I'll marinate on the idea tomorrow, see if anything else comes up

 

Scissor lift type works way better (for a gurney, I don't know anything about kart stands). Like so:

 

Cut and bent some more pieces today

 

Been a minute since I fired up the welder and also never used .030 in this machine.

Untitled by MJH Creations, on Flickr
Untitled by MJH Creations, on Flickr
Untitled by MJH Creations, on Flickr

I was finally getting dialed again towards the end. Haven't done serious welding since like December.

Untitled by MJH Creations, on Flickr

The thing I was building is called a Tauler Jack and it's based off a trailer leveling jack.

Untitled by MJH Creations, on Flickr

Untitled by MJH Creations, on Flickr

I am trying to run this setup on the bronco instead of the highlift because it is more compact to store.

 

Nice job on the Tauler jack, its a great solution. intermixed with the work on back-halving of my truck, I'm working on a design that improves the original Tauler in a few places that i feel have some missed opportunity.

 

O rly

I saw this kit he sells too that I was maybe going to get for additional scenarios.

https://brennans-garage.com/products/chain-nose-for-tauler-jack

Especially since the OEM rock rails aren't really meant for jacking and are too tight to the cab even for his setup. I saw I can probably get a soft shackle around the "rock rail" but there is still risk the soft shackle will press into the body.