Vacuum Fixture for Small Sign Production

[Jim Becker]

I just spent (pardon the the very accurate expression ) about ten years in the local equestrian community and trust me that if you think our tools suck money out of our wallets, own a couple of horses for awhile. (I'm horseless now as of two months ago) I know that there are many folks who are budget shy, but there are also a lot of others who will put good money toward things they just find interesting or kewel to look at or that bolsters their own egos. That's why I can get $700-1500 for a tack trunk of the type I build on commission. These folks are big on personalization, too, which is why I want to at least try out the custom Corian stall sign thing as a "regular" offer between other, larger commission work that I'm also seeking that may or may not be CNC oriented. The Corian will be usable for other sign things if it doesn't work out.

I know I have the "first" sale...a lady who bought some used tack from me a couple weeks ago keeps begging to be the first customer. And she lives in Princeton NJ and has her horse at a "high end barn". I'm happy to let her "advertise" and I know she's going to be sending some non-local folks my way. I have a local 4-H group interested in a fund raise based on the product, too. And I could also be very whacked with the idea and will abandon it if it proves to be too much trouble...

[Brad Shipton]

Ahh, you (are)were a horsey guy. A good friend of mine got back into this in the past 6years, and to walk into the front of her trailer is quite an eye opener. It is great fun teasing her hubby about this being st he is not much of a horse guy. I will keep my father's horse saying to myself. A Rotarian friend has Shire horses and tours around all summer doing shows to promote the breed. They are beautiful animals, but yikes, do they look like a lot of work to feed. We had cattle growing up and my father had no love for horses. When my friend is telling stories I have to stop her all the time to get her to explain what things are. With the number of clinics they go to I would think they would have figured all the horsey stuff out . Is there a picture of a sample tack trunk in the projects section somewhere? I get it if you prefer not.

I know you have done your homework and know your audience better.

edit: google is my friend. Found tack trunks.

[Mark Bolton]

We had three horses on my 115 acres here for a while but we were not "equestrians". Two were registered Tobiano paints and one (the best personality of the lot) was just Bay/Roane gelding. They basically just lived with us and were very well fed for many years. They did do wonders for pushing the tree line back on our pasture fields as one of them (never figured out which) would literally strip the bark of weed trees even when having miles of pasture, grain, and hay. That said, when they finally started barging the fence and became a nuisance to keep I had no choice but to get them a new home. They were unfortunately raised by a horse woman who basically treated them better than newborn infants (human) their entire life and would hand feed them alfalfa cubes nearly daily so they were habituated on human contact. They could have the coolest, nicest spot with the greenest grass for years and they would stand at the gate fence and pace and never go out to pasture if the thought a human was around.

They were beautiful, had a lot of fun working with them, lunging them, and so on for a while. But man, when a horse becomes a nuisance its and utter nuisance.

It never ceases to amaze me the people that will persevere. My grand dad sawed ice and skidded logs with teams of work horses most of his life and it always impressed me. Im sure its like a dog. When you find a great one, its a great one. When you get one that rips your sofa to shreds, it sucks.

[Ted Reischl]

Here is a theory that is rarely heard these days. This came from an owner of a machine shop I knew very well.

"A lot of the jobs that we do have very little, if any, profit. Keep in mind that "profit" is the money you have after you pay all the bills and expenses. These jobs keep all the guys working and pays their wages. You might call these jobs the bread and butter work. Then we have the frosting on the cake jobs that come in the door. . . ."

In other words, if Jim is merely paying for his machine, paying himself a reasonable wage, that is good enough. Every now and then a profitable job will come in his door. When he gets really good at, he will see more of those as his reputation spreads.

I know, the MBA's think everything has to make a profit margin, but then, they usually do not have their money invested in the company they work for. Sometimes all you can do is keep the lights on, the employees busy, and hope for better days.

[Jim Becker]

Those are some good thoughts, Ted. I don't think these little signs will ever make me "rich", but they could provide some regular "pay the bills" cash flow while I pursue more exiting things. My only "risk" is the cost of the initial material purchase and even that is mitigated by the fact that the same material can/could be used for other things that also can be sold. Right now, if I sell just what I can cut out of one sheet of the material, and account for my time at $100 an hour (short cutting time, but setup time for every one due to the personalization), I'll still have over a 25% margin left based on my anticipated selling price.

[Gary Campbell]

Those jobs that "pay the overhead" are the ones that afford you the time to learn and allow you to hone your craft till your reputation and name are a known commodity. If you put in the time and put out good work, profit is most assuredly on it's way. Too many "dreamers" sit and wait for the "dream jobs" that never come. That's why CNC machines are sold "barely" used.

[Brad Shipton]

Jim, those are good customers.