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"side hustle."


redkow97
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I just spent $65 on "Etsy" for custom rings for my wife for Christmas.

Then I went to buy a doll crib for my daughter.  $75 from the American Girl website, or $35 for a homemade copy on Etsy.

Said "fuck that," and went out at lunch.  Bought lumber to make 2 cribs (one for each of my girls) and it cost me $24, including sanding wheels for my dremel.  I have some wood, paint, and wood glue at home, so round to $30 total in materials for 2 of these doll cribs. that's being generous... 

It quickly occurs to me that, unless shipping costs are prohibitive, I could profit $20/unit by making simple doll beds, cribs, chairs, etc...

I expect tonight's build will be slow and tedious, but with proper tools (i.e. a drill press, a router, and a table saw), and a larger production-run of various parts, costs would come down (buying 12' lengths instead of 8'), along with reducing time (i.e. router and drill press works better than the drill and dremel I will be using).  That's not a bad little side gig...

Am I dreaming when it comes to demand?

 

 

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I'm just wondering if anyone else cashes in by reloading, making custom bike parts, etc.

Over the years, I have encountered various people who have (with varying degrees of success) made gun and/or motorcycle parts for profit.

There was a guy on EX-500.com who made mid-panels that filled the gap between the stock upper and lower.  He made a one-off set for himself, got a lot of compliments, and then made a mold to produce fiberglass pieces.   I think his process was flawed, and his inventory was never large enough to keep up with early demand, so he left a lot of people waiting, and got a bad reputation.  Then he got sick of it and quit.

I know another guy who makes kydex and leather holsters.  He charged a premium price, but the quality was top-notch.

There's even a guy on the Hi-Point facebook group who makes aluminum triggers.  For hi-point firearms... I'm not sure why people would spend $50 for a cosmetic upgrade to a $100 handgun, he's probably running scraps of aluminum (from his employer?) through a small CNC machine at his house for that $50. 

I enjoy little projects like this, so the fact that it's probably not worth my time to make $20/hour is offset by the enjoyment I get from the process.  If nothing else, I will have presents to give my friends' kids for the next few years.  Best case, I will make a few hundred dollars and go shooting. 

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15 minutes ago, Limitedslip7 said:

I make aluminum fuel cells for jetskis on the side. It can be a lot of work but I enjoy welding and it makes decent money. 

 

 

Dang that is some awesome work, the welds look perfect.

 

13 minutes ago, TimTheAzn said:

Wow. Looks like some quality stuff right there.

Did you really have to quote all the pics noob?

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Did a few fuel cells as well but these were made to Iron Butt Association requirements and were specific to each bike -  as they were only allowed to carry around 11.5 gallons at the time. Had internal baffles welded in, tip over valves, electrical grounding block, etc. Powdercaoted this one to match a bike - ugly as shit. Usually powdered them black.

I used Summit Racing car fuel cells and cut them open to add baffles and reduce them in size. It was cheaper to buy from them than to buy aluminum sheet stock and completely make my own. Plus, I got the fittings with them , etc.

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Edited by Earache
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15 hours ago, Tonik said:

 

Dang that is some awesome work, the welds look perfect.

 

Did you really have to quote all the pics noob?

I did initially then removed them, did you happen to see it in the 30 seconds I had them all quoted? :thefinger: 

 

Edit: Damn, went and looked at my phone and never saved the changes. :lol: I'm going to leave them there now since it aggravates you.

Edited by TimTheAzn
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28 minutes ago, TimTheAzn said:

I did initially then removed them, did you happen to see it in the 30 seconds I had them all quoted? :thefinger: 

 

Edit: Damn, went and looked at my phone and never saved the changes. :lol: I'm going to leave them there now since it aggravates you.

So not good at math or the internets.

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I need to learn to weld. I talk about learning to weld, and learning to speak Spanish pretty much weekly.   Need to pull the trigger on at least one of those...

I put off doll crib construction by 24 hours in order to obtain a miter saw.  I need my headboard cuts to be exactly 90 degrees, because the legs of the bed need to be perfectly level, or it will wobble.  That was why i considered making rockers instead of legs, but the cost of the 16" boardstock was oppressive compared to the 12" board stock.

IF this becomes a larger scale operation, I could experiment with rounding the 12" base into a rocker.

I've already thought up several ways to ramp-up production quite easily.  The biggest would be having metal templates to trace, rather than measuring everything before cutting and/or drilling.  I'd also want a drill press and a much better sander.  All of those are things I'd use regardless of whether or not this "business" survives, so I'll probably buy them off FB marketplace now, and replace them with nicer stuff when/if they break.

general ranting to follow:

- i hate circular saws.  keeping a straight line should not be so damn difficult.

- drilling straight down is also difficult, although making a slightly larger hole, and allowing wood glue to take up any "wiggle" seems passable for doll furniture.

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it's terrible money but I do mystery shops and merchandising surveys and shit during my lunch at work and any stores on my way to or from work. Only $5-6 a pop but when it's going straight to my paypal parts fund it adds up nicely

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Yes, I too have a garage full of cool tools, and even a welder now. And I can weld. But weld what? I would love to come up with a side job. I have always wanted to get into vacuum forming stuff, like farings, and other things. The machine can be made and the material available. But what the heck can be made. 

I keep telling myself i need to piggy back onto one of these pyramid scams that keep going around Facebook. Take for instance these stupid LipSence shit... or whatever they call it. I could make an accessory not offered by the company and start selling stock items to all these idiots that buy into that crap. 

My point is, having the tools and knowing to weld is only about 1/2 the battle. What to make, then getting it sold is a nother issue. 

This thread is prime examples of people that have figured it out. 

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On 12/7/2017 at 12:03 PM, flashesbuck said:

 

My point is, having the tools and knowing to weld is only about 1/2 the battle. What to make, then getting it sold is a nother issue. 

When I got my first welder I started making portable disc golf goals.  The biggest expense in those is the chains and disc golfers are very particular when it comes to that.  The first couple went to my cousins (for free) and I still heard nothing but complaints that the chains were too heavy or too light.  Ok, buy some chain yourself and I’ll put them on.  Sheesh. However, all their friends wanted one and I couldn’t make them fast enough.  Got to be too much work. 

Last year I welded up a front rack for my sidecar and posted it on the Ural forum.  Even though I specifically stated I wasn’t interested in making or selling them, several guys still PMed me and asked.  

Point is, every time I post something I’ve fabricated, I’ve always gotten requests to sell more.   My problem is I don’t like dealing with people, so I usually decline.  

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10 minutes ago, PhilD'oh! said:

 

Point is, every time I post something I’ve fabricated, I’ve always gotten requests to sell more.   My problem is I don’t like dealing with people, so I usually decline.  

^ This! There's no end to whiners about whatever it is you make. Can't do it themselves, but they tell you how to do.

 

I started making furniture full time a few years ago. Started out making some stuff for a local interior design firm and was amazed at the cash I could get for simple shit. Bikes parts take forever to make and I don't get shit for them. I can do a dining table in 3 days and get $3,500 for it. So now I'm a furniture designer <gg>. Just wish bike parts apid more as I'd rather make them.

 

Some stuff I made...

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