$30 for a charging dock? Not in this lifetime.

[cuskit]

Wish I had welding skills/equipment. If I did, then I could build just about anything...

I think with some curves would look better , or some 45 degrees corners .

I have to agree that your stand looks too industrial for my taste. I would have definitely rounded off the top corners of the dock and base pieces as those sharp corners look like they could cause injury.

Do you have access to a sandblaster? I think it would look good with a sand/bead blasted finish, it would give it a softer look.

Actually, all sharp corners have been broken. It won't cut you.

I mainly made it as I did because doing it like this was fast. Curves and angles all take a lot of time. And in this line of work... Time is money. All told I'm looking at $4.50 for the steel and the charging cable, and about 15 minutes work. I might work a curve or two into it, but I'd have to grind them in at this point, and that's the opposite of fun.

I do plan to clean it up somewhat, and probably buff it to shiny. I have access to a sand blaster, but I hate sand blasting, and the finish left by the sand they use is courser than what I would want.

I've use glass beads with great results - especially when you clear coat it after with a good quality lacquer. Makes for an awesome finish!

Do you have a plasma cutter? It makes quick work of cutting curves and radius. Even just an oxy/acetylene torch would cut the curves in short order. For such a small piece such as your stand - five minutes of grinding would be all that's needed.

Seeing the responses here, I'm contemplating making some MIKRADLES in steel. I've got a ton of some heavy gauge 304 stainless steel in my shop, and also have access to a punch press which would make it very easy to cut up the pieces, then, like you said - a few minutes with my TIG and presto! METAL MIKRADLE! mike

 

[Nolano]

I've use glass beads with great results - especially when you clear coat it after with a good quality lacquer. Makes for an awesome finish!

Do you have a plasma cutter? It makes quick work of cutting curves and radius. Even just an oxy/acetylene torch would cut the curves in short order. For such a small piece such as your stand - five minutes of grinding would be all that's needed.

Seeing the responses here, I'm contemplating making some MIKRADLES in steel. I've got a ton of some heavy gauge 304 stainless steel in my shop, and also have access to a punch press which would make it very easy to cut up the pieces, then, like you said - a few minutes with my TIG and presto! METAL MIKRADLE! mike

I do have access to a plasma cutter, but I'll be honest I don't know if I feel like doing too much more to this stand. I like how it looks right now, so I might just clean it up.
And in my experience, oxy/acetylene is about the least preferable way you want to cut stainless steel. Because stainless won't oxidize much, a standard cutting torch doesn't work well, and you basically have to melt material away.

And I think I'll buff it because I like shiny things.

 

[cuskit]

I do have access to a plasma cutter, but I'll be honest I don't know if I feel like doing too much more to this stand. I like how it looks right now, so I might just clean it up.
And in my experience, oxy/acetylene is about the least preferable way you want to cut stainless steel. Because stainless won't oxidize much, a standard cutting torch doesn't work well, and you basically have to melt material away.

And I think I'll buff it because I like shiny things.[/QUOTE]

Re: oxy/acetylene - it works okay just to soften up the corners - but that's also why I said you'd have to spend a few minutes with the grinder afterward.

If you do finish it up anymore (buffing, etc) please post pix of it when it's done - we are thoroughly enjoying this thread. Your metal stand is prompting some good interest! You might wish to consider marketing some of these, you have the skills, the material, the "know how" and most important - a market for it - this forum! mikey

 

[smokiedabong]

And if you start marketing these , remember the title "$30 for a charging dock? Not in this lifetime." :laugh:

 

[cuskit]

And if you start marketing these , remember the title "$30 for a charging dock? Not in this lifetime." :laugh:

Thanks for the laugh! I needed that tonight..

Hey, wait a moment! I've already been offered $150 for the first one, sight unseen! $75.00 down, $75.00 on delivery! :icon_ banana:

I will say, I'll bet if he went to a welder and paid to have one made - asking to keep the price thirty bucks or less - the guy would have said the same thing - "$30? Not in this lifetime - I get $125 per hour, and that's before I even turn on my welder"! :icon_ lala:

Then again, we all know a sheet of carbon fiber is dirt cheap... :icon_ banana: mikey

 

[smokiedabong]

I will say, I'll bet if he went to a welder and paid to have one made - asking to keep the price thirty bucks or less - the guy would have said the same thing - "$30? Not in this lifetime - I get $125 per hour, and that's before I even turn on my welder"! :icon_ lala:

125 per hour hmy: . Damn , I wish I knew that before going through two universities .

 

[Nolano]

I will say, I'll bet if he went to a welder and paid to have one made - asking to keep the price thirty bucks or less - the guy would have said the same thing - "$30? Not in this lifetime - I get $125 per hour, and that's before I even turn on my welder"! :icon_ lala:

125 per hour hmy: . Damn , I wish I knew that before going through two universities .

That's a little exaggerated, depending on where you are in the world and what you do.

And I agree, my stand was only this cheap because I didn't count my own labor towards it. Which wasn't a lot, but even so. At the time, I had a whole lot more time than money.

If I got a process set up for building them efficiently, I'm sure I could hit a good price point. But I'm far too lazy and busy for that.

 

[cuskit]

I will say, I'll bet if he went to a welder and paid to have one made - asking to keep the price thirty bucks or less - the guy would have said the same thing - "$30? Not in this lifetime - I get $125 per hour, and that's before I even turn on my welder"! :icon_ lala:

125 per hour hmy: . Damn , I wish I knew that before going through two universities .

That's a little exaggerated, depending on where you are in the world and what you do.

And I agree, my stand was only this cheap because I didn't count my own labor towards it. Which wasn't a lot, but even so. At the time, I had a whole lot more time than money.

If I got a process set up for building them efficiently, I'm sure I could hit a good price point. But I'm far too lazy and busy for that.

We have only one welding shop in the area - that's his rate. He has 7 guys working - 4 week lead time on most projects of any size. Most of his stuff is custom railings and wrought iron fence. And I have to say - some of that stuff is spectacular! Especially the curved stuff.

Yea - to sell these efficiently, you'd have to have someone punching the parts on a punch press, and in large quantities to get a decent discount. But with the proper jigs set up, you could blow these out - seems to be a market for them.. It appears you lay down a decent bead! Do you accept pre-orders? :icon_ banana: mikey

 

[Nolano]

We have only one welding shop in the area - that's his rate. He has 7 guys working - 4 week lead time on most projects of any size. Most of his stuff is custom railings and wrought iron fence. And I have to say - some of that stuff is spectacular! Especially the curved stuff.

Yea - to sell these efficiently, you'd have to have someone punching the parts on a punch press, and in large quantities to get a decent discount. But with the proper jigs set up, you could blow these out - seems to be a market for them.. It appears you lay down a decent bead! Do you accept pre-orders? :icon_ banana: mikey

Ah, what I meant is that's a lot more than the individual welder gets paid. IE, that rate covers everything, electricty, filler, time, gas, overhead, etc etc.

And TIG is kinda what I do.
I could redesign the stand so it's easier to build, but I don't plan to manufacture them or anything, so I probably won't. Also, this one was built from extra strips of 1"x6" 14ga sheet, so it took longer than if I'd had pieces sheared to size.

 

[MJ5150]

Even though this guy has no interest in marketing this product, hopefully someone who has welding skills or access to people who do is paying attention. There is money to be made here folks.

-Mike

 

[cuskit]

Even though this guy has no interest in marketing this product, hopefully someone who has welding skills or access to people who do is paying attention. There is money to be made here folks.

-Mike

MIKRADLE is on the job... Stay tuned... mikey

 

[droidgirl1]

Wow, can you paint it pink and add a few flowers? Might get to the female population.

 

[cuskit]

Wow, can you paint it pink and add a few flowers? Might get to the female population.

Heh Heh! Actually, I've sold better than 200 MIKRADLES to females! The Droid seems to be very popular with girls (women..). Either that, or the husbands/boyfriends buy it for them so they are a matched set!

Pink. Hmmm. Not sure about that - I'd have to take a poll...

Now flowers - yea, flower power! mikey