Smart metalworkers and crafters not only make cool metal art, tools, and furnishings, they also choose a niche market and make items that are desirable in their niche. Bottle trees from rebar Napkin holders.Here Are Some Things You Can Make and Sell At Fairs, Flea Markets, Online, and Wholesale: My friend started his own machining shop in his garage and now it's a multi million dollar business with thirty employees. If you are making commercial items and parts then you need to meet the owner manager of every engineering shop in your area, put out flyers, and give out business cards at every opportunity.
Many welders sell their creations at flea markets and fairs, art shows and farmers markets.
Or you can create your own website (which I advise). You can sell your items online at eBay, etsy, ebid, Amazon and more. Usually the more difficult items and projects make the most money. Some of these are simple, some more difficult and some very difficult. Now that you are set up and ready to go, as well as broke from the expense of your setup, you need some projects to get you going.Įxperienced independent welders make and sell a variety of items. Then get yourself some plates in various sizes such as 800x800 up to 10mm thick. You can then weld metal legs to it and this would be a great start. Using 2-meter length, 150 meter wide channel. In addition what you can make is your own rack heavy tresses. Smaller tools to consider: hole punch, metal shear.Cutting torch – oxy acetylene or a Plasma, or both! You'll want the torch for pre-heating and other uses.A small press brake or Chicago finger brake.Harbor freight actually has a decent one for the money. A Hossfeld bender or something similar.Get higher end machines (Brands) for reliability and resale value. If you would rather stick or TIG weld then get a Midsized Tig or Stick welder.Mig welder – something like a Millermatic 140 or a 250 with an option to pulse.Let’s list the basic equipment to make it easier to follow:įor a more comprehensive list of tools for your shop read this article. A 4 1/2” and 7” would be the best option. If you have a 220 outlet you may want to get a more powerful machine, but for starters, most 110 machines will do a very good job, especially Millers, Lincolns, and Hobarts. Almost every welding machine manufacturer is going to have their own 110 welder. Once you have established where you will work you'll need to get the necessary equipment. This is of course the best long-term solution but unless you have the resources, it might have to wait until you make enough money to build it out. Many welders set up in their garage or build a small shed on their property and fully equip it. This requires that you have a place to do this. This would be your greatest expense in this option. If you do not have your own truck you need to buy one and it needs to be a heavy-duty truck not a small, cheap pickup. You can go to the customer instead of having to do the work at your/another’s shop. If you already have a work truck this is not that expensive of an option and it allows you to be mobile. You would only have access when the owner of the shop is not using it and that would almost certainly be outside of prime working time. In this option, you save money and potentially lose time. This option might also include using their equipment or it might restrict you from doing so. Use someone else’s shop either as a favor for free, as a bartered agreement, or pay to use their space.If you are going into business for yourself, you need a place to work and tools to work with. If you want to make money welding from home or commercially here are a few tips to get you started (this is not legal advice on starting a welding business): Setting Up Your Home Welding Shop! One of the first things you need to know and to remember is that you either don’t want to make things or fix things that might create a liability for you if your welds fail, or you should purchase commercial liability insurance. What kind of tools do you need in a home shop if you are going to make money as either an independent or a contractor? Finding a company to hire you as a contractor is the answer you might be looking for. Perhaps you would just like to work at home but not have the pressure of being very independent. Would you like to make a living at welding and do it as your own boss, working in your own at home shop? If so, what are the kinds of projects that will sell and how do you go about selling them?