Welding Tips and Tricks

Hey DLewis, that's such a cool picture!! Thanks for posting that. I'd be very proud too regardless of the grade they passed. Our society puts so much insistence on education and that's ok but it goes nowhere if you can't do what pays the bills. Wouldn't matter to me that he didn't go too far in school his work would speak for itself. Thanks for the replies too.

For getting your feet wet I have attached a pic of what my guys tease me is my "part timers' rig. I can easily throw it on and off my truck anytime I want with a forklift or OH crane. If you shop right you can put this together for about 10-12k and handle a lot of service oriented stuff. Combine that with a decent used truck for another 10-12k you are in business with a pretty small investment.

This by no means would be a setup to go and pipeline. I would not roll up with nothing but my "real rig" with the SA on it for that. But this little setup can make you money and it only has a 4ft x 4ft footprint.

Easy way to test the waters is to go part time. I've been doing it for about 4 years now. I'm not quitting my day job since I'm less then two years from retirement (gov job) and am looking forward to drawing that pension. Once I pull the pin, I plan on welding to supplement my retirement check. Not sure yet if I will go all in with a 40+ hr a week shop or try to keep it low key to keep some fishing time open. So far I have made good side money and really have more work than I want simply from word of mouth. I've been able to pay for a lot of new equipment and still have "mad" money to support my dirt bike habit.

+1 on the fishing time. I've been doing a little part time stuff and I really enjoy it. My dad says to go all out but my job pays good and it's not that bad so I think just doing what you guys suggested would work fine for me. This is a picture of my trailer. I painted it since I took the old ranger 8 off to have it serviced. I used galvanized strut for the rails so I would have a spot to put a strap anywhere.

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I started my electrical business in 2010. I really did not want to run a business and it was part time at first...as time went on I could not keep up and it made no sense to stay with my boss. my advice, try and let it grow organically. Don't force it. As someone else said, you need to have a skill that people need first. You should also build up your tools as needed and as you can afford. I know welding is different than electrical in some ways. If you need a loan you need it, but I have seen many young start ups run to the bank and buy all new tools and trucks and then go under. I have never pulled a loan and I have 50-75k worth of tools. Example. I bought a $8k thermal imager for 1k on eBay. Again good welding equipment is hard to buy used but all I'm saying is let it grow. Cheers best of luck.

Thats a good idea and one I've sort of settled on. It might take a few years to mature but I've got nothing but time really. My job is doing fine so no worries. It does feel good to have a little something to fall back on if need be.
Also, that was not SPAM!! Haha