[mlind]

I made a home made cnc and it has been a lot of fun making it. Figure total invested not including time is around $800. Began making signs and selling them on Ebay and bulk orders to gift shops. So far it has paid for the machine but not the time element. But thats OK I find it relaxing and fun. Don't quit your day job is good advice.

[JB_in_Fla]

More important than just making money... Is it making ENOUGH money. Sounds like a few guys have managed to find their niche and have the skill to take advantage but the vast majority is just having fun and spending money.

With any endeavor - it's fun until it's paying the bills. Making a few hundred on the side is nothing compared to making the mortgage payment, feeding the kids and even with insurance the dentist is pretty darn expensive! Lets not forget, the wife has a standard of living she expects ;-)

[handlewanker]

Hi all, wether or not it pays is dependent on the amount of effort you apply.

That is to say, if you rely on the home job to be your sole income source, how much do you commit to getting a return?

There are lots of stories of people that work in home workshops, some making a bundle and some working two jobs.

I don't think you can compare to a paid job with a regular paycheck that pays all the bills and still lets you go away for a holiday each year, that is unless you're in a market that no one else has thought of and only you have the know how to do with a weekly work span of 40 hours or less.

Working for yourself means you need to have minimum outgoings, otherwise you need a workload that keeps you busy 12 hours a day 7 days a week.

There's not many jobs out there that pay that kind of money on the open market, otherwise there'd be a queue a mile long and we'd all be millionaires.

The biggest problem is getting started and quitting your day job.

As a hypothetical situation, how many people can get $20,000 together to get tooled up and start producing, that is if you already have a work plan that will show a return on the $20,000 more than you could earn if you just left it in the bank to earn investment interest.

Next, what can you get for your 20 grand, apart from the rental on a factory with the overheads that incurs.

So it might be that $50,000 is the starting price......where does it lead on to?
Work from home, with a welder, oxy/acc set and an old lathe, total outlay $6,000?

This has got to return you at least 30 or 40 grand per year to just survive, almost a grand a week before bills and living expenses break even.

If the work is not there, like a man walking on the beach picking up "treasure" you'll starve.

Starting your own product line by inventing and making yourself is one way to get a regular income source, provided you find that something that everyone wants and no one has thought of.
Ian.

[mlind]

My hats off to those entreprenuers who are able to run a home business while maintaining a good life style. Added to the considerations others have listed below one has to think of health care, retirement, sick leave...

As everyone knows medical insurance isn't cheap and it isn't going to get cheaper unless of course Hillary or Obama can perform healthcare miracles. ...cough cough cough... Obviously I'm pessimistic about our presidential candidates one and all.

Retirement means saving at least 10-15% of what you make for your golden years. So that has to come off the top or you may well die with your boots on trying to get out a last minute order.

Sick or injured? What if something happens and you are injured? Who will run the shop while you are in the hospital? All of a sudden family income could be at a standstill.

For me I'll stick with the daytime job. I like a steady paycheck, insurance, and matching contributions for retirement. A couple bucks on the side here and are always welcome but the idea of laying out 10-50K to start a home based business seems a bit risky...

[handlewanker]

OOOOH, all those hidden extras, commonly known as "the cold hard light of day".

You're right about the regular paycheck part, unless you hit the right button like many do and become part of employer/employee kick butts and have a key for the executive toilet retire on a golden handshake scenario.

The initial outlay is the hard part.

Anyone who commits their own hard earned money to a scheme is nuts.

By this I mean if you indulge in an enterprise and fund it by mortgaging yourself up to the hilt, pawning the family jewels etc, you are in effect risking your funds, whereas you really only want to make the parts, sell them and get a return for your sweat.

This is where an investor comes in, someone who has money that they can afford to gamble with, that will show a good return for the risk factor.

To most people this is like having someone's hand in your back pocket siphoning off the cream while you do the work, but in reality it is they who stand to lose if the enterprise goes pear shaped.

Far better to come up with a good idea and get investment dollars to float the enterprise.

I often equate going into business as going to sea in a leaky boat, most times cash is always the problem, and being overfunded, that is borrowing more than you need is as bad as not having enough to pay the crew until the work is finished.

How many times I got caught up with a customer that wouldn't settle until they were paid by someone else being paid by someone else, three months was not rare.
Ian.

[MrWild]

And sometimes you find three months down the road a multinational company is deadbeat when it comes to paying the little guy. Harder to get bucks from the big boys than the little fish it seems. In the end I decided to just make things I enjoy making. Design some one off Ohhs and Ahhs for the bike market, machine them BEFORE YOU SELL THEM and then do it again.

A problem in the bike market is fellows coming up with an idea or offering work, then getting sick or over extended. Sometimes they don't quote a job right due to naivte. Sometimes weather like the huricanes down in Florida. What ends up happening is a LOT of irate folks bad mouthing you and there goes your name down the tubes. No thanks. Seen this happen to more than a few.

Small exclusive runs. Product made before announced. Let em fight for the few peices you toss em. If you're lucky you'll break even with a bit to spare. You sure won't get rich right off the bat.

[handlewanker]

Like it has been said before, if you are in the jobbing shop one off business you really don't have an idea if the other party is going to pay up or not.

Usually the other party has a pay policy of 30 days, (if your lucky), but three months is not unknown, which means they've got your "money" in their pocket before they decide to pay out.

I usually demand payment on the spot for one off jobs, especially with the smaller operators, unless the company is known to me and has a good reputation.

For work that is a regular feature from the same company then you have to abide by their pay policy, otherwise you could lose a customer by an offensive attitude.
Ian.

[AirChunk]

After about a year and a half , some money is coming in . It has been a little bit of a learning curve . But not too bad.

[david forward]

Hello everybody:I,m looking for a wood cnc mac apx $ 40.th ,any help I used a thermwood 45 ok, but to much money. any help ?

[DIY-Guy]

In a previous post someone said they were making money with their machine. Their post shows a domain name of-

http://www.benchrestjoystick.com

Looks like his domain went belly-up. It's an "Adsense spam site" now.

Too bad... I'd have liked to see the product he sold.

[shep640]

I have a friend who owns a machine shop so he has given me stuff that he doesn't want to do. Started with a Birmingham 9 x 20 lathe. I know the 9 x 20 according to alot of people is junk however it has done me well. I have been able to buy a Dyna Myte 3000h, an Enco mill, and a Wade turret lathe all paid for by my 9 x 20 lathe. So with all the negative talk going on about machines and the economy don't believe it work hard think large.

[Moura]

In a previous post someone said they were making money with their machine. Their post shows a domain name of-

http://www.benchrestjoystick.com

Looks like his domain went belly-up. It's an "Adsense spam site" now.

Too bad... I'd have liked to see the product he sold.

Be careful that link has adware, and maybe some other harmful things.

[LeeWay]

My circumstances may be a little different I think. I came up with an idea for table saw blade guards. They started selling right out the door on the internet using just word of mouth on Woodworking Forums. Initially it was just part time of course and no cnc involvement. When I started getting behind in orders three and four weeks, then I found the zone and realized my next logical step was cnc. That started a long learning curve, but certainly helped me to produce much more. About two years ago, I was able to quit my full time job because the part time work I was doing was more profitable. I still have an 8 week lead time and have three cnc machines working for me. My son is also helping out part time now as well.
I have never spend any money on advertising, but have given some guards away as contest wins, samples for review and hard luck situations.
I have been contacted by some larger companies, clubs and magazines now about the product. I am always looking for ways to increase production as well. Hiring more people I think may be my next logical step. I am however working on another larger shed that will house the cnc machines. This would give an employee a shop that we could both work in.
My main shop now is only 16' by 16' with a couple other small sheds attached. I will keep the woodworking tools in the small shop and all cnc in the larger 18' by 22' steel shop.

I never expected to be doing this when I first made the prototype.
Find a needed product. Make it using the best materials you can. Build a name for yourself and the product. Keep improving the product by research and listening to customers feedback.
Answer all emails timely.
Make use of the Global market using the internet. Have confidnce in what you are doing a providing.
Then make plans to do something else if the bottom does ever fall out. Remember, not all your eggs should go in one basket.

[teamtexas]

Do I make money.....hmmm thats an intresting question. I have made and sold pottery tools for about the last 4 years as a side job. All my sales have been on the internet and I had to pull back on the reins abit after the 1st year because I was working about 18 hour days non stop. About 2 years ago my hands and eyes started to get oldman problems so I decided I need to automate some of the process to make production easier. It took about a year to divert enough money to build my cnc router. Not knowing exactly how I was going to use it, I over sized it. Looking back I could have made a smaller one and saved a bunch on the investment. I have been using it for about a year now and it has made my life alot easier. I don't know if its paid for itself yet but what the hell (its fun to watch).

Dan

[thkoutsidthebox]

snip.....I over sized it. Looking back I could have made a smaller one and saved a bunch on the investment. I have been using it for about a year now and it has made my life alot easier. I don't know if its paid for itself yet but what the hell (its fun to watch).

Dan

Your the only person EVER who I've seen post that their machine is too big!

[jimzelek]

I wish I had a day job!

[cncjunky]

I am making a few $100 here and there. There definately is and has been a strain for many years now on U.S. manufactures. I here alot of struggles and some triumphant stories here, but what is everbody making? Wheres the ideas? I have access to 2 buildings full of all loads of equipment, problem is ideas. A usefull thread would be " Your ideas I can use to make money".

[jimzelek]

has anybody heard of a scrubber designed and built to recycle exhaled CO2 (carbon dioxide) so divers do not have to resurface for fresh tanks, it was a pitch for a cnc lathe !

[Fastest1]

has anybody heard of a scrubber designed and built to recycle exhaled CO2 (carbon dioxide) so divers do not have to resurface for fresh tanks, it was a pitch for a cnc lathe !

I believe they are referred to as "rebreathers" also I think that is what NASA uses in the shuttle and space stations. http://www.rebreather.com/

[Cearpyday]

Time for this poll again since all the members are back together and its been a few years since the last.

Who is your favorite member? Let your voice be heard