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Thinking about my future. I have a realistic possibility of living the dream...
Workshop with full metal working and wood working facilities. But what would people want me to make for them?
Obviously I'm only just starting to look into this just now. I like what I do at the moment but I would really love to be able to stop this and do the whole workshop thing. Not sure if I can make it work so I'm researching it all and hopefully I can do it...
Look at the BBQ thread - stoner may need some bits for a BBQ
Tea?
Pedals. Just like podiums but half the price.
I've always wanted a Tony Hadley Memorial Faberge Pineapple replica, fashioned from titanium
What about some attractive Mint Sauce cufflinks?
Moon on a stick made of Unobtanium 😀
Are we talking a CNC lathe/mill equipped workshop? I f so mail me in profile with details
blanks / heatsinks for home made led lights.
I need some shock bushes... and a Tony Hadley Memorial Faberge Pineapple replica, fashioned from titanium.
I was actually thinking that some sort of pistol grip bracket allowing you to use a bar mounted bike light as a torch would be useful.
Things like offset shock bushings always seem very popular. Or bespoke head badges.
Booteek niche steel or ti frames?
TandemJeremy - Member
blanks / heatsinks for home made led lights.
Moving to a seedier part of town? 🙂
Make some short sharp looking ali mudguards that clip into the underside of the headstock. I'll buy one
Anglepoise lamp made out of old rear mechs.
Get you client to supply the donor mech too.
Bits to enable headset press to deal with 1.5" headsets & press fit BBs
The wheel jig out of the Wheelpro book cos I can't be arsed to make one myself.
What about some attractive Mint Sauce cufflinks?
Gets my vote, they could even look like the actual cartoon sheep in question.
Mint Sauce cufflinks and Soapy tenners are two things that will live in my memory long after the internet has gone 🙂
Something to allow my 20mm front wheel fit snuggly into a QR specific bikeboxalan!
An adapter to convert 20mm bolt through forks to 15mm maxle.
Wasn't there someone complaining recently about certain parts for old Crank Brothers pedals being unavailable ?
Even when they are available, £13 for a rebuild kit is a bit steep.
The bearings are common enough, could you make the plastic bushes ?
If you want a more complex project, I've been thinking of making a hydraulic shifter for a Rohloff.
Some sort of small rotary pump on the bars with a small motor on the hub.
Ideally, it would need to be lightweight and fit around the bars, so that rules out any standard, steel, solid shaft pump.
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Drifts etc for various size bearings/hubs/linkages. I often wish I still had access to a lathe as you can turn stuff for next to nothing compared to the ludicrous prices manufacturers charge for 'specialist bearing tools'.
kimbers I so nearly posted that very pic 🙂
can you make me a orange 5 replica out of filing cabinets,please
no different to a normal Orange Five then 😛can you make me a orange 5 replica out of filing cabinets,please
Serious suggestion.
Do you have anything that could cut stuck seatposts out of frames?
I've always wanted a weather vane of a person riding a bike and when the wind blows his legs go up and down and the wheels go round.
* Not that I have an appropriate house for a weather vane
An internal sleeve for my trance headtube to act like a angle set - like the guy on mtbr...
Those 953 seatposts 18 bikes are doing look well lush. Can you do some of them that only cost 16p please?
"Are we talking a CNC lathe/mill equipped workshop?"
Yes. And a load of other machines.
"Do you have anything that could cut stuck seatposts out of frames?"
Yes.
A lot of interesting ideas there, thanks.
I'll be speaking with someone this weekend about running costs. I have the machines and now need to find somewhere suitable to run the operation from...
Fingers crossed...
Oh! Also, anyone any experiece of getting a business loan? I will likely need to cover my rent for a while until I get some work in.
Thanks
I think small order runs would be good, as manufacturing is pretty expensive to do small quantities as you run into minimum charges, so prototypes/small quantities, I'm sure there must be quite a big market out there for that.
You could come up with an offer for clients, they only want 2x, you make 4x and advertise it on your website, if sold they get 10% of the price or something.. Have no idea if this is feasable. We are in manufacturing and we keep stock on the shelves for customers, but the problem is sometimes they may not order for 5 years, but if it costs the same to make 5x as it does 2x, it sorta makes sense.
As above, drift sets, crown race tool, custom headtube sleeves, seatpost sleeves, emergency hangers, etc
Some kind of killer robot capable of taking over the world but answerable only to me.
I've always wanted a weather vane of a person riding a bike and when the wind blows his legs go up and down and the wheels go round.
my granddad had a cheap plastic one. was quite funny.
It would be good if you could offer a bottom bracket sleeving for frame with stripped threads. ceeway sell the sleeve so all that is required is the shell milled out slightly and the sleeve pressed in / pressed and brazed maybe?
I always dread having to out-source decent machined parts for prototype stuff. Some of the quotes I get are astronomical. If you've decent CNC miller/lathe, then invest in a CAM package & it would probably net you plenty of work if you can turn stuff around quickly. Try canvassing new start-up - hi-tech / automotive firms would probably net you a decent customer base.
Also cranks shortening / rethreading.
Longer pedal axles for spds, easy to make, should be a market for all those heel rubbing types like me...
Time machine please.
There seems to be a bit of a market for beefier mech hangers - look at the stuff on BikeRadar on steel mech hangers for the teams. Maybe an option?
Chainrings / sprockets like the HomeBrewedComponents guy?
Mounting brackets for home made lights? I've got a not-home-made LED fomr NZ that would benefit from a mount that isn't a hacked-together bodge of zip ties, a tyre lever and a Lumicycle mount. It works, but it's hardly a work of art.
Universal fender/crud catcher mount for my marin wolf ridge rear quad link and a mount for the fork brace.
Can you weld? If not would be worth learning the basics, try asking the same question on this [url= http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/index.php ]site[/url]. Quite a few of the guys on there are doing what you want to do. They seem to mainly get one off structual/architecture type jobs, good site if your in to that type of thing with plenty of examples of jobs and a friendly bunch.
Titanium pivot bolts please.
Just single alu or steel pivot bolts would be good too.
Bling bb dust covers, pretty headset caps.
I might be interested. I've recently packed it all in and started working for myself, too. I specialise in bespoke design and fabrication for museums and visitor centres so I always need odd bits machined. What kind of kit have you got?
An adjustable length stem. A quick, cheap and easy way to find what what length works best, then can be swapped out for a Thompson of the correct length. No need to worry too much about weight, adjustable rise would be nice, but a bit difficult to achieve as well I think.
Perpetual motion machine.
a collarbone made out of adamantium.