I need a guide price for a job I had done .
It basically involved a butt weld of a 350mm length of 1 3/4″ adapter to a 500mm length . All straight forward clean new stainless 304.
Weld needed a purge and passivating.
Part 2 was to literally tack 30mm of 4mm rod to the top of the 1 3/4″ tube
Parts supplied by the fabricator were 3mtr 4mm rod ( £6 – £9 online ) and 500mm of 1 3/4″ x 2mm wall tube ( £8 – £11 online ), this needed cutting to length from a 2mtr offcut he had in stock.
I know aalco and Richard Austin metals would have been cheaper.

In my mind it was a 10 – 15 minute job with zero design work or hassle.

Quote me (un)happy. nearest £ wins a pint prize

10-15minutes ……

Your not a welder or a fabricator are you ?

Im going to start at 240 quid.*

*disclaimer , neither am i a welder fabricator…..but i dabble and i know thats more than 10-15minutes work to do propper.

170 quid

He has a machine that does the welding and spins the metal.
All the user does is align the work, set the amps and press go

SO more expensive equipment than just your regular pipe welder.

At our place you’d be paying minimum £300 just for the faffage required on the job not the materials or the weld time. You a Yorkshire man.

He has a machine that does the welding and spins the metal.
All the user does is align the work, set the amps and press go

you wont get any change out of 10 k for an orbital welder

And the guys that used to do pharmaceutical pipework onsite were on two grand a day to turn up and do the business

£195 + VAT
It’s magic metal that stainless

£110 + VAT would be a betterer price though

All the user does is align the work, set the amps and press go

All I do is sit at a desk and click a mouse…

You’re paying for the kit and the skills required to use it. I’ll go with £300.

No such thing as a 15 minute welding job. You have to pay for setup too.

Faffage, setup, the skill is in there. You’ll not get em to understand skilled setup, “its just a bit of welding thats all”.

Hour minimum labour charge

£762

304 stainless has dropped in price since I last bought some.

I was paying about £20 for 1m of 2½” 16g 304 ten years ago.

As above its not 15 minutes work.

Any lathe work to square and prep the tube?

£240

how much was it then ?

£250 all in.
The anticipation is killing me 😯

one suspects it was anticipated to be a bit like any of the bike shops mechanic threads on here – “that shouldnt have been more than a pack of hobnobs and a donation to the guide dogs for the complete rebuild of your bike”

I worked in a fab shob years ago and done lots of stainless work, they used to charge £11 per inch of standard single pass tig welding, that was in the early 90’s tho.

£85 plus VAT
It took the guy less than 30 mins to make one . I know because I gave him a week to make one. He hadnt made one when I rang up on deadline day and said I’m coming round to collect, and can I have 2 please. He said OK , give me an hour.
I turned up in 55 mins and they were both finished . Hot to the touch, but finished.
So the price seems OK . I asked because I can get a coded welder to do a day on site for £300. I was expecting around £120 for the pair give or take abit.
Revs1972 wins a prize. Some Shimano spd’s ? Got some flats kicking around too, or a nice pair of 26″ tyres ? Will have a search in the spares box and make a list , juicy brake pads new?

£100?

Yay, nice to know there are fabricators out there who charge a reasonable price .

No need for a prize ? It’s the taking part that matters 😆