Average cost for welding on a hoop?
- Thread starter edelweiss
- Start date
o1marc
Over 1,000 Posts
My local machine shop gets $60/hr. Hoop cost what, $50? Looks like 15 minutes at most to weld it. So if they made the hoop and welded it, $100 would almost seem unreasonable. If they told me $400 I think it would be awhile before I had a good word to spread about them. Then I would hope I had some parts to sell to the fool that paid $400 to have the hoop welded on.
cqyqte
Grumpy retired oldtimer... "eat a Snickers bar"
When people come to me asking how much to weld this or that I tell them I don't know. The reason is each job has it's own specific criteria, such as fit, preparation, purpose, intended use, and expectations. The hoop on a cycle seems pretty simple and for the most part is. But if the welder runs a business he has liabilities and will probably want to do the job right, which involves bevelling the two edges for more positive penetration, using a slug or pig to bridge the weld to ensure strength equal to the strength of one continuous piece of tube. Using a pig requires holes drilled in the frame to allow the pig to be welded back in away from the seam. All this adds up in time and materials, and from the welder perspective that money. Yes he could just tack the hoop in three or four spots to hold it in place then run a bead all the way around without the bevelling or pig and say there you go, leaving the cycle owner to clean up the weld smooth and pocket 20 bucks and forget it, until a year later when the weld potentially fails and the family comes knocking on his shop with legal action sighting responsibility.
I know we are talking a hoop and what are the chances, but smart businessmen have to think this way in order to protect themselves and their reputation. I weld myself and I have a saying that I follow religiously on all my builds, "If it is a structural part that must not fail get it welded by a certified welder, because you can't sue your own ass if and when it does!" Yes this is a rant and I don't want to start an argument over who's right or what are the chances. I believe if you want to create a custom ride, but can't afford to do it right then DON'T start, cheatiing, taking chances, doing it on the cheap, sooner or later will come back and bite you in the ass. :-\
I know we are talking a hoop and what are the chances, but smart businessmen have to think this way in order to protect themselves and their reputation. I weld myself and I have a saying that I follow religiously on all my builds, "If it is a structural part that must not fail get it welded by a certified welder, because you can't sue your own ass if and when it does!" Yes this is a rant and I don't want to start an argument over who's right or what are the chances. I believe if you want to create a custom ride, but can't afford to do it right then DON'T start, cheatiing, taking chances, doing it on the cheap, sooner or later will come back and bite you in the ass. :-\
400. Lol.
Post above. Ya, sure, technically right if you were welding 3/8" material. With a garbage mig machine. Maybe. And there was real stress or pressure being put on it.
My directions:
Clean joint, no bevel, 1/8" gap and a mig will get full penetration. No plugs. Weld 1/4 turn at opposite ends to minimize pulling. Relax the weld with a torch if you really think you need to.
Sources: welding tickets.
Also wouldnt recommend doing this for your first weld! Or at least make a few practice runs until you are happy with the result.
Good luck!
Post above. Ya, sure, technically right if you were welding 3/8" material. With a garbage mig machine. Maybe. And there was real stress or pressure being put on it.
My directions:
Clean joint, no bevel, 1/8" gap and a mig will get full penetration. No plugs. Weld 1/4 turn at opposite ends to minimize pulling. Relax the weld with a torch if you really think you need to.
Sources: welding tickets.
Also wouldnt recommend doing this for your first weld! Or at least make a few practice runs until you are happy with the result.
Good luck!
ApriliaBill
Yeah...I'm old school.
stidds said:
This is how I look at any repair. If the repair plus cost of tools is less than shop rate, that's how I go. That way the repair is done and I have added tools to my collection that later get loaned out to friends to save them $. Between me and my friends, I think we have the tools to build pretty much anything from scratch.... Recently was on the phone listening to somebody complain about an engine job, I said you can use my stand and hoist if you need to, he was flabbergasted that I owned these things, I told him "Hell I even have a pressure washer to clean things up". saved him a ton of $...
edelweiss
Coast to Coast
ApriliaBill said:
I'm with you there. I just spoke to my local welder who promised to call me for the last 3 days. I had to stalk him to get an answer on the price. I was told:
1. "Oh, I've never done that"
2. "My rate is $85/hr"
3. "You will need to bring the bike to my shop" (My bike is apart and in a nice heated shed... he has a truck he can roll up with)
This of course does not include the cost around making a seat pan which I am sure he has never done either. Surprising, his wife said he owns a Harley.
So just another example of yet another contractor with little or no work ethic to get back to me. So I will be hitting Sears and getting my own damn welder, angle grinder, and sheet metal for what this guy would charge in the end and have something to show for it.
