Chassis plates

[mr henderson]

Originally Posted by Bonzo

It will cost several k's a month for the running costs of even the smallest industrial unit & that is before you pay any staff wages.

Cornwall must be a bit dear, round here you can get a decent (not the smallest, maybe 1,000 sq ft) unit for £11K pa, add say £4K for rates and maybe £2.5K insurance plus a pessimistic £1K for water etc and you would only be looking at £1,500 a month.

No argument witht he rest of what you said though

Cornwall is a bloody expensive place to live and work in, one of the highest on council rates and water rates, as for business rates ummmm it's complete con because you get "jack" for yer hard earned...But 5 minutes down the road and I'm messing about on the water trying to stay on a waveski

Off topic a bit but I had a westy bonnet to repair recently as new they are £330 for the V8 version... Now it's smaller than the Roadster ones yet costs nearly 3 times more....£250 for a nosecone
Now I would be laughing if I could get that kinda money for what is basically the same thing yet get told I'm expensive......!
My wave skis retail at around the £600 mark with no where near the same amount of materials or graft to actually make them....which to me is a no brainer....kit car or wave ski?......errr wave ski

[Bonzo]

You forgot the electric

Only kidding.

Yes Cornwall is very expensive for small industrial units on decent sites.

We also have the highest water & business rates in the country

You have to admit, even at 1.5 k a month before wages it'll need a good steady turnover of low volume parts to sustain the business.

The very reason I choose not to take the plunge, probaly the wrong choice but with my health going tits up, it turned out to be the right one for me personaly

[mr henderson]

Originally Posted by Bonzo

You forgot the electric

Only kidding.

Yes Cornwall is very expensive for small industrial units on decent sites.

We also have the highest water & business rates in the country

You have to admit, even at 1.5 k a month before wages it'll need a good steady turnover of low volume parts to sustain the business.

The very reason I choose not to take the plunge, probaly the wrong choice but with my health going tits up, it turned out to be the right one for me personaly

Actually I didn't forget it, I was just counting the stuff that you had to pay anyway, standing costs so to speak. You wouldn't use any electric if you didn't sell anything, it's more of a running expense that you would expect to go up as your sales go up.

But there's no doubt that being in business is bloody expensive and it's something that many (most?) customers just don't realise.

Fabby's example of the Westfield bonnet is a good one, it shows that it's all about perception. Firms like Westfield attract the kind of customer who wouldn't even think of making their own stuff, if they need some thing they just buy it. I know they assemble the kits they've bought but it really isn't the same thing as tackling a Locost or Haynes build.

That's the reason I am distancing myself from the Locost thing. I thought of getting more involved but there really is very little scope for making money when the whole reason why the customers are getting into it is to save money.

[Tilly819]

well i spose il add my 2 pence

I scrounged all my 1 3 and 5 mm plate for free got a few hack saw blades and ulta thin slitting discs and a couple of hole saws fow making lighting holes in the diff mounts...... i recon my chassis plates must have cost me the grand sum of about 50quid including pedal box etc and a few extras that are not in the book, and it didnt actualy take that long to make them all.....did them before i started the chassis so the chassis was just straight assemby without to much fab

however i must agree with evryone elce 3Ge are Very good
And have very very very good customer service which is something you cannot buy.

Tilly

[RAYLEE29]

just my 2p's worth all my chassis plates are made form bits of scrap from the local scrap metal dealers
I go there don a hardhat and vest look around pick up a few bits and pay £1 a kilo for mild steel my build cost is currently only twice what your quoting for the chassis plates
it can be done on the cheap but it will take longer
the choice is yours chaps
Ray

[londonsean69]

I have to visit a steel fabricators for work next week, so will be asking for a look in their scrap bin!!

I have cut a lot of my own, but the 10mm stuff, and the 5" pipe are from 3GE.

Sean

[ACE HIGH]

Buy yourself a top of the line Bosch jig saw.Use only the Bosch blades, learn how to set it. I use say speed 2 out of 5.The blades are about $3 NZ dollars.I have tried the same Bosch blades on 2 other "named brands"same settings,not as good.My Bosch saw was purchased in 1996,so good is it that I immediately sold my old oxy/acetelene set and purchased a new oxy/propane set(LPG) that I have a BBQ bottle for that I own,no more acetelene to rent or buy.These saws will,with sharp blades easily cut 6mm plate,3mm easy,6 mm is the recommended limit.I have cut 4 metres of 10 mm plate at a time with mine but DONT recommend it,I rested it between cuts to stop it burning out.I own 2 of the jigsaws,no more crude gas cutting for me.No way will you ever earn money unless you are a brain surgeon or politition,to replace your time,plus of course you can do it in your spare time.As I keep saying on my post's,be a builder not an assembler and gain some real world skills,any one can assemble a car out of ready made parts but think of the satisfaction of learning and doing it yourself,plus of course it will be much easier on your home life if you are married with kids!!David

[ACE HIGH]

Now this will stir you along!,40 years ago myself and my mates would have all scribed out the lines for these plates,drilled holes(3mm)around them all including 10/12 mm and hacksawed and ground them all of and thought nothing of it.We had no money and it would have been the only choice,and we would have made a neat job.Some of you guys on this forum must have more money than you know what to do with or you are getting soft!!!David

[HandyAndy]

some of us still do what you say you did 40 yrs ago,

andy
ps, as you know from previous posts, my build budget is mega tight