Art work supports and stands

[Frank Turley]

Specialization may help whether you're part time or full time. I just finished this little stand that will support a slender African, wooden, art figure. I've known two people whose work consisted of 95% this type of thing, designed mainly for collectors and retailers. The pictured one has a 3" square base and a 3/16" x 8" vertical. The work involves a little forging and some cold work. One might also be welding, brazing, tenoning, and using taps & dies.

 

[ThomasPowers]

Getting the reputation for being the go to person for oddball tasks can be very helpful as they are often high margin ( Especially if they say "I've tried 6 other places and they all laughed at me" and you can say "I'll have it done by Friday!"  Yesterday I had some old friends stop by my shop and just as they were about to leave one asked if my large screwpress could help reseat a solid rubber tire that had popped off a trailer dolly.  Three people, a selection of crowbars and screwdrivers and a large screwpress and we had helped restore happiness to a home where the trailer was stuck out on the street because the dolly had popped a tire off the wheel...)

[rockstar.esq]

Thomas,  I think you're absolutely right about higher margins for immediate attention.  I ran a motor rewind shop where we tried to always have at least one "clean bench" that was specifically set aside for urgent or small tasks.

We landed a few big accounts by being the only shop that could solve an oddball problem right away.  Many businesses were brought to a standstill when a $5.00 part failed in a crucial motor.  Getting them back on their feet quickly lead to a lot of return business and word of mouth.