Thread: How to go broke and some hot boring action.

Hi RC, I would write it up as a win, good job ( within the constraints), customer was happy, and you got paid, gained a bit of experience, but you didn't get burnt...

Doing repair work is a hard business to make money, I mostly refuse jobs involving electronic repair, unless it's some especially exotic bit of gear that can justify the time and expense. There are always exceptions, like the panicked breakdown phone calls. But most of the time, if it's consumer electronics, forget it... you usually can buy half a dozen new things ( whatever they are) for what the repair would cost.

As far as working out what to charge, just keep raising your prices until the workload decreases to a level you are happy with..

Ray

Hi Ray, I have an X2 mill, machine was vibrating, then stopped, I worked out it was a circuit board. Is it possible that the board is cracked or something else, I can't see anything wrong with it ie burns, cracks.
Kryn

Originally Posted by KBs PensNmore

Hi Ray, I have an X2 mill, machine was vibrating, then stopped, I worked out it was a circuit board. Is it possible that the board is cracked or something else, I can't see anything wrong with it ie burns, cracks.
Kryn

Ha... take some pictures and I'll give you a free quote.. Yes vibration can cause tracks on boards to crack.

Ray

Originally Posted by PDW

Define what you mean by 'right'. I have an ABN and am GST registered. Why on earth would I take on cash jobs, the implication being that I'd just pocket the money and not declare it? Every cent of my business earnings gets paid into a bank account via direct deposit or similar, I don't do cash at all, and I issue tax invoices so people can claim their GST inputs back. Then again I also don't do $50 jobs either. Mate's rates are a slab or exchange of favours of course. PDW

Maybe I should have also put in that post...DONT TAKE THIS THE WRONG WAY PDW...but i erred...my apologies

Originally Posted by eskimo

Maybe I should have also put in that post...DONT TAKE THIS THE WRONG WAY PDW...but i erred...my apologies

No worries, I'm not fussed. I've seen people do the 'cash job' thing and if you're small scale, nobody really cares (until maybe you want to sell your business and all of a sudden the registered income stream looks sick). I'm pretty small scale but I simply don't want to think about possible problems with the ATO, and 95% or more of what I do is business to business anyway so they claim my invoices as tax deductions. No advantage for them to pay cash with no receipt. In RC's position he has many tens of thousands of dollars tied up in machinery that can be depreciated and consumables written off if and only if he can show that he's making money with it. I can't really see how small off the books cash jobs help. Now hobbyists doing cash jobs for each other, not a problem at all. I just prefer to work on the barter system myself. PDW

Originally Posted by PDW

if and only if he can show that he's making money with it.

Well no, it just has to be business related... Tax dept is not interested in telling you in what you should spend your money on with your business, provided it is related to your business and even then it may be a grey area... Like negative gearing for example...

I could go out and buy a $100 000 car for business purposes and it would be equally tax deductable even though I could make do with a $5000 one..

Originally Posted by .RC.

Well no, it just has to be business related... Tax dept is not interested in telling you in what you should spend your money on with your business, provided it is related to your business and even then it may be a grey area... Like negative gearing for example... I could go out and buy a $100 000 car for business purposes and it would be equally tax deductable even though I could make do with a $5000 one..

Try making a loss for an extended period and see how you go.... sooner or later you need to show a profit. Off the books jobs don't help in this. Also if you get audited you can have some serious issues with equipment not related to the business. A software designer with a penchant for buying machine tools comes to mind, as an example...... never been audited so far and there's nothing they can find if they do but I do not, for example, buy boat bits and claim them as a business expense. However I'm working on a plan in that area as cross-subsidisation can work. PDW

Its one of those things, if you are sensible then its surprising what can be claimed without standing out too much.

Doing custom manufacturing requires all manner of toys, tools and materials. Then there is the maintenance of ones gear; cant buy some bits for the really old stuff. Mods to equipment to do certain jobs ... it goes on.

Just doing some testing of the borer in this linked vid...

it is a 35mm drill through some 40mm think scrap I had..

No pilot hole....

Then a bit of boring using the travelling spindle...

It is not a very exciting vid, but here it is none the less. https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/...ing%20rt25.mp4

Certainly a healthy boring cut there laddie!

Not boring, but some drilling action...

2" drill..60rpm or so... 13mm pilot hole drilled first

Sounds sweet under load...

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/...20drilling.mp4

Nice! You just love to tease me with that thing don't you

Are the larger drills more taper shanks, or how are you holding them?

Originally Posted by .RC.

Not boring, but some drilling action... 2" drill..60rpm or so... 13mm pilot hole drilled first Sounds sweet under load... https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/...20drilling.mp4

I could drill holes that big with my Arboga RAD.....if I had a 2" bit. Muttering off to the workshop....... PDW

Yea and I only paid $20 for the 2" and a 35mm bit.... Off ebay... And it also had a 4 morse female, 3 morse male adapter included..

I was pretty happy when it all turned up.. /rubs it in a bit