I am experimenting with doing welding type of work on the side as well Billy. Although for me welding is not my main career path, its just a hobby.
I kind of like the smaller, "fix-it while I wait" type projects. Here is one a customer brought me - an automotive thermostat housing that needed to have a new outlet created and repositioned, to complete an engine swap. It was real dirty (oily dirt on the outside, coolant scale completely covering the inside) and he wanted me to do it as cheaply (quickly) as possible. I cut a piece of tubing I had and fit it up to the part he brought. I put a real thick weld bead on it, but some coolant scale contamination from the inside I had a hard time cleaning caused some porosity in some areas of the bead. Still, I'm confident the weld will hold water, as the bead is quite thick all the way around. It had a pretty sloppy parts fit-up (customer kept "tweaking" the angle he wanted to the tube to be at, understandably to clear everything in a tight engine bay,) it just made it take more time that one might have guessed it would.
![Wink ;)](./images/smilies/icon_e_wink.gif)
I got a pretty irregular weld bead, but the customer said it wouldnt even be in a visible location, so didn't care if it wasn't pretty. I did inform him the weld would distort the flange, (it was actually noticeably distorted before I did any welding) and I instructed him how he could flatten it when he got home with a sanding block or a flat file. I guess I gave him what he asked for?
![Wink ;)](./images/smilies/icon_e_wink.gif)
I could tell by his face he was a little disappointed with the porosity, (he turned out to be one of those guys that wants it all, but I don't blame him), but he was real happy in the end after I put that beaded lip on there. He said his whole engine swap project has been held up for a while on just this one part, so apparently it solved a big problem.
I think being able to provide a service like that, quickly while someone waits is pretty rewarding.
![Smile :)](./images/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif)
I might continue doing this kind of work on the weekends.
These types of very small projects I like to keep real simple with billing, and just ask for a fixed rate per minute, unless there is some extraordinary materials I am using or something. I prefer not being real firm on a time estimate up front, and instead invite the customer to watch me work if they like, and track the time spent on the project together. They almost always want a general idea of how long I think it will take, before starting. The piece of tubing I cut from a section I had on hand, I could have asked for a small charge for, but decided not to (it would not have been a large fee) to keep the billing simple. I have stocked up on a variety of small pieces of material, in various thicknesses and sizes, for tackling small projects like these; it has come in real handy.