Looking for a welder (stainless steel) that can help with a project

[gvelkov]

Hello all,
I have a small scale print and sign company, based in Taunton, Somerset.
As the title says, I am looking for a welder (stainless steel) that can help with a sign project, it represents a blade of a straight razor, quite large though, x8-9 of the original size. The welder need to be relatively local so I can deliver the material.
A bit of history:
I asked couple of places and one of them was way too expensive, wouldn't fit the budget set by the customer, the other is a customer of ours (so we know each other) and we agreed a sum.
I bought the material, cut some vinyl to be applied as a template and alongside 1:1 drawing dropped that to the welder.
That was more than 2 months ago and I am chasing it ever since. It is unfortunate and frustrating as I know that this person/company is capable of doing a good job and the price was right. Either they are very busy with more profitable jobs or they have customers that ar every pushy and my projects gets on the back burner all the time.
I am not even sure what the state of the job is, he says that the elements are cut to size and tacked together but the real welding is not done yet. I asked many times for photos (as he says it is in his other workshop) but haven't had anything. Met him few times, being as polite as I can but the matter of fact is that the job is not done yet.
I need to make progress with that as it is part of a shop front, so I am kindly asking for members of this forum to contact me and give me a quote/estimate. A drawing with dimensions is attached, there is a small adjustment to the 45mm hole it is not needed to be that large, 10 to 12mm is perfectly acceptable. The material is 1.2mm, 304 Bright Annealed. It needs to be polished but not to mirror finish. That thickness was suggested by the welder, I could have purchased anything as we work with Aalco.

 

[gvelkov]

Forgot to mention that anyone that feels that can do the job can contact me, no need to be a commercial operation/company. I am aware that there are very good welders that do more artisan type of work and can do the job but that is not their main job.

 

[Agroshield]

Please could you clarify a couple of things.

In the post above, you talk of 1.2mm thick material. In the drawing, the item is 25mm thick.

It is not clear what might need welding to produce the object you want.

If you just want the item in 1.2mm thick, make a dxf of the outline and send it to a laser cutting firm. At that size, it is going to be floppy, so it will need mounting well.

If you want it 25mm thick, make the same dxf and send to a water jet cutting firm (this will be expensive). You then need either a machinist to put the bevel onto the blank or someone with lots of time/patience who could bevel it with a grinder.

If it is going on a shop front, it may not need to be fully bevelled both sides if one side is not seen, nor might both sides need to be polished.

 

[prepman]

Please could you clarify a couple of things.

In the post above, you talk of 1.2mm thick material. In the drawing, the item is 25mm thick.

It is not clear what might need welding to produce the object you want.

If you just want the item in 1.2mm thick, make a dxf of the outline and send it to a laser cutting firm. At that size, it is going to be floppy, so it will need mounting well.

If you want it 25mm thick, make the same dxf and send to a water jet cutting firm (this will be expensive). You then need either a machinist to put the bevel onto the blank or someone with lots of time/patience who could bevel it with a grinder.

If it is going on a shop front, it may not need to be fully bevelled both sides if one side is not seen, nor might both sides need to be polished.

It's fabricated from 1.2mm plate as I read it. Effectively hollow.

 

[prepman]

Hello all,
I have a small scale print and sign company, based in Taunton, Somerset.
As the title says, I am looking for a welder (stainless steel) that can help with a sign project, it represents a blade of a straight razor, quite large though, x8-9 of the original size. The welder need to be relatively local so I can deliver the material.
A bit of history:
I asked couple of places and one of them was way too expensive, wouldn't fit the budget set by the customer, the other is a customer of ours (so we know each other) and we agreed a sum.
I bought the material, cut some vinyl to be applied as a template and alongside 1:1 drawing dropped that to the welder.
That was more than 2 months ago and I am chasing it ever since. It is unfortunate and frustrating as I know that this person/company is capable of doing a good job and the price was right. Either they are very busy with more profitable jobs or they have customers that ar every pushy and my projects gets on the back burner all the time.
I am not even sure what the state of the job is, he says that the elements are cut to size and tacked together but the real welding is not done yet. I asked many times for photos (as he says it is in his other workshop) but haven't had anything. Met him few times, being as polite as I can but the matter of fact is that the job is not done yet.
I need to make progress with that as it is part of a shop front, so I am kindly asking for members of this forum to contact me and give me a quote/estimate. A drawing with dimensions is attached, there is a small adjustment to the 45mm hole it is not needed to be that large, 10 to 12mm is perfectly acceptable. The material is 1.2mm, 304 Bright Annealed. It needs to be polished but not to mirror finish. That thickness was suggested by the welder, I could have purchased anything as we work with Aalco.

I can see a lot of cons with this as opposed to pros. Weight, complexity and ultimately cost. A cheap base material (wood, grp or foam) covered in a metallic coating would be the route I'd go. Else 0.6mm ss

 

[Erie Fred]

Hello all,
I have a small scale print and sign company, based in Taunton, Somerset.
As the title says, I am looking for a welder (stainless steel) that can help with a sign project, it represents a blade of a straight razor, quite large though, x8-9 of the original size. The welder need to be relatively local so I can deliver the material.
A bit of history:
I asked couple of places and one of them was way too expensive, wouldn't fit the budget set by the customer, the other is a customer of ours (so we know each other) and we agreed a sum.
I bought the material, cut some vinyl to be applied as a template and alongside 1:1 drawing dropped that to the welder.
That was more than 2 months ago and I am chasing it ever since. It is unfortunate and frustrating as I know that this person/company is capable of doing a good job and the price was right. Either they are very busy with more profitable jobs or they have customers that ar every pushy and my projects gets on the back burner all the time.
I am not even sure what the state of the job is, he says that the elements are cut to size and tacked together but the real welding is not done yet. I asked many times for photos (as he says it is in his other workshop) but haven't had anything. Met him few times, being as polite as I can but the matter of fact is that the job is not done yet.
I need to make progress with that as it is part of a shop front, so I am kindly asking for members of this forum to contact me and give me a quote/estimate. A drawing with dimensions is attached, there is a small adjustment to the 45mm hole it is not needed to be that large, 10 to 12mm is perfectly acceptable. The material is 1.2mm, 304 Bright Annealed. It needs to be polished but not to mirror finish. That thickness was suggested by the welder, I could have purchased anything as we work with Aalco.

What is your target price ?

 

[RonMig]

So you've commissioned a welder who has the materials and agreed a cheap budget...
Sounds like you went for option 2 -

1 good & fast = won't be cheap
2 good & cheap = won't be fast
3 fast & cheap = won't be good

Now you want option 3 ???
Or is it a re-quote of the 3 options?

 

[Agroshield]

It's fabricated from 1.2mm plate as I read it.

Thanks, That makes sense.

That would be a completely sheet job to make from sheet at any price and timescale. Scaling off the drawing, the blend radius on the corners is 3mm, which is tricky with 1.2mm material.

It is 1.7m long so there would be at least four times that length of seams - say 24 feet of welding. And then you have to blend all those welds so they look consistent for that distance. The eye is a harsh judge and that would be difficult to do.

At least with something water cut from solid, you could buy one of those pneumatic chamfering tools and round over the edges (they seem to offer R2 inserts) reasonably well [https://www.amazon.co.uk/Pneumatic-Chamfering-Beveling-Trimming-Deburring/dp/B0CWV6MKT3]. Still need a big milling machine to put a 900mm long bevel onto it.

Anybody here look at michaelcthulhu on YT? It is something he would make.

 

[Morrisman]

If I were closer it would be good practice for my tig skills. 50’ of thin stainless welding.

 

[gvelkov]

Please could you clarify a couple of things.

In the post above, you talk of 1.2mm thick material. In the drawing, the item is 25mm thick.

It is not clear what might need welding to produce the object you want.

If you just want the item in 1.2mm thick, make a dxf of the outline and send it to a laser cutting firm. At that size, it is going to be floppy, so it will need mounting well.

If you want it 25mm thick, make the same dxf and send to a water jet cutting firm (this will be expensive). You then need either a machinist to put the bevel onto the blank or someone with lots of time/patience who could bevel it with a grinder.

If it is going on a shop front, it may not need to be fully bevelled both sides if one side is not seen, nor might both sides need to be polished.

Sorry, will be brief as very busy. It is hollow, weight is a constrain, only one side is visible.

 

[gvelkov]

Thanks, That makes sense.

That would be a completely sheet job to make from sheet at any price and timescale. Scaling off the drawing, the blend radius on the corners is 3mm, which is tricky with 1.2mm material.

It is 1.7m long so there would be at least four times that length of seams - say 24 feet of welding. And then you have to blend all those welds so they look consistent for that distance. The eye is a harsh judge and that would be difficult to do.

At least with something water cut from solid, you could buy one of those pneumatic chamfering tools and round over the edges (they seem to offer R2 inserts) reasonably well [https://www.amazon.co.uk/Pneumatic-Chamfering-Beveling-Trimming-Deburring/dp/B0CWV6MKT3]. Still need a big milling machine to put a 900mm long bevel onto it.

Anybody here look at michaelcthulhu on YT? It is something he would make.

The bevel where it matters can be achieved by folding or having an internal frame. The frame gives stability and something to weld on and to grind on, depending if rod or square etc.

 

[gvelkov]

So you've commissioned a welder who has the materials and agreed a cheap budget...
Sounds like you went for option 2 -

1 good & fast = won't be cheap
2 good & cheap = won't be fast
3 fast & cheap = won't be good

Now you want option 3 ???
Or is it a re-quote of the 3 options?

I went with the quote I have been given and the quote was not cheap in absolute terms. It was the cheaper of the two and it fit the overall budget. I didn't haggle, I agreed what I have been quoted. I didn't give them budget either as it would have biased the welder.

 

[gvelkov]

I can see a lot of cons with this as opposed to pros. Weight, complexity and ultimately cost. A cheap base material (wood, grp or foam) covered in a metallic coating would be the route I'd go. Else 0.6mm ss

Not really as longevity is what we want. I could have cut it in a CNC from high density PU foam and applied cast gloss metallic car wrap but you cannot beat the real thing. That only is guaranteed for 2 years. I want 10+ years. Easier to just repolish and hang back again.

 

[gvelkov]

What is your target price ?

Prefer not to say as it will put bias to the person quoting, I want to pay based on a calculations and not based on what the other welder quoted me for and we agreed. I quote customers every day for jobs, being in the business for 24 years, know how a negotiation/pricing can go.

 

[Erie Fred]

I went with the quote I have been given and the quote was not cheap in absolute terms. It was the cheaper of the two and it fit the overall budget. I didn't haggle, I agreed what I have been quoted. I didn't give them budget either as it would have biased the welder.

Prefer not to say as it will put bias to the person quoting, I want to pay based on a calculations and not based on what the other welder quoted me for and we agreed. I quote customers every day for jobs, being in the business for 24 years, know how a negotiation/pricing can go.

It looks like you already decided on a quote in post #12, so post #14 is a mystery to me.

 

[gvelkov]

It looks like you already decided on a quote in post #12, so post #14 is a mystery to me.

I was refering to the quote given to me by the person who let me down. I don't have a new quote as a result of this thread here, at least not yet. Nothing is decided as there is nothing ot base a decision on.

 

[gvelkov]

I was refering to the quote given to me by the person who let me down. I don't have a new quote as a result of this thread here, at least not yet. Nothing is decided as there is nothing ot base a decision on.

*to

 

[tigdlo]

Can it be left open at the back?

 

[gvelkov]

Not really, we don't want birds nesting in it, also it will be visible if looked straight underneath, because of the geometry of the blade. That being said, it doesn't require the same level of finishing on the back, could be rougher compared with the front.

 

[prepman]

To me it sounds more a job for a panel beater from much thinner stainless on a grp fill.? Expert on the English wheel in the house?