Opinions needed!!

[gerrymoore]

I've been trying desperately to come up with ideas to make some money from my home built CNC machine. ...so far without much success

Apart from the usual house signs, wethervanes, etc. I wanted to try and do something 'different'.

These silouettes are of me and the wife. Taken from a side view photo and converted to code and cut out of 2mm steel on my machine. They need painting.

Does anyone think there would be a market..or any ideas what might sell?

Can't get a 'job' now at my age so any help/ideas welcome!

 

[ChrisJ]

they look really nice, what about pop stars or famous people Winston Churchill, charlie chaplin, or japanese symbols....

 

[gerrymoore]

Hi Chris...think pop stars have been done..but japanese symbols sounds good! I did do a few into wood using a router on the cnc before I converted it to plasma..I'll have a look see on Goog...!!

 

[pondman]

Hi Gerry

your cut outs are a nice idea although they would need refining and painting, doing symbols and other 2d objects might work better cause you dont have to worry about depth. If I can give you any advice its just keep looking at different original idea, try making as many of them as you can and then look to exhibit at art/craft fairs where you can get feedback and possible sales. My philosophy is if you make 100 things one will hopefully get attention, just remember that a great idea is useless without good marketing.

I do inspirational talks to people starting out in business so have a lot of time for it. I lost my job and then started my business from one of many ideas.

Good luck and if you need any advise drop me a PM I'm happy to try help where I can.

Regards

 

[brokenbiker]

a nice type of art I saw recently was similar to yours, but after the parts were cut out the details were soldered or brazed in to ad a bit of colour and depth.

they had pretty much anything from guitars and motorbikes, to people, words, animals, even a no smoking logo and a welding mask

 

[dickie bell]

they look nice you could do anything you want and charge a wee bit extra for requests , running up to getting my plasma cutter i had some many things i wanted to do then when i got i was totally stumped i use it more now for general metal cutting than decorative things but i am still glad i have it. here's one for you how about decorative panels to fit over the glass in peoples front doors either inside or out ?

 

[brokenbiker]

or, on the same sort of idea, panels to fit in the gaps on some old porch's

the ones where the bottom half is breeze block and then there are usually cast iron railing type uprights holding the top on. could make panels to replace the cast iron

 

[Fergus]

Would your Plasma cutter be up to manifold flanges and so on? There seems to be no end of people making manifolds to fit bike carbs to car engines.

 

[gerrymoore]

Thanks for all the ideas lads.....The porch one sounds interesting but not sure what you mean.....can't recall seeing anything like it round Merseyside??

The manifold flanges...I should be able to cut up to 6mm maybe even 8mm with the plasma but have to be careful with the metal 'bowing' with the heat. Where would I go to find people wanting flanges made?

I've been messing with some new designs this afternoon and may cut a few out and try the local garden centres and similar to see if any interest.

One of my real problems is knowing what to charge...got to make a profit of course, especially for bespoke items, but competing with Chinese type stuff is impossible.

Still welcome any more ideas though!

 

[outofthefire]

The answer to your original question from my experience is simply yes if they're cheap enough.

 

[DrNik]

hey Gerry you look like a bit like sir winston churchill or Alfred hitchcock maybe, i'll rack my brains a bit,see what falls out

 

[Coo]

If you search on silhouette art you'll get more ideas.

You will have a fairly low cost per piece so easy enough to try a few...
Think wall art, fairys, trees....etc.....depensding how intruicate you can get, the better.

Sellling at boot sales, internet etc you should do alright.
Even try garden centres...

 

[DrNik]

i did see a guy who had done silhouettes of tractors,gone over it with a fine flap disc to make it shiny and then heat it with oxy/acet to give different colours for the wheels etc

 

[strada]

Gerry, what about hanging baskets ? I guy has 2 down the road from me.
They are pretty basic ,flat bar for the frame work and a silhouette sat on top,
The list is endless of what can be done ,fishing ,shooting, dogs,horses etc....etc...im sure you could make them look better just by using twisted square bar for the frame instead of plain flat bar.These are something i was gonna try myself but never got round to it.

 

[gerrymoore]

Thanks again guys....thinking cap is on...Hmmmm I look like Winston Churchill eh? I always thought more like Brad Pitt, Pierce Brosnan

 

[gerrymoore]

Been busy with the pc and cnc...the house number 'brought' by an eagle I like and have just had an 'order' from my sister!!

The Abbey Road figures took some doing but living so close to Liverpool I think there may be some interest in them....these are just 30cm high but I can do them much bigger too!!

The little cats are from testing the cnc...took more time than they are worth though...

 

[strada]

Looking good
The eagle is my favourite.are they made from mild steel ? If so what are you going use to stop rust ? Paint/gal

 

[gerrymoore]

Hi Strada...yes I like the eagle and I also have one with both wings swooping down that looks good......

Painting is a real problem....ideally I'd like them powder coated but it depends how much it costs...otherwise I'll have to primer and spray them with rattle cans..they are not cheap either!!

 

[Malvern]

All these are great and I love the house number being delivered by the eagle. What about a dog carrying the numbers in his mouth, lots of dog owners out there. Just a note of caution about the Abby Rd figures and any other celebrity figures for that matter, they may be subject to copyright or image rights. I may be barking up the wrong tree but It might be an idea to check rather than get a nasty letter later!
Keep trying different ideas you'll come up with a few winners.

 

[Bipestuff]

I've been thinking of a CNC plasma cutter myself for hobby work and selling some products. I've seen cutouts of scenery that have been made into an outdoor patio table. Also, cutouts that are bent into a circle for an outdoor fire pit (either for wood fire or propane). I would also consider custom cutouts for the backs and seats of outdoor (or indoor) metal chairs.