Skip welding.

[evobilly666]

We have just closed our skip repair workshop down to be fair. A new 6yd skip can be brought painted for £700-£800 notes. Most of the bigger repairs ran into two days (new floor, tip bars and sides about 6" up). This was in a workshop with overhead gantry, plasma and a decent sized mig. When you factor in labour, steel, consumables, electric and paint you were close to the cost of a new skip. We outsource small repairs now and scrap the bigger skips.

The issue for us was that an experienced fabriactor commands a decent wage, especially to be working on rusty old skips. This would put them on a higher wage than their manager. A less experienced fabricator on an average salary could not work efficiently enough to make it pay. This is just our experience and how our directors analyse all costs quite ruthlessly.

 

[Ed.]

I did a day welding for a company to weld up a new skip a few years ago, the only odd bit was with the lifting pins as they were Hi-tensile steel pins and they were pre-heated before welding. Apart from that it was all just basic quick welding, with the emphasis on quick! All the sides were downhill welds and they were more concerned with the speed of the welding rather than the quality of the welds.

Apparently the profit margins were almost non existent so I couldn't figure why they even bothered to agree to doing them, they should have negotiated a more reasonable margin and then do it properly or pass on the job would be my view.

 

[Ton-up]

Apart from that it was all just basic quick welding, with the emphasis on quick! All the sides were downhill welds and they were more concerned with the speed of the welding rather than the quality of the welds.

Apparently the profit margins were almost non existent so I couldn't figure why they even bothered to agree to doing them, they should have negotiated a more reasonable margin and then do it properly or pass on the job would be my view.

A mate of mine builds a few skips, cuts them out on his plasma table, then tacks them up, turns his welder right up and is welding at a literally walking pace! Quantity not quality in the skip trade!!

 

[cianh91]

Iv found with skip company’s near me it’s not usually about cost as much as keepin bins goin out during busy periods

 

[davidjohnperry]

Hey guys I've done a few hundred skips still doing them as my side gig. u need advice give me a shout pm me but although it's got no standard i still weld to a certain criteria butt welds done properly lap and things. I post a lot on Instagram if you need starting out tool wise advice I can suggest a good 500 pounds worth for ppe and tools that have lasted me since I started

 

[davidjohnperry]

Just read the first comment sorry think your 150 welder might not be man enough my Kempi 180 is just about good enough for tacking going full on weld mode cuts out in 4 mins I still stick weld floors and stuff in and tipping eyes .

 

[Revs1972]

Is it the smaller lift on type skips you are repairing or the larger roll on roll off jobbies.
We made a roll on roll off a few years back and was quite a complex thing to fabricate

 

[davidjohnperry]

They are ball aches to repair or fabricate anything over a 12 yard becomes more difficult to work with

 

[bigegg]

Is it the smaller lift on type skips you are repairing or the larger roll on roll off jobbies.
We made a roll on roll off a few years back and was quite a complex thing to fabricate

I have no idea.
Will be going over next weekend for a look around, and see whether I actually want the job...

 

[bigegg]

Just read the first comment sorry think your 150 welder might not be man enough my Kempi 180 is just about good enough for tacking going full on weld mode cuts out in 4 mins I still stick weld floors and stuff in and tipping eyes .

Worst case, I'll take my Oxford.

 

[bigegg]

Just read the first comment sorry think your 150 welder might not be man enough my Kempi 180 is just about good enough for tacking going full on weld mode cuts out in 4 mins I still stick weld floors and stuff in and tipping eyes .

I only do stick welding.
The minx copes with sticking 5-6mm angle together all day, can't see why it wouldn't cope with long runs of 3mm?

But - I haven't seen the job, and it's outside my previous experience, so I'll bow to yours.

 

[davidjohnperry]

U will do fine buddy if u ever ever get stuck give I a shout I'll try to help out best I can

 

[dannyp]

skip bashing is a mig job, did a few when i had some cashflow problems, to make it pay your welding FAST

i had the wire feed up high probaly +15m/min on 1mm volts on the point of nearly blowing holes 300A murex was smelling warm and conplaning by the end of the day

 

[owas]

skip bashing is a mig job, did a few when i had some cashflow problems, to make it pay your welding FAST

i had the wire feed up high probaly +15m/min on 1mm volts on the point of nearly blowing holes 300A murex was smelling warm and conplaning by the end of the day

I use 300amps on 2.5mm steel when the job needs to be done fast (steel scaff boards not skips)

 

[Pete.]

I know the skip lifting equipment comes under LOLER and requires 12 month inspection, but not sure if the skip and its construction are supposed to be inspected to the same standards.

They aren't yearly tested just for loading on to the wagon on the chain lugs. But they must be if they are lifted by crane. For that they must have lifting eyes welded and never lifted by the lugs. Also use have the max weight marked on the skip along with a unique identification number, plus of course 12 month thorough examination.

 

[davidjohnperry]

skip bashing is a mig job, did a few when i had some cashflow problems, to make it pay your welding FAST

i had the wire feed up high probaly +15m/min on 1mm volts on the point of nearly blowing holes 300A murex was smelling warm and conplaning by the end of the day

It is a MIG job but if the users only got a 150 amp MIG it will hit the duty cycle quite quickly I mig all my stuff now but when I started it was all I had

 

[dannyp]

It is a MIG job but if the users only got a 150 amp MIG it will hit the duty cycle quite quickly I mig all my stuff now but when I started it was all I had

i started with simalar kit, tbh i still have quite a bit of small kit but its just been joined by big reinforcements, i rember trying to do stillages with a mini mig probaly earnt 50p in the day, called it a sod it bought the murex 300 for £150, went from not managing to do 1 stillage ( and doing it badly ) with a lot of stressing to smashing out 5 easly with lots of cups of tea and nattering.

same thing with narrow boats theres a guy working his **** off completly inefeectivly but hell he was trying hard sort of felt bad about takeing the work off him but i think we both learnt lessons that day, he needs the right kit, and if i floats i should charge a hell of a lot more. he was doing a lot of work on a narrowboat basicly with a 200 ish amp singel phase multi prosses welder and a 9" grinder, and he'd been there for a couple of weeks, i rock up to do another boat nearby with lincon vantage, wire feeder and big plasma, to do pritty much that same job and 2 days i'm done.

i was prably running about 7-8 K's worth of kit to do the job as opposed to about 1-2 K 's worth, his power is free mine isn't, consumabale wise mine much more expesive as flux core is about £100 a roll compared to £15. tho i recon i was winning on gas ( i obviously running higher flow rates but depostion rate so much higher i recon i woud have used a lot less gas ) turned out i'd charged less but done a lot better out of it. so gettign the right kit dose pay, problem is you can end up buying stuff you don't really need

 

[owas]

i started with simalar kit, tbh i still have quite a bit of small kit but its just been joined by big reinforcements, i rember trying to do stillages with a mini mig probaly earnt 50p in the day, called it a sod it bought the murex 300 for £150, went from not managing to do 1 stillage ( and doing it badly ) with a lot of stressing to smashing out 5 easly with lots of cups of tea and nattering.

same thing with narrow boats theres a guy working his **** off completly inefeectivly but hell he was trying hard sort of felt bad about takeing the work off him but i think we both learnt lessons that day, he needs the right kit, and if i floats i should charge a hell of a lot more. he was doing a lot of work on a narrowboat basicly with a 200 ish amp singel phase multi prosses welder and a 9" grinder, and he'd been there for a couple of weeks, i rock up to do another boat nearby with lincon vantage, wire feeder and big plasma, to do pritty much that same job and 2 days i'm done.

i was prably running about 7-8 K's worth of kit to do the job as opposed to about 1-2 K 's worth, his power is free mine isn't, consumabale wise mine much more expesive as flux core is about £100 a roll compared to £15. tho i recon i was winning on gas ( i obviously running higher flow rates but depostion rate so much higher i recon i woud have used a lot less gas ) turned out i'd charged less but done a lot better out of it. so gettign the right kit dose pay, problem is you can end up buying stuff you don't really need

What sort of stillage is that?
We manage about 200 a day between 4 of us

Found someone reselling ours.

http://r.ebay.com/oxSokw

 

[Kent]

Once used to make new skips with lids for the local council. Lots of tacks on those long welds - because the gaps will open.150 won't have the duty

Repairing
Get them properly cleaned and wear a mask
Tack n whack will bring most seams back together

 

[dannyp]

What sort of stillage is that?
We manage about 200 a day between 4 of us

Found someone reselling ours.

http://r.ebay.com/oxSokw

big bigger and much more of a twerp to make than that, been a while since i've had the displeasure of makeing them.
8ft wide 4ft deep 3 ft high, base made of rhs 80x40 with 2 80x160 rhs in for forklift times, rest of its 40x40 then then 4 sides and base have weld mesh welded on the inside. there for stacking in kilns for drying wood in