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By David Monyhan, (retired)
You know the feeling: the machine you want, you can’t afford, and the machine you can afford you already have. Don’t you wish, just once, you could call up the sales representative and say “My turn, send me one of those new ‘XYZ’ machines?”
by David Monyhan (retired)
Over the past few years, I’ve written quit a few articles on how to maintain your shop machinery, but now its time to talk about how to maintain your relationships with your customer. Let’s face it…without customers we are out of business. You’ve probably heard the old saying, “all machine shops are alike and that’s just the way it is!”
I don’t think so Tim!
All machine shops are not created equal.
It’s that time of year again. The racing season is underway. Spring is here and hopefully your shop is getting busier. Before it gets too hectic, it’s time to do some spring-cleaning in your shop.
The first stop is the first place your customers will see – the front counter. Get rid of any old magazines and replace them with new ones. Clean off the counter, take out the trash, wash the windows, replace any burned out light bulbs. It doesn’t need to be spotless, but it’s your only chance to make a good first impression.
Is your shop a safe place to work? Good questions, isn’t it? What do I mean when I say is your shop safe? Let’s put everything into perspective.
One injury could potentially cost you everything. Lest you think I’m being overly dramatic, consider this … while working on an important job your top machinist gets a piece of metal in the eye. You take him to the hospital, probably spending several hours to get him fixed up. The doctor tells you that he has to take the rest of the day off – at least.
The sun is nearly back and birds have started chirping which means spring is in the air and with that comes some spring cleaning. So buckle up and read how you can get your shop together with these cleaning and organizing tips.
First off get yourself a pedometer, attach it to your belt and at the end of the day see how many miles you’ve walked around your shop. You’ll probably be surprised. Now, step back and imagine how you can reorganize your shop to reduce the distance you’re walking every day. Not only will your legs and feet feel better, your productivity will improve.
So, you finally decided it’s time for a new cylinder head machining center? Congratulations! You’ve made a great decision that will increase the profitability of your shop.
In the old days (last year) they were called seat & guide machines. They originally started out as simple drill presses modified to do two basic machining operations, hence the name Seat & Guide machine. Now they are designed to not only perform the most basic of seat and guide repair but to perform very intricate seat angle cutting, bowl enhancing, spring seat pad work and a host of other very involved machining operations. There a few that also do fly cutting of cylinder heads surfaces, or machine the intake or exhaust manifold. There are even a few that do align boring on a block. The features incorporated into these late model machines provide the operator with the most accurate set up available.