Either an electromagnetic gadget that reduces any object's weight or a wonky time machine. /s
Is that what the thing in Primer was supposed to do? Reduce weight?
Ask HN: What can you realistically manufacture in your garage?
101–110 of 428 posts
Re: Ask HN: What can you realistically manufacture in your garage?
#102I started making jet ski tread mats out of astro turf in my garage last year. Dead simple to cut, margin is super high ($60 for a standard set of three on ~$8 worth of material), and time spent per unit from roll to package is something like 15-20 minutes. It was fun and made about $30k over the summer months but I stopped when I moved back to the west coast. I could have handled the whole operation in a spare bedroo…
My buddy did something similar.
He lived near a town where a mine had shut down a few years earlier. Him and his buddy went out and found a ton of heavy duty, industrial conveyor belts. They took as much as their two trucks could haul. Went back and cut them into lengths suitable for truck beds. Sold them at $100 a pop for any truck. Same thing. They'd just told the customer to measure their bed and they'd cut them to fit.
Not sure how much they made, but the rubber was like an inch thick, heavy enough to stay in place without any glue or tie downs and the rubber was really grippy on the one side. It was prefect for what they did with it. You could put a tool box smack in the middle of the bed it wouldn't move an inch on that rubber.
I've always wondered if you could do something similar with wholesale conveyor mats these days or if this was just a "right place, right time" kind of a deal for my friend.
Re: Ask HN: What can you realistically manufacture in your garage?
#103I have a dream of producing custom recumbents. I don't know where to get thin-walled pipes, but a start capital is roughly as you have described.
Are you going to make the old-timey recombants with the steering below the seat, unlike the modern ones with the huge handlebars? I miss those. Like this one:
https://www.cyclingabout.com/heaviest-touring-bike-ever-behe...
(I met this guy in Cambridge Mass in the 80's).
Re: Ask HN: What can you realistically manufacture in your garage?
#104You're thinking of this in reverse. First find something you want to manufacture, then figure out how to build it in your garage. Don't be the solution searching for a problem!
Isn't a job a solution to the problem of needing money?
You take stock of your skills, hit the job boards, ...
Re: Ask HN: What can you realistically manufacture in your garage?
#105The legality should interest you. I saw someone have their small business shut down by police because they were running it out of their basement. It wasn't the noise or pollution (which realistically are the nuisances you're going to be inflicting on neighbors) but the excess cars parked and delivery trucks coming and going down the street. One neighbor ratted them out. The problem with the space isn't really the cap…
I'm curious, what legal issues are we talking about here? What is not legal about running a business out of one's basement, and what law were they "ratted out" for breaking?
Re: Ask HN: What can you realistically manufacture in your garage?
#106I currently manufacturer a fairly niche product with nothing but a 7 year old $250 3d printer, some off the shelf parts, and a bit of custom electronics. Very high profit margin, as I am the only producer of this item (!). I'd love to move to a more "robust" process, but options for materials and widespread access to 3d printing provides a lot of versatility for a single-person business where I want to control the en…
How did you come to have the skills to design and build whatever it is you manufacture? I'm guessing you have a mix of mechanical and electrical background.
I always have ideas for little products (some involve electronics others not) I'd like to build, but how to go from raw idea in my head to working assembly, I'm lost on: choosing motors, control board, mechanical reliability, etc. Maybe I just need to read some ME books, but if they are like math and physics texts, there is gulf between the text how to do build something practical.
Re: Ask HN: What can you realistically manufacture in your garage?
#107Here's a tour of the late Grant Imahara's workshop. He worked on robotics and, I believe, props in there? He's got a pretty significant amount of capability -- "CNC mills, laser cutters, lathes, paints, electronics, work tables, and, of course, multiple 3D printers" -- built into a space that looks closer to a 1-car garage than a 2-car garage. edit: here's the actual link https://youtu.be/hsCSTO8SaQU
I think that's more 4 car garage than 2 or 1 car. It also has quite a tall ceiling and industrial power and ventilation hookups.
Re: Ask HN: What can you realistically manufacture in your garage?
#108Earlier quoted context omitted.
McMaster-Carr supplies thin-wall chromoly tube [0] suitable for fabricating bicycle frames. [0] tube is measured by the outer diameter; pipe is measured by the inner diameter
McMaster-Carr won’t sell to small companies, my friends and I have tried several times, only to have orders cancelled for the above-mentioned reason. It’s a shame because their website has a wealth of information (CAD drawings, measurements, etc.), one of the best I’ve seen.
Aircraft spruce sells tubing in a variety of lengths, and ship to Canada. They're a good source for tubes that don't fit normal framebuilding supply inventories. They ship to Canada directly:
https://www.aircraftspruce.ca/
I've built a bike frame with their 4130 tubes.
Re: Ask HN: What can you realistically manufacture in your garage?
#109Earlier quoted context omitted.
McMaster-Carr supplies thin-wall chromoly tube [0] suitable for fabricating bicycle frames. [0] tube is measured by the outer diameter; pipe is measured by the inner diameter
McMaster-Carr won’t sell to small companies, my friends and I have tried several times, only to have orders cancelled for the above-mentioned reason. It’s a shame because their website has a wealth of information (CAD drawings, measurements, etc.), one of the best I’ve seen.
I am a business of one and I've bought from McMaster-Carr often. A long time ago (like 25 years ago) it was harder to buy from them as a tiny company, but these days they take credit cards on an online shopping list like everyone else.
Re: Ask HN: What can you realistically manufacture in your garage?
#110I've given this advice elsewhere, and I'll give it here. Go look at the small business initiatives by each branch of the U.S. military; many are now posting lists of open contracts that you can bid on for an incredible array of things. Browse through those lists and find something you can build. I really believe the U.S. military is in the midst of a large scale transfer of military spending from traditional large de…
What type of issues are involved when you don’t deliver to the government on time?