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Ask HN: What can you realistically manufacture in your garage?

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Re: Ask HN: What can you realistically manufacture in your garage?

#211

Post by speakfreely »

sixQuarks wrote: post #183
busterarm wrote: post #181

Earlier quoted context omitted.

War happens when one of two nations assumes that they are more capable of winning than another. If you stop spending in the US and assume that Russia and China will sit idly by without invading our allies, you are living in a land of fantasy.

This makes no sense. Using this logic, why don’t more countries attack, say Costa Rica, which doesn’t even have a military? I think the OP probably doesn’t have a problem with actual defense projects, but if you’ve been paying any attention over the last 70 years, you will know that the US has attacked many countries under the guise of “defense”.

Because Costa Rica has agreed to act as a client state of the US and is protected as long as they do what the US government says.

Re: Ask HN: What can you realistically manufacture in your garage?

#212

Post by bluedino »

bombcar wrote: post #57

That size and capital outlay could be the basis for a very nice custom furniture/woodworking shop; but the skills necessary would require some work to gain. Someone is basically doing that for keyboards, though they mainly rebox/ship from China.

I know guys that make small tables in their garage and they sell for a thousand bucks each

Re: Ask HN: What can you realistically manufacture in your garage?

#213

Post by paulmd »

atourgates wrote: post #178
paulmd wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think super-niche small-run hobby/lifestyle/specialty products are the big answer if you want to monetize your skills and experience. I'm really into analog photography and I can think of several products that people (including myself) would pay for but that it's just not economically feasible for a big company to hire a bunch of people and pay them wages, health insurance, and 401ks to make, on top of the actual c…

Similarly - I was recently looking for a replacement pivot for my mountain bike, and found a machine shop in Whistler, BC (arguably the current Mecca of mountain biking) that specializes in making upgrades for parts that regularly fail in current models, as well as specialized accessories. https://pinnermachineshop.com/

Yeah! For photography there is SK Grimes who does the same kind of thing - they're really a make-to-order machinery shop who just happens to be involved in photography stuff. They have both "standard" stuff they do all the time, but if you have some novel idea that you really need manufactured, they'll do a one-off for you.

https://skgrimes.com/

Re: Ask HN: What can you realistically manufacture in your garage?

#214

Post by camtarn »

bijection wrote: post #174

A friend and I manufacture a laser party light that makes your feet glow in a space smaller than most garages. Just a 3d printer, some custom cut metal pieces, the actual electronic components and some soldering irons. [0] [0] https://toeglo.com

Hah, that's a really cute little product :)

Re: Ask HN: What can you realistically manufacture in your garage?

#215

Post by a2tech »

smm11 wrote: post #134
at-fates-hands wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 t…

"Found" a ton of heavy duty, industrial conveyor belts. On my way to the rust belt with a hackszall right now.

Might as well steal some copper while you're at it

Re: Ask HN: What can you realistically manufacture in your garage?

#216

Post by systemvoltage »

gamblor956 wrote: post #208
systemvoltage wrote: post #195

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There should be a program that's easily accessible (not behind lawyer language) that DoD sponsors: We'll buy you a CNC machine, a laptop and a bunch of bar stock on our dime if you produce these parts as per these quality requirements by this date and of this quantity. If we're happy, you can keep the equipment for your next DoD project and you'll get a priority as an experienced vendor (that we invested in).

Not understanding what the benefit to the taxpayer is for this, when right now plenty of entrepreneurs willingly take on these startup costs themselves?

Huge benefits: Increase competition, overthrow incumbents, equip populace with basic skills and manufacturing capacity in case of when shit hits the fan, cheaper parts. Downsides I can think of: Exploitation of the program through various means by bad actors. It is no different than SBA low interest loans, just instead of capital, you get machines for specific purpose. Another one is injection molding, the entire industry has been shipped overseas. IM is fundamental to producing parts in large quantities and the dark art of making molds is almost extinct in USA.

I urge everyone to study WWII history. Overnight, they converted button/zip manufacturers to making carbureator parts for Airplanes. Literally, overnight. At 8pm, they were producing mother of pearl buttons. By noon next day, they were making first batch of pins for the deflector plate.

Today's generation has no clue what happens in trying times. They need to study history to see what really happened, almost overnight.

Re: Ask HN: What can you realistically manufacture in your garage?

#217

Post by PebblesRox »

bombcar wrote: post #136
SpikedCola wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I do have a US PO Box, so I will try this next time. Thanks for the suggestion.

Those also don't usually allow "package" delivery (think UPS) but maybe something can be worked out. Some small post offices will accept a UPS delivery to "unit PO BOX number" but I don't think they're supposed to.

Some USPS locations do offer a Street Addressing option that allows for receiving parcels to a PO Box:

https://postalpro.usps.com/mailing/competitivepoboxes

Re: Ask HN: What can you realistically manufacture in your garage?

#218

Post by mmazing »

happyopossum wrote: post #192
busterarm wrote: post #181

Earlier quoted context omitted.

War happens when one of two nations assumes that they are more capable of winning than another. If you stop spending in the US and assume that Russia and China will sit idly by without invading our allies, you are living in a land of fantasy.

> War happens when one of two nations assumes that they are more capable of winning than another. That’s only part of the equation - said country needs to have a desire or need to go to war as well.

Indeed. Look at the US immediately after WW2.

Huge power imbalance between USA (sole holder of all nuclear arms), and the rest of the world.

So ... yeah, kinda proves your point.

Re: Ask HN: What can you realistically manufacture in your garage?

#219

Post by DoreenMichele »

12ian34 wrote: post #138
Panther34543 wrote: post #63

I'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…

hmm facilitating war, even if it means defence just doesn't sit quite right with me. shame we live in a world where this is even a thing

This is a hippie ideology that seems to only be held by people who live in secure circumstances that they take for granted and are oblivious to what it costs other people to create.

Hippies were the children of WW2 vets and were an entire generation who seemingly failed to understand that the world they lived in was forged at great personal cost by the previous generation and the anvil upon which it was forged was The Great Depression and WW2. The Hippie antiwar stance was like the collective voice of the subconscious of the previous generation that was deeply scarred by WW2 and wanted to just fight no more forever.

Re: Ask HN: What can you realistically manufacture in your garage?

#220

Post by camtarn »

bombcar wrote: post #161
baremetal wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

usually you find a market by scratching your own itch. helps if you have breadth of knowledge and experience in a variety of fields also. interdisciplinary solutions still have plenty of untapped market potential other than that there is no magic formula that i know of. its kind of one of those "if you have to ask..." type things.

To expand on this, make sure you itch like people with lots of money but no time/knowhow. For example, hang out at small-town airports or boat harbors, or with lawyers and doctors. If you can find some small part that would help them use their boat, then $300-500 for it might not even be an extreme price especially if they see you using it first . (This is not an argument to go buy a boat and plane).

Riders of high-end motorcycles as well. People absolutely love customising their motorcycles with things like GPS mounts, bigger/smaller windshields, auxiliary lights, footpeg extensions to make the bike more comfortable for taller/smaller riders, more comfortable seats, etc etc. The market for luggage and luggage mounts is probably quite well served, but especially for rarer or older bikes, it can be difficult to find the more obscure accessories.
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