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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?

#281

Post by jimmygrapes »

bladegash wrote: post #250
jimmygrapes wrote: post #204

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, see my other comment here, but you make a good point about the definition of "owned" - it can't just be a name, it has to be a legally binding level of control over the operation s and finances. Unfortunately there's not really any standard metric for that which is enforceable. Claiming a preference can be fraud, and is often abused, but... in reality, nobody's really checking unless there's a justifiable reaso…

Of course, and you are right on many/most accounts. However, it is worth mentioning that it is definitely a dangerous game to play, even if the government doesn’t do anything. Government contracting world is pretty cut throat and all it takes is a competitor, a partner, or an employee catching wind of the foul play and you make your company pretty vulnerable to a few things: 1) extortion for work share (e.g., a partn…

Oh yeah, if someone else catches wind and argues, you're screwed as a contractor unless you can back it all up well. This is the dark side, the crab bucket, which often results in "the big guys" getting the contract in the end.

One simple example is a time I was trying to by doors. Simple doors, no special requirements, just doors, materials and installation, with knobs requiring a keyed access. The chosen provider bid properly, gave their description of key control and associated maintenance ("who has keys and what happens if we lose the keys"). Small business, local, etc. won the award. Competitor had a fit and submitted (after award) significant proof that the winning bidder was falsifying their minority owned status and had changed their business name several times to avoid previous poor past performance marks. TLDR the complainant was right, and eventually won the award.

It doesn't take a lot to get ruined, so please, just be honest. If you aren't, someone will know.

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

#282

Post by [deleted] »

12ian34 wrote: post #241
DoreenMichele wrote: post #219

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 Th…

My country was actually raped, pillaged and involuntarily ruled by the British for a very long time. I am no child of a WW2 vet. There is a world outside of the United States of America. Please take your derogatory chat elsewhere. In another comment in this thread I pay respect to those that have fought in wars. You are reading too much (or perhaps too little) into my original comment and combining that with small mi…

[deleted]

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

#284

Post by bijection »

anewpersonality wrote: post #233
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

Where do you purcahse the laser beam from

We buy them wholesale from various Chinese manufacturers. I believe the first ones were through Alibaba or Ali Express.

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

#285

Post by csteubs »

Unbeliever69 wrote: post #165
csteubs wrote: post #53

I 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…

Out of curiosity, how did you determine which skis you'd make mats for? Did you have to generate your own templates? Also, where did you sell?

My first prototype was for my own ('98 Kawasaki STX900) so I just asked if anyone was interested buying a set in a Kawasaki forum I frequented heavily. When custom orders started coming in I just asked for a picture of their current footwell/tread mat and cross-referenced measurements online. I erred on the side of leaving some models larger so the customer could trim it on their end, but the majority follow a really general form.

I sold about 70 through the forums, 300 from word of mouth, and another 250 on eBay. They make 90's-era skis really lean into that Dixie-cup aesthetic and they work surprisingly well, so a customer's buddy or dock neighbor would ask and I'd catch a referral that way. I think I priced them just right too.

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

#286

Post by thepasswordis »

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…

Link to the list.

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

#287

Post by lostapathy »

corrral wrote: post #33
marpstar wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In reviewing neighborhood covenants whilst searching for a new home, I was surprised to see some of them make explicit the fact that running a business in your home is allowed, provided that it doesn't generate significant traffic/parking.

Gotta have a carve-out for the folks participating in an MLM scheme out of their house. They're quite popular. Of course it also benefits remote tech workers who have an LLC or whatever. And handymen, et c.

There's also the angle of "we told you what kind of harmless businesses you can have, and automotive repair isn't on the list, so you can't do that even though the rules don't explicitly say so".

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

#288

Post by systemvoltage »

gamblor956 wrote: post #270
systemvoltage wrote: post #216

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 ind…

Your reply in no way addresses my question...

Why not, as a taxpayer, my interest is in defense of the nation and getting more “bang for the buck” so to speak :-) instead of giant defense companies milking billable hours.

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

#289

Post by dcj4 »

systemvoltage wrote: post #195
mikodin wrote: post #156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is what my Dad does...and he has a lathe in the garage typically producing things for helicopters and airplanes.

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).

The issue with CNC machines is that one error in your code can and will easily crash one part of the machine into another part of the machine and thus break it. Often requiring a technician from the company and a bunch of spare parts to fix it, which, trust me, is never cheap. So giving a CNC machine to just anyone without proper training is quite a bad idea.

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

#290

Post by dls2016 »

azhenley wrote: post #263
dls2016 wrote: post #252

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The SBIR program is essentially what you describe… though with a research bent. Virtually zero red tape with a Phase I grant (apart from the application itself).

SBIR grants require a lot of expertise about the arcane application process. There’s an entire service industry around helping businesses apply. The companies that I’ve seen be successful at it hired several people with SBIR experience specifically to handle the grant proposals. I had 3 successful NSF proposals and could not have done it without an experienced team helping me just with the legalese and process.

My buddy and I did it last year. I wouldn't say you need a whole team. We picked an area and spent a two years honing an idea. He is a retired Air Force officer and had some contracting experience from the other side. I have a PhD in an unrelated field (math), a handful of papers and one unsuccessful NSF attempt. He learned all the application rules and took care of 100% of that stuff. I formulated the technical proposal and work plan, wrote the budget and the bulk of the technical writing.

My partner reached out to a few small business development centers but, while they were very eager to help, we ultimately received only very minor feedback and a general thumbs up. I'd say in the two years it took us to hone a winning technical proposal, my partner was able to become somewhat of an expert in the rules. During that time we also applied for a non-SBIR government grant, unsuccessfully, where we lost a lot of points for being a 2-man team. If you're willing to put in the time, it's very doable to write an application which follows the rules.

In fact, I'd say one thing we ran into was finding ourselves "inventing" rules because we were overly cautious with our compliance to what we thought were the rules. The application truly is the most difficult part of compliance for a SBIR Phase I.

The problems with our Phase I were purely technical. We weren't able to advance the state-of-the-art enough to be able to write a convincing commercialization plan. And I don't think there was any consulting firm we could have hired to fix that problem.

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