Another Try: Tinkerer Wanted

your request as I read it You want a guy with

expert in the direction of sourcing unique

machine shop with the appropriate skills to make use of

testing and failure analysis for the correction of

equivalent to 40+ years of experience and education.

meets these qualifications and currently earning 6

request. So I respectfully request you consider

others, as well as myself, think you are looking

I think he is looking for a retired guy with above qualifications that is bored to death.

Wes

To clarify, let me refer to the tracer and bubble machine photos. I would say building versions of those would not require the high level of experience that you mention. Mostly I'm trying to convey I don't have a detail part drawings, just informal layouts to work from. The electronics part was kind of vague, I'll admit. I mean pretty basic putting together off-the-shelf components. I don't mean to say a person has to be able to build electronics; that's just a possible future project. Joel

It would be impossible for any guy with these qualifications to be bored to death. He'd have a list of his own projects a mile long. I don't quite meet the bill and I know I'll never reach the end of my project list.

Karl

Joel, I'm not sure I have interpreted your request correctly, but I will translate your request as I read it You want a guy with mechanical and electronic engineering expertise. Who must also be a logistics expert in the direction of sourcing unique prototyping material. In addition, should also have access to or use of a machine shop with the appropriate skills to make use of this access. It also appears you also wish this person to do development testing and failure analysis for the correction of initial engineering errors. Off hand, I would grade this level of knowledge equivalent to 40+ years of experience and education. For these services, you want to pay this person a small wage. As a person that meets these qualifications and currently earning 6 figures, I find this insulting.

Now perhaps I am incorrect and you really didn't mean what I read in your request. So I respectfully request you consider rewriting your requirements, because it appears your lack of responses indicate others, as well as myself, think you are looking for a free lunch. Steve

thought some may have missed it.)

your request as I read it You want a guy with

expert in the direction of sourcing unique

machine shop with the appropriate skills to make use of

testing and failure analysis for the correction of

equivalent to 40+ years of experience and education.

meets these qualifications and currently earning 6

request. So I respectfully request you consider

others, as well as myself, think you are looking

Doesn't hurt to try, right?

"Big bucks" is vague. Joel may correctly regard $150/hr as a bargain for the services he describes. Some retired guys with the requested skills might be interested in some of that to feed the toy budget. I might even be one of them during winter months. I definitely have the skills he seeks. My post-retirement consulting rate was $150/hr a decade ago. That was for big corps; I offered small bidnesses and startups a preferential rate of $100/hr if I didn't have to attend any goddamned meetings with freakin' Powerpoint presentations and corpspeak babblebullshit.

I'm fully retired now and sure as hell not looking for work, but I could get interested in some shop-season activity at the old rate if the project was sufficiently interesting.

Amen to that! I just finished listing the 20 jobs for this weekend (ha!) which include burning a DVD from the Knoppix .iso, call around for some more laptop memory, debugging an engine fault code on my truck, figuring out how to modify the $25 Dataq datalogger to fit into a battery reconditioner and building another pole shed. And the solar water heater leaks.

More likely I'll have to fix the neighbor's pressure washer if he bought the right parts.

I've spent my career fleshing out, building and testing "lightly" specified prototypes of electro/mechanical designs, as much as possible for small companies whose paychecks had a reasonable chance of clearing.

To me it's a red flag when an individual inventor can't be bothered to learn the practical skills to make his own ideas work. I don't expect the dexterity of a watchmaker but some don't even trouble themselves to learn that resistors have tolerance or that a 2" ID bearing won't fit 2" pipe.

Then there are the masters, like Tony Foale who is very skilled on a lathe himself.

jsw, watching him and learning

On Sat, 22 Aug 2009 01:09:21 -0500, the infamous Don Foreman scrawled the following:

your request as I read it You want a guy with

expert in the direction of sourcing unique

machine shop with the appropriate skills to make use of

testing and failure analysis for the correction of

equivalent to 40+ years of experience and education.

meets these qualifications and currently earning 6

request. So I respectfully request you consider

indicate others, as well as myself, think you are looking

Amen. Eff the corporate shit.

You forgot to tell Steve that this is the way the game has always been played, by freelancers, part-timers, working stiffs, and retired folks alike. We (humanity) seek it in areas outside our expertise but frown upon it in our own realm of expertise. That's human nature.

I think I have the qualifications, but have not replied for several reasons. And money is not really one of them. First I am not within easy driving distance. Second as Karl said, I have projects of my own. Third if I were to do something like this, I would rather enter into doing it as a partnership than a paid employee. Not that I think there is any or at least not much money to be made, but I hate to keep track of misc. expenses and time. So as long as the project were interesting, I would be willing to work pretty much for the fun of it and absorb the expenses. But would like to share in any rewards if there are any.

Dan

So long as you are willing to risk losing what you've invested, this can work out nicely. IF the project results in income. I've been burned a few times too many on stuff like this. I prefer a PO followed by an invoice, followed by a check in the mail....

Jon

To be more specific, the curve tracer project consists of five plexi pieces of size roughly corresponding to the photo I posted, 14 turned plastic pulleys/guide/wheels, a knife wheel, turned stylus held by turned washers and e-ring, e-ring posts for the wheels/pulleys, spring-loaded ball-point pen, one fixed caster (maybe off-the-shelf), small-diameter flexible wire or fishline strung over the six pulleys. Pretty much all dimensions can be picked off the layouts I provide. I'm not fussy about appearance. I had in mind $4,000 to get that done. I don't know what that works out to per hour. No doubt you can get more per hour from GE or industry. I wouldn't expect big shops to want to be bothered with my piddly jobs. I had in mind a person with no ongoing industry work who might like occasional and not hurried work. Cheers, Joel

I think I have the qualifications, but have not replied for several reasons. And money is not really one of them. First I am not within easy driving distance. Second as Karl said, I have projects of my own. Third if I were to do something like this, I would rather enter into doing it as a partnership than a paid employee. Not that I think there is any or at least not much money to be made, but I hate to keep track of misc. expenses and time. So as long as the project were interesting, I would be willing to work pretty much for the fun of it and absorb the expenses. But would like to share in any rewards if there are any.

Dan Hey Dan,

Talk to me! As I said to another person, I would want to pay you for stuff done on a project and throw in a share of possible profits as an extra. I didn't think anybody would have any interest in that. I hope to get to commercialization on some of projects, but really it's very hard I think. I'm not an entrepreneur; I would try to pitch to entrepreneurs. Also, distance is secondary. If you send an e-mail I'd be happy to talk more. joel_a snipped-for-privacy@earthlink.net Cheers, Joel

What I see here is a complicated version of a Pantograph. It tells me that you haven't done enough research. You are trying to reinvent the "wheel". Can be fun to do for yourself, but it won't be something new and I doubt it would be marketable.

This was the first item I happened to check out, didn't bother looking at the others...

That suggests to me that you are serious. Some of the reaction you're getting may be because I think many of us have been approached many times by people who want their ideas realized for an absurd pittance. They see high value in their ideas but way underestimate (or have no idea) what it takes to actually make stuff that works.

I hope you'll pardon us for being a bit skeptical.

You have a point. I hope my health holds up so I can make it to retirement and work on my stacked up projects. I need another lifetime to deal with all the stuff I want to do.

Wes

On Sun, 23 Aug 2009 08:50:02 -0700, the infamous "Steve Lusardi" scrawled the following:

Steve, keep copies of this in your wallet. Hand them to people who ask for your help instead of saying no. Only the abusive will continue to seek your help. Alternatively, hand it to them and ask when they can help you with YOUR projects in return. It could be a win/win some day.

Don, You have stated the case very well. This is a very sensitive subject to many of the contributors to this NG. Many of us have invested a lifetime attaining the skills we possess, not to mention our investment in the tools and machines. I for one am continually bombarded by requests for favors and assistance with projects for others to the point where these start displacing my own projects. Compounding this is my very poor record of saying no and the lack of adequate compensation when and if it occurs. Of course we have chosen to pursue this interest because we enjoy it, but that shouldn't be cause for abuse. Steve

Problem is, handing them a denial is just as hard as saying no. Yeah, it explains your position, but it's still "no".

Bob

You nailed it Karl. Me too.

I nearly ended a friendship over a woman telling me my ironwork prices were too high because "All you really have in it is your time. There's not much material in your stuff." I informed her that that was the most insulting thing she'd ever said to me as it implied my time and years of study and practice to learn my craft were of no value.

Just today I told a customer whose mobility device I'd (perhaps too) quickly repaired that $5 of the price was for the actual work: The remainder was for knowing how to recognize the problem and how to correct it. :)