This topic may already have been discussed on here but I’ll ask anyway. What are opinions on how to charge for line boring. Just charge hourly rate and be efficient , set up fee with a time allowance then hourly rate after that ? Also what about removing bucket and old bushings or what ever it take to get to work to be done. Separate that from boring charge. I want to be fair and profitable. Thanks in advance
I would just charge the hourly rate. Every job will be different. Some jobs the customer will have a nice clean shop and be prepared to have you fix holes and the next job will be a pile of junk that has dead batteries and the floor dry is 6” thick. Ought to make sure you’re paid for all of your time and not just boring holes.
You also need to charge for the supplies and expenses of your equipment. Welding wire, gases, cutting tools, grinder discs, flap wheels, gasoline if you have to run genset power and so on. You can probably cover with a five percent bump on the hourly rates.
The implement dealer I help out just had a Case W-14 line bored in the articulation joint last week. This was by a local welding outfit I recommended. $125.00 hour from the time they left their shop till they returned and the job took about 7.5 hours with just a little weldup of a chamfered edge. I want to say their bill came in at $900.00 thereabouts. I do this work also but a little more expensive, (for good reason) and the owner is so tight with money he "squeaks" when walking, so went with the lesser rate.
I agree with the material charge of course. And the more I do the math the hourly rate seems to fit best. The local machine shop is at 127 per hour in the shop. I don’t see an issue with that for boring and prep work as well as putting bushings in.
Denver area averaged $400 a hole, usually 4 holes and 1.5 days Can't imagine it's any cheaper but I like the time and materials better; grease job/ take the time to clean it, etc
The local cat dealer has a setup fee and a time allowance which varies on bore size, the best I understand anyway since it’s all top secret. I like this idea but I also think it opens the door for customers wanting to negotiate. One thing I will never understand but that’s a different topic for another day
I have never done weld/bore jobs, but I have HAD them done for me. If I did do that type of work, then that is strictly what I would want to do. If I show up to a job and I have to remove the bucket, the old bushings just to get started............yeah, I'm charging extra for that. I would do the charges by the following...... 1. Bucket, bushing.....removal and install................$500.00 2. Clean up, weld, and bore...............whatever your hourly rate is. 3. Supplies charge is 10% of labor rate 4. Travel time and mileage applies at whatever you determine is fair. I would think the above would encourage customers to have their buckets removed and the machine readily available for you. If not, they should pay extra for it. Some of you may be at what I typed above............that's probably why I don't do this type of work for a living.
Several guys and shops in this area have priced themselves right out of the market and their equipment sets unused. Rather too good, or not hungry enough I can't answer for, but that type work is not done near as much as in days gone by. Be careful in your pricing and do some market surveys before you strike out.
I like the above strategy.. make some calls.. see what everyone else in your area is doing.. Good luck
That's basically how the people we use charge, but they do it often enough they have a set price for the boring. They also charge for cleaning the grease and etc out beforehand and greasing after. Basically we did everything, but the welding and boring to save money and time. As a customer to this service my problem with an hourly rate is its easy to milk this job. Someone that new and not got a reputation I'm probably not going to trust to do hourly. I do agree a lot of people have priced themselves out of the market or just don't the want to do the work anymore. I think it took us 3 week or more to find someone get parts a d get it done. That was 3 more weeks of a machine running moving 5000 yd A-day. We probably had an inch and a 1/2 a play by the time it finally got done.
There are very few people in my area that do it. One is 900 per setup and never said anything about a hole that looks like a foot ball. There must be a clause in there somewhere or you could loose money pretty quick. The second guy is who I bought my stuff from was an old man with old school rates. He slowed way down with age and getting out of the house was more important than making money. I do my best to stay productive when boring so I think I’ll do hourly plus materials. Maybe if I’m in shop and left alone and turn a job out to fast I’ll adjust price to fit. Would be nice to have a bigger machine and bar for bigger bores but that is for another day
Personally, I adjust my rates if the customer brings the equipment to me.. THATS always a question I ask.. If not, then the price goes up.. drive time, mileage, etc..
We do a mileage rate based off fuel, tires and truck maintenance. Plus disposal fees and truck supply charges. I don’t know why the line boring is priced differently than mechanic work at dealerships, I guess I just want to make sure I’m as profitable as possible