Heavy Equipment Repair Work for a Machine Shop? I apologize in advance if asking questions like this is forbidden or this is the wrong sub forum to post a question like this in. I'm in soon going to be in the process of getting a building built that will be the shop for my Dad and I's farm equipment. But I also want to expand the machine shop to the point where I'd doing work for customers. I like big machinery, so I figured doing work on heavy equipment would be something that I would enjoy and be able to make money doing. But I've been thinking and I figured ya'll might know the answer to this. But with part support and consumable wear parts, how much would a machine shop be needed for heavy equipment repair? I have a POS Case wheeled excavator and the hydraulic pumps quit (Vickers gear pumps), so I'm remachining the central housing and bearings from Dura-Bar and bronze. If it works (never done it before), I figure I could rebuild (actually rebuild, not just change out wear parts) hydraulic pumps. But again this would only be needed if you were running an obsolete pump like I am and you can't get parts. At the speed I move, it's probably a few years before I'm actually ready for customers, but I'm just wondering what parts if any are sent to a machine shop and how I would need to tool up to accommodate that. Thanks for any and all help.
Yair . . . alskdjfhg. Most heavy equipment repair involves replacing parts and assemblies . . . I believe in most cases to make/manufacture parts on a one off basis becomes far too expensive at commercial rates. There are times though parts can be rebuilt/modified and altered with the assistance of a good machine shop. The ability and equipment to undertake line boring and metal spraying for shaft repair would probably be worth looking at depending on the type of equipment in your area. The tooling and expertise to work on oval-track final drives while not machine shop kit should certainly be looked at. Are you in a boating/fishing area? If so a large old long bed lathe to cut shaft tapers and keys can be an inexpensive bit of specialised gear that can make good money provided you have the expertise to run it. Those are my initial thoughts, others may have different views. Cheers.
Most dedicated machine shops will have lots of big machines, more space is what I would plan for in a building. If you are good at what you are doing, the work will find you, as the word spreads. Rebuild a couple old machines, and take them to farm equipment shows, and you can spread the word even faster. Keep in mind that old equipment is made to be rebuilt, and some of this newer crap, the first thing to go is the damned computer...
Hobbyist neighbor has a leetle J.D. crawler, an MC iirc. Needs pins and bushings in the track. As it won't get 500 hours usage in 5 years, he won't spend any money for the parts, even if I cobble up a simple press for him to change out the parts over the wintertime. (Saving him $900 in track press time....) As the machines get obsolete, so does the budget for fixing them.
If you are a decent machinest you will always have people coming to you for some odd ball thing or another. In 44 years of construction, all over the U.S., when ever I needed something machined the local shops always had plenty of work at hand. It will be what you make it, and it will take a little time to be known. Do good work, not necessarily cheap work, and you will never catch up.
Truck / equipment repair shop and machine / welding shop go hand in hand . Good luck with it .
Thanks guys, I'll see about line boring equipment and final drive stuff. I do have a few largish lathes, the largest being 40x25'. Although I think I'm a bit far from the coast to do marine shafting work, but it's worth considering. I always figured with the long bed lathes could find a big horizontal hone and try to get into doing large cylinder work. Think multi stage cylinders like out of a dump truck.