All these "I didnt see it happen" shop owners.

Originally posted by jsondrops



Why would someone even pick up a ride that was done poorly?i know everyone can't weld or fab,but you can't tell me you are just gonna lay down 3 gs to get your truck bagged and not check the work!I know i work hard for my money and take care of my son,so if i pay for some work like that and it isn't right... i am not gonna roll it home and bitch about it later!I'm gonna want some answers right there on the spot!

If you claim to be a business then be a man and take care of the people that support your business!

Some of us had no choice.. I wasnt wasting anymore time or money feeding their mistakes and carelessness. I learned the hard way, and the little bit of my money(deposit for job) I couldn't recoupe, I just had to deal with. Trying to have a lawyer get your few thousand back is useless, and going thru small claims is a joke unless you have all the time in the world..

Well Said! I regret for the most part where I took my truck to get built.

Steve and I were talking about this very thing today. And it's not just shoddy work, but poorly thought out work as well as the little stuff like valves that are merely zip tied up or tanks being welded to the frame instead of bolted or...

Here's something to think about... Do any of you think that I would have the reputation that I do if even one job left my shop half-assed? I spent 3 years trying to repair a poor reputation from crapy work and still locally, I can't shake it. I have 3 people that work for me part time and it is both mine and Steve's job to make sure that if anything leaves my shop it is 110% complete. I tell my guys not to be heros and let me know if something is wrong before it leaves, so it dosen't come back. I stand behind my work completely. That means that if you don't like how it rides, I will fix it; if it leaks, I will fix it; if ANYTHING goes wrong, I will fix it. I just spent $700 picking up, repairing and delivering a truck that had a ring and pinion go bad in it. It wasn't anyone's fault, I didn't even set up the gears, but the bottom line is that if I hadn't installed the rearend it wouldn't have gone bad. And don't automatically think that I am rich and can afford to do that kind of stuff, that $700 was a big hit for me, I'm a starving artist just like anyone else that owns a shop, I'm just not willing to blow off the customer.

So to any of you shop owners out there that are knowingly sending out half-assed work: YOU'RE NOT IMPRESSING ANYONE, YOU ARE ONLY HURTING THE INDUSTRY AND ARE ENDANGERING THE LIVES OF YOUR CUSTOMERS AND ANYONE THAT SHARES THE ROAD WITH THEM.. THAT'S ALL OF US!

The problem is that anyone that goes out and buys a welder and a plasma cutter thinks he is a fabricator. The other problem is that most of those peoples friends say "good work" and then the first guy has the opinion that everyone thinks he is a fabricator. The people looking at it dont know the difference between decent work and crap work. This perpetuates the bad work. You also get people who half ass everything they do and will never do a good job either because they dont want to, dont know how or dont care to.

Then theres the so called fabricator who turns the key and drives the thing down the road. If nothing breaks or falls off then they think that the job is well done.

the fact is that it takes years of work, watching, listening and trial and error in shops building vehicles like race cars, trucks, etc before you should even think to call yourself a fabricator.

tech school also doesnt make you a fabricator. it just gives you SOME of the technical knowledge to start a career in fabrication.

Originally posted by TEEBAGGINNN



I manage a custom/ restoration shop and I do not let anything leave that is not 100%. I do several daily checks of all work being performed.

I place the blame on the person who has a position of control over employees and/ or who is the person that the customer talks to about their vehicle while it is being worked on by the shop.

The problem with that is 100% of some peoples work is about as good as 25% of quality engineered, well thought out, well executed jobs. just saying that everything that goes out the door is 100% doesnt mean anything if the 100% is not good. the 100% is someones opinion. Even if that opinion is from some structural or mechanical engineer its still just an opinion. And I doubt that most shops have an engineer designing or doing their work.

theres also no such thing as 110% , 100% is the whole enchilada, 0% is none of the enchilada. athletes make themselves sound stupid by saying they are giving 110%

The only time you hear 110% is on a military craft, powerplants, generators and that usually refers to 110% of full rated power. this means that the rated power is being exceeded by 10%

the guys doing the good work are being imitated because of the lack of creativity, knowledge and the general sheep mentality of this sport. its a monkey see monkey do thing where nobody has the brain power, or knowhow to do anything different.

The ring gear and pinion will go out occasionally when you weld to an axle and dont change the gear oil inside it. The gear oil gets burned and loses some of its protection properties. so anytime you weld tabs or anything onto a rearend you need to change the gear oil.

And you smartasses that are gonna say "I welded on mine and its been 100,000 miles with no problems" need to just save it. theres always someone who has not had a problem. Many times thats because the problem happens just after you sell it to someone else.

Look at almost any profile in this forum and you will see a problem with a setup from an engineering standpoint. You just dont hear about it because the problem usually is hidden by other issues and fails later down the road. Binding bushings are one of those. nobody thinks about it when they weld tabs on with bushings not inline with each other. they bind, wear prematurely and what happens? the shop guy says you are hard on it or its normal wear for a bagged truck... BS

The only time you hear 110% is on a military craft, powerplants, generators and that usually refers to 110% of full rated power. this means that the rated power is being exceeded by 10%



When we go 110% on our military helos I have to help change the engine....110% is a bad day for me and the boys!

Toddgoesfast- I'm not sure if you are familiar with my work, but I can say with confidence that every job that leaves my shop is beyond what would is expected and so the best I can say is that they all get 110%. And I am fully aware that welding to a rearend housing not only burns the gear oil, but also in every case slightly bends the tubing. It just so happens that this particular incident was on an independent rearend with a billet third member with no welding whatsoever.

Max if I was not such a poor starving hack shack builder I would love to have you build me a full chassis that you design. You give me a dream to better myself and for that I thank you. Keep up the kick ass work and am very glad to hear you stand behind everything whether you touch it or not.

Great, Im just pointing it out to the less informed. The % thing was just an old pet peive. no matter how good your work is, its still only 100%

now, you can give a customer 110% of what they pay for by giving them something free, or above what they ordered.

The rearend thing is also me pointing it out to the less informed. I hope you are smart enough to know im not pointing it out to you.


Its the 10% of bad shops that give the 90% a bad name, see still 100%