need assistance with a qoute

PanamaCityHydro

Good Morning everyone! so I got an inquiry from a gentleman wanting about 45 knives done (the handles) just your average 4 inch 2 piece metal handle from what I could see. he says the parts come pre-painted with a less than satisfactory coating (poor durability) and he would like me to apply a desert camo like kryptek. he was not brand specific, in fact the image he shared was the knockoff desert kyptek, I don't remember what its called. Anyway if he gives me 45 knives that amounts to 90 pieces. my shop minimum for custom work is 45 but that is most definitely not a custom job. So I could really use some assistance with jigging ideas and a fair range to quote him in. thanks in advance my fellow dippers for any assistance you provide.

PanamaCityHydro

heres an example he sent me

smedlin

I would think a jig would be easy to make

Those are light enough, you could hot glue them in place.

I could see doing 5 knives at once (10 pieces) very easily.

I'd have no ideal about the price.

it would be one thing if you had a constant production run of them...but this is a set amount. Gotta pay for the time to build the jig (which may not ever even be used again).. etc etc

MidOhioHydrographics

If the sides are metal, are you going to blast off the old coating? If he wants the more durable, I probably would. Make sure he knows that is what it's going to take, and it's labor intensive. For that small of run, absolutely PVC hot glue or magnets if they're not aluminum. That isn't a very large run. You're just barely into discount range at that point.

If it were me, I'd blast, Aqualac direct (unless it's steel), dip and clear. Probably around. $8-$10/knife if I had to guess. Maybe slightly more. But...I don't like quoting jobs without sampling. Get a couple and do them so you know what you're getting into AND so he has a sample of what he's getting as a "standard" of quality. Make sure you cover things like shipping, packaging, assembly/disassmbly, etc. They need to be clearly addressed.

PanamaCityHydro

@MidOhioHydrographics @smedlin good advice guys, I was leaning towards a board with wood dowels attached and using hot glue to stick them to it. ive wrestled some pretty heavy cr@p into my tank so I figure doing 20 or so shouldn't be all that bad. the wife also suggested about 10 dollars a knife so maybe theres something there, asking for samples sound like a pretty good idea. any of you cats charge a fee per hour or something for jigging?

K2Concepts

$75 an hour for samples...

WileECoyote

Yep, even if he CALLS it a production run, it isn't until you reach a few hundred pcs. $75 an hour for anything that small is not unusual...

3monkeyshydrodip

Ok the handles look like some sort of plastic not metal. And you mentioned pre painted which means the customer wants that as the base color so most likely will not pay to have you blast them and start over (whether durable or not). Intercoat,dip, and clear then sent them out the door. As for a jig a paint stir stick and rolled duck tape will work. No glue to possibly melt the plastic or get off after.

Libertyman

The hot glue gun glue usually isn't hot enough to melt a plastic part. If they are plastic what type of plastic... will they need to be flame treated? Just things to consider for pricing...all the things that the customer won't see... explain the process to the customer so he understands why your price is what it is