How about send them to 3 different volunteers and see if a forum amateur, pro and noob can get them better? Might be fun. Maybe.
Hers’s the frustration as a customer, I should be able to send the drawings to several different fab shops around the world and get the correct (same) parts back. But this will never happen because fab shops haven’t standardized anything. If everyone was building on the same fixture table, fixtures this would eliminate a lot of mess ups and remove most of the human errors from reading a tape measure. It would also help reorders be consistent. Maybe some day.
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Nice set up. Wish it was a fireball table system.
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I tell you what. I know I do NOT want a Siegmund Weld Table for my personal shop.
I know I will be investing in a FireBall Table. I got to use the accessories and they feel like quality. I am a stickler for quality, and I enjoyed your system better Jason!
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I say send them the video and ask them if they would like a chance to respond, if not thank them for participating in your marketing experiment.
By the way I’m very glad to see this new video on YouTube. I’m sorry but I’ve been unable to watch videos on your website. It doesn’t work well from my phone, and I can’t watch it on my TV, and I don’t spend a minute sitting in front of my desk at the computer that I can spend elsewhere. I really did try, I installed some apps to mirror my phone to the TV screen and zoomed all the way in on the video… but the picture quality was low and the audio was off
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If you had been contracted to make these products; what would you expect to happen if you had done work like this? Especially after claiming that it was a simple job, no problem. If your customer came back and expected you to make it right. They took your money they need to give you what you paid for.
There are cheaper fixture tables which will still work. Sure he is advertising his own specifically but more generally it’s obviously a call to use any fixturing table in place of just a warped steel plate.
And yes businesses have expenses. As a business owner you need to price your goods and services in a manner that allows you to make investments. And if you can’t save up the money up front, take out a and pay the table in installments. A complete noob with the was able to do the work in 4 hours while the 40-years experience guy from Shop A supposedly took 5 hours to do it. Old-timer could probably do twice the work in the same time with a fixture table and actually deliver quality instead of relying on using the most expensive material to take advantage of an oversight by his customer.
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Following standard drawings practices could help.
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Yes they would need a surface plate exactly like your to do a proper surface flatness measurement with three points and an indicator.
One test you could do for flatness is use a machinist level on a straight edge and go across the table, adjusting it with leveling feet/jack screws. Seems like if its within a 1/16" over 2’ that will be better than the industry standard for tolerances lol.
I would take them back and show them the issues of why they have failed to meet your requirements. Let them decide how to fix it, their choice and the outcome will tell you all you need to know about how they really are as people and business owners.
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Take those frames back, have them watch the video, and sell them a FireBall table.
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I say, give them each one more opportunity to make the parts. If they fail the second time, ask for a refund, and don’t hire them again.
GRC
Jason, you said you didn’t spec out the material. Did any of the shops call to ask what to use?
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Great video, by the way, shows you what you can do with the right tools. I have always had second hand tools, passed down from my dad and very little experience. I have always made mediocre things that I needed around the house. Life has gotten a little easier as the kids have grown up and I am finally able to invest in some descent tools and I have seen my quality go up as I get the right tool for the right job.
WRT this vote, I would take them back, maybe explain what you did and how your most inexperienced person produced a better product, show them how poor their product was in comparison to yours. Quality and precision is everything and this world seems to have forgotten that, well done for highlighting this.
Also, Drew took his time to make what you asked for, rather than just rushing the job and waiting to get paid. Well done to both of you
It’s tough. By rights they shouldn’t be messing this up, but also it’s wasteful for humanity to have them redo it.
I’d just tell them about it, so they do better in the future, where it matters - but not ask for anything.
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I would return them and ask for them to be fixed after showing the shop owners the deficiencies based on your initial requests. You have to provide people with opportunity to change/learn and ultimately grow by going through the process of repairing their poor workmanship.
I would also provide the shop owners with insight into what you are doing by documenting this process, provide them video links and ensure them that their company names won’t be revealed. Let them see your animator succeed where they failed and maybe learn from your videos.
If you made very specific requests as to what you wanted, including tolerances, these requirements should be met. That first shop, not even contacting you to ask what material to be used…that’s a choice made blindly which is a huge red flag to me that they didn’t even contact you to inquire. They may not be as receptive, but should still be given a chance.
As someone who makes stuff by hand, I’m not a welder, I know that if a specification is made it needs to be met. If you can’t do it you let the customer know upfront. Anyone with enough experience should have known from the design sheet and initial conversation that meeting the specs was highly important.
I’m really torn as to what you should do. You don’t need the squares. So part of me says just let it go. Part of me says you clearly asked for something you didn’t get and you should get what you paid for or a refund. A little part of me hopes someone shows them how to do it right and ups the quality America used to be proud about.
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Agree with you rationale. I think for me, it would come down to whether I ever think I need any of these shops in the future. If I thought I might want to work with them again, I would go back and talk to them as some have suggested,show where the parts don’t match the drawing,and ask how they would like to proceed.
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We all had a conversation about material. I was surprised to see it aluminum when we agreed on steel. He said he have to order some because he didn’t have any steel in that size. I did call out TS (tube steel) in the drawing.
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