Machine Shop Prices

Killer6 said
That looks like a 30yr. old price sheet. If you look at inflation, vs what the standard shop equipment prices and standards have changed, the cost of services has not matched
that rise. Not even close, the same with tire prices, etc., etc. . Yet everybody wants to pay what they paid in the early eighties for the same things. Then they pay $2 for a 16oz.
bottle of friggin' water at the show, $1.50 for a decent candy bar, $20 for that really cool t-shirt they just gotta have. You cannot do modern eng. work w/o modern equipment,
the same guy doing your SB just rebuilt a Furd mod eng. that takes plates and fixtures to do right,after he re-did the hyundai head,etc. The time it takes to just discuss your own
project w/you can eat up valuable time, and that goes into the productivity equation as well. Gearheads are looked at by many shops as fussy, problematic, and many times just
educated enough to cause you more headaches than it's worth. Go ahead, educate yourself, then drop 1/4 mill. on equipment(don't touch CNC), then look at the rest of your
overhead. See if YOU would do a top notch bore & hone for $175.

This post shows me some seriously accurate experience as a business owner right here. Modern equipment is one thing but plain old worn out equipment is another. Making an excessive amount of $$$ in this trade is next to impossible unless you have a product to sell. Finding a shop that truly WANTS to do a great job and one that can is also worth how much to you? For example, I typically charge $50.00 per saddle for a line hone which on most V8's is $250.00 Here I have been entrusted to perform a line hone on a VERY expensive aluminum Buick block. Not wanting to ruin this block and also not having a ton of experience line honing aluminum block/steel cap combos I figured taking the time and material to mount the block unconventionally was the best course of action. I am impressed at how it turned out and was totally worth it IMO. Now the question becomes "What do I charge for the line hone?" I mean surely some would expect the normal fee to be charged however going by straight time invested on my end a normal fee would leave me several hundred short. J.Rob