Originally Posted by nukum

Don't bust a guys chops because he doesn't work for the price that you want to pay for what you think it should cost. He may or may not be a car guy like you and it just doesn't matter either way. There are some shops that charge more than others but it is usually based on circumstances that you are not aware of. Overhead on a weld shop can be enormous. Trust me I have been there. I have worked in someone elses shop and have ran my own shop years ago. Customers don't just pay for your time they pay for your equipment, the building, utilities and so on. There is absolutely nothing in a weld shop that is free or cheap. It also doesn't matter how much the part cost that the welder is working on, 10.00 or 100.00 it still take him the same equipment, materials and time to do the job. If you want cheap find someone that has the right equipment that does it as a side line, or a buddy or club, or buy the stuff yourself and learn to weld, then you can be the guy that others come to. You would be amazed at the number of people that will bring you a small part that they could buy new for a few dollars and want you to spend a hour or two to fix for them for a few dollars because it surely will only take a few minutes of your time and equipment. Most people have no idea what is involved to do most weld jobs. I now work for a utility at a nuclear power plant and get calls from our planning department regulary about how long and what is involved to do certain weld jobs. I'm not busting anyone's chops here either, I'm, just trying to point out that not every thing is always easily apparent, and that there are different skill sets out there and you will pay more for a higher skill set. I've been in the business for over 35 years and can still blow it on how long it takes to do a job every once in a while. I would reccomend that anyone involved in this hobby that wants to modify their car to try to buy a decent welder and learn to use it. Keep in mind that not everyone will be a good welder as it takes at least a little natural ability, but most should be able to become competent enough to get by. Then you'll be able to help yourself as well as friends and club members and might even recoup the cost of the equipment doing side jobs yourself.