Gossamer- '87 FJ60 aka "The Red Monster"

[TRAIL TAILOR]

Texture and first coat of satin black down.

J

 

[lcwizard]

Thanks D.

I really enjoy the builds and interacting with the customers on a daily basis. Just need to weigh the options to continue.

J

....and, like me , that's why you still do this..It certainly isn't the money. The other great joy you may not have had time to experience yet is
training a young person to develop the same skills and knowledge, then see them go off and use that skill in the same or another industry.
I've had two start fab shops of their own, One went on to become a BMW mechanic then the service manager. I have one currently with great fab skills, learning more every day and another new kid that's got a great work ethic and great potential. Old school people (just old) like me have a different attitude about work ethics and values than what's being taught today...sometimes it's referred to as the cranky old fart attitude. What's funny is in the end, the ones that put up with it, eventually get it and start to preach to the same choir.
It took me a lot of years to figure out how to at least break even from this. The first ten years I worked two jobs and worked from my home, 1 am to 9 am. I'd get home and take a hour nap and start building parts, sleep about six and start again.
Now it's much better, I don't work from home...I just live upstairs of the shop. I don't have two jobs because I work seven 10~12 hour days. ...See it does get better

 

[TRAIL TAILOR]

....and, like me , that's why you still do this..It certainly isn't the money. The other great joy you may not have had time to experience yet is
training a young person to develop the same skills and knowledge, then see them go off and use that skill in the same or another industry.
I've had two start fab shops of their own, One went on to become a BMW mechanic then the service manager. I have one currently with great fab skills, learning more every day and another new kid that's got a great work ethic and great potential. Old school people (just old) like me have a different attitude about work ethics and values than what's being taught today...sometimes it's referred to as the cranky old fart attitude. What's funny is in the end, the ones that put up with it, eventually get it and start to preach to the same choir.
It took me a lot of years to figure out how to at least break even from this. The first ten years I worked two jobs and worked from my home, 1 am to 9 am. I'd get home and take a hour nap and start building parts, sleep about six and start again.
Now it's much better, I don't work from home...I just live upstairs of the shop. I don't have two jobs because I work seven 10~12 hour days. ...See it does get better

Dave, over the years I've broke out a dozen or so welder helpers. I ran pipeline and facilities for years. It is indeed a great feeling when they pass their first code test and they leave the nest, so to speak...

One of my issues is... I KNOW WHAT THE OTHER PASTURE PAYS IN MY OLD INDUSTRY. It is hard to do what you love when that kind of money is waiting for you!

J

 

[90FJ]

Blah blah blah, where are the updated pics of those sliders? Those look beautiful.

 

[lcwizard]

If he could get 2000.00 for the sliders he probably wouldn't be tempted by those oil industry dollars. I, myself have a standing offer in that industry.
The problem is I'd have to relocate to Wyoming and I've been a warm weather boy all my life. Not a lot of oil mining in sunny Az. and the copper mines don't pay like they did 20 years ago

 

[niffa]

Lets be honest, love of fab dont pay the bills like the oil industry does, not much does for that matter. All things being equal J has had a red hot go at supplying us mudders with something that we just cant buy on the consumer market. Hats off to you sir. Bill gotta be paid tho!

 

[60Works]

J, whether you keep building bumpers or go back to the oil fields, please know that your contribution to this community has been huge. You have produced and investigated a plethora of very clever design ideas which will be copied by many Mudders. BBQ's, side receivers, jack mounts, rear quarter sliders... You've had some great ideas.

While truly extraordinary welders like you are rare, good ones can be found in most areas. Your influence will be seen in new Mud threads for years as do-it-yourselfers and local fab shops imitate your designs.

Thank you for that and for truly caring about building quality products.

 

[TRAIL TAILOR]

Well after many talks with the wife, PMs and emails from Mudders, negotiations with my vendors and many notepads... I have decided to limit my products to 40s and 60s ONLY. I even sent out the cut sheet for 15 more shells late yesterday. My prices will go up a little in 2015 to cover a few extra expenses that I always "included" for free.

I will probably take some time and go inspect at a few refinery/station turnarounds to keep me from dipping into the savings pot. I, like my wife, agree that I am a much more pleasant and happier person doing my thing with fab. I have gotten to meet several great people and unfortunately one SORRY SOB since I started the shop back up. I haven't decided on payments yet. I really HATE PayPal at the moment, but they are the most popular way for people to send money. I will go talk to my bank about a credit card machine next week too.

I am COMPLETELY dropping the 80 products for several reasons and I am not going to go into detail to explain why. THEY ARE GONE EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY! NO MORE 80 BUILDS!

I do plan on getting a second 60 or 62 for slider, roof rack, skid plates and misc other design ideas ( overhead storage, cargo/dog barrier and console) . This will also help me finish Goss. This new rig will never be a project and I will look for the cheapest and most complete rig out there for this purpose.

The 40 products will be out in January. Front and rear bumpers along with sliders, roof racks, gutter mounts and skid plates as well.

I plan on utilizing my buddy in the next town over to CNC plasma cut as many parts as possible for me. Mainly the frame brackets, tire carrier plates, gutter mounts, etc..) This will speed up my build times, keep consistent accuracy and still keep me performing 100% of the fabrication. I thought long and hard about getting a burn table... I can burn a lot of parts for 20 grand.... and not have the learning curve frustrations included in the endeavor.

SO, I have a couple of orders that are in paint right now and 2 more I need to finish up and then I am going to take a week or two off and re-organize the shop and get things where I want them. Then I will be back up and running.

I want to thank everyone for all the thoughtful posts, PMs and emails. It truly means a lot to me. I am very prideful of my work and my ethics. Please PM me with any inquiries and I'll get back to you as soon as I can.

Thanks again,

Jason

 

[MarkN]

great news...

 

[robustbambi]

...

Good decision, Jason!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[The Phoenician]

That's awesome to hear. When you're ready I'll place an order for that traveling Longhorn bbq pit.

 

[lcwizard]

Probably a smart move. I once had over 125 products I built for Man-a-Fre. Maybe 20 were profitable . The rest were for customer convenience and selection

 

[Shebamacalla]

Awesome to hear! Who cares about 80 series anyway Time to start saving for a rear bumper swing out with quarter protection!

 

[TRAIL TAILOR]

Sounds like I made the right choice... many likes and PM's... HA!

J

 

[TRAIL TAILOR]

That's awesome to hear. When you're ready I'll place an order for that traveling Longhorn bbq pit.

Mike, I have enough material for 2 of these pits. When I get closer, I will call you with details. When do you need it by?

J

 

[TRAIL TAILOR]

I will also be DROPPING my "Supporting Vendor" status... I'm sure my sale thread will be moved YET AGAIN... I will post up where they decide to put it now.....

I will start updating my ARMOR BUILD THREAD more to stay in the public eye (MUD) and also may put up an ad on Pirate and Ebay... Since it seems TECH is where I get 95% of my hits.. I'll play "the game" and keep things TECH to promote my products, instead of some dark corner that is hardy viewed... (just don't understand this...)

Why pay for something that is not created equal for all vendors...

Thanks again guys,

J

 

[jfnall]

Like me some "frontier justice"! Nice

Here in the Ozarks, we call that Hill Justice...

Right has a way of winning over wrong.

I hope you continue to build somewhere....I need a roof rack from you in the future.

And, 100% upfront payment for a custom order isn't something anyone would have a problem with, when there is greatness coming out of your shop. That's the people you want to be doing business with anyway. Those people are the ones that appreciate excellence and are willing to open the wallets for it. Keep up the great work. I want to haul it around someday.

Jeff

 

[The Phoenician]

Mike, I have enough material for 2 of these pits. When I get closer, I will call you with details. When do you need it by?

J

Late January to mid February. Would be good to take to Big Bend or to round up

 

[TRAIL TAILOR]

Here in the Ozarks, we call that Hill Justice...

Right has a way of winning over wrong.

I hope you continue to build somewhere....I need a roof rack from you in the future.

And, 100% upfront payment for a custom order isn't something anyone would have a problem with, when there is greatness coming out of your shop. That's the people you want to be doing business with anyway. Those people are the ones that appreciate excellence and are willing to open the wallets for it. Keep up the great work. I want to haul it around someday.

Jeff

Jeff, you have my numbers, call me and I'll get you taken care of. Maybe by then I'll have the sliders nailed down as well...

Late January to mid February. Would be good to take to Big Bend or to round up

No problem at all Mike, I'll get you squared away.

J

 

[The Phoenician]

Awesome to hear! Who cares about 80 series anyway Time to start saving for a rear bumper swing out with quarter protection!

You're gonna love it. The quarter panel protection is so worth it.