Welding at work

jon f mn · Mar 7, 2020

We sell a lot of 10' containers to contractors to store tools in,
but the shortest that can be shipped in ship or train is 20'. So
they come 20' and we have to cut them in half and put the
ends in.

I cut them apart with a plasma cutter

Then cut off the plates they weld in for filler.

The ends come inside against the side.

The worst part is grinding off all that crappy paint, it's like putty. Then tack in the ends and weld.

All done

Next week I'll spend a day at the main shop working with their guys to teach them how to do it faster. They have done a lot of them and they take 14-16 hours to do them. I did the first one in 12 hours and the second in under 8. Lol. Now I have to be a teacher. Not sure I'll be any good at that.

Fawteen · Mar 7, 2020

Hard to pencil that out after you buy the container, do all the mods and pay for materials and labor.

About what do they get for a finished 10 footer?

ztrmowers · Mar 7, 2020

I guess I am slow today but you said cut one in half,then where you getting the material to close back in I have 40ft unit here I use

onefarmer · Mar 7, 2020

Or teach them.

jon f mn · Mar 7, 2020

The ends come shipped inside, the fifth pic shows it against the inside wall.

jon f mn · Mar 7, 2020

I don't know prices, but I would guess a new 10' like this would be around $3,000.00. New 20' are about $3500.00. Contractors like the 10' because they can lift them with a skid loader.

SVcummins · Mar 7, 2020

..cost more for the half than the whole
Container

ztrmowers · Mar 7, 2020

so you order them with extra ends then, okay now I with you

Billy NY · Mar 7, 2020

It does look like a lot of work, but if they sell or rent I guess you have a demand. SV's link to that seller, those are high prices, can get 20' ones for less, of course prices vary quite a bit. For contractor storage, a 20' one is very handy, but every time I get one of those, it'll turn out I really needed a 40 ! Just like a pole barn, you can never build them big enough !

Traditional Farmer · Mar 7, 2020

In my area on CL containers are advertised from a little over $2000 delivered for 20 ft and just a little more for 40ft.up to about $2800, some are extra height.Of course we're close to several ports too.

Crazy Horse · Mar 7, 2020

SV ..... yes, your link shows brand new ones and they're not cheap. A lot of money for 100 square feet of storage, but they are pretty secure I guess compared to wooden structures, etc. If room wasn't an issue, a good used 20 footer would be my preference.

Crazy Horse · Mar 7, 2020

So, those are used 20' units that you start with and they have brand new "ends" supplied (inside) when you receive them? So one extra end with the doors and one extra end that is a solid wall for each 20 footer you start with right?

SVcummins · Mar 7, 2020

I thought about getting a couple until I saw the price

SVcummins · Mar 7, 2020

They definitely would be secure I like that about them be a nice place to keep tools

rick n ohio · Mar 7, 2020

That's nice making the 10 footers easy for thieves to just steal the whole thing

Sean Feeney · Mar 7, 2020

Maybe a zoning thing my town under a 100 sg feet no permits needed.

they now charge a permit fee for roll off dumpsters.

moresmoke · Mar 7, 2020

But still harder to steal than a trailer with wheels.

john in la · Mar 7, 2020

The local place here sells 6 foot 8 foot and 10 foot long along with the regular 20 and 40 footers.
20 and 40 foots are so common around here with every tom dick and harry selling them they really make their money selling to smaller sizes.

jon f mn · Mar 7, 2020

No, the original container is what they call a one trip meaning it only came over from China and that is considered new and will be the only way to get new except in the smaller 6 and 8 footers which come inside a 20. These come with a door on each end and two ends inside so you end up with two complete 10' containers.

David G · Mar 7, 2020

Your work amazes me, just beautiful

Gary Mitchell · Mar 7, 2020

Onefarmer, that seems to be a universal segment in business models. That one was tried everywhere I every "punched in." gm

Larry EC-OH · Mar 7, 2020

Slick!

Now you guys need to add a RV shore power outlet on the outside, add a electrical panel with 2 duplex outlets, led lights on the ceiling and a workbench and you have a turnkey unit that you could sell the heck out of.

Larry

jon f mn · Mar 7, 2020

We make a lot of those too. Put a walk in door and window with bars, air conditioning and heat and lights. They also get a bench inside and file cabinet. We have them in 10', 20'', and 40'. Don't sell too many of those because we can't stay ahead of the rental demand. I suppose if we ever get more than we can rent built we would sell some.

muleman51 · Mar 7, 2020

When I bought my 50' van trailer a few years ago you couldn't get containers at the time. Wish I had known Jon was hauling and dealing trailer at that time, he probably could have found one for me and he's only 70 miles away or so. Would have much rather had a container than the trailer. Now if I can just get my leanto shop built maybe I can get rid of the trailer.

tom upton · Mar 7, 2020

.035 S6 hard wire down hand 75/25 argon / Co2 short circuit or ? I wonder if you could speed up the welding by using metal core? I am guessing metal is around 10-12 gauge? If it was 10 gauge you shouldn't have a problem, 12 you are going to need a tight joint fit up. They make a MCAW wire now specifically for down hand. It would be more tolerant of welding thru the paint without giving you porosity. Ever try using the 7 inch 1/16 zip cuts v/s the plasma for cutting apart? Might be faster and cleaner cut? if you are making these on a production basis you may want to look at buying a weld positioner as well?

MarkB_MI · Mar 8, 2020

Real interesting. Thanks for sharing.

T in NE · Mar 8, 2020

We need a couple 40s at work for parts and feed storage.
Shop was put up in 01 and I'll bet it hasn't been cleared out since 02.

Welding at work

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