Short posts from the shop on getting a part made or fixed: how to send a job, how machining and repair work, and what is changing for industrial work in Northern Nevada. Each post ends with a way to send us your drawing or photos.
Have a drawing, a sample or a broken part? Call (775) 359-5570 or request a quote and attach your drawing or photos.
Stock photo: arc welding with a stick electrode, sparks in a dark shop
These posts are written for maintenance managers, engineers, contractors and owners who have a part to make or a machine that needs work. Some explain how to prepare a job for a quote, such as photographing and measuring a broken part. Others follow the shop's own work, from machining and repair to prototypes and production runs. For longer, step-by-step explanations, see the shop guides.
Storey County, home of the Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center, went from 870 private manufacturing jobs in 2015 to 15,168 in 2025, and the Reno-Sparks metro area went from 20,500 manufacturing jobs in Augus
Two federal rules shape how stainless steel is welded: OSHA 29 CFR 1910.252, the general rule for welding, cutting and brazing, and 29 CFR 1910.1026, the rule on hexavalent chromium. They cover fire s
According to the Nevada Department of Taxation, repair labor is a service and generally is not subject to sales tax when it is billed separately from parts, while parts and materials are taxable. Fabr
A part that is no longer made can be made again by measuring the original, choosing the material, drawing it up and machining one. Keep the drawing so the next one does not start from scratch.
Photograph the part on a plain surface in bright light with a ruler or tape measure in every shot, cover every face, and add close-ups of the wear or break. Then measure the key diameters and lengths
A prototype is made to learn whether a part works, and a production run is made once the design is settled. The steps in between are locking the drawing, building fixtures, checking a first part again
A drawing a machinist can quote from shows the material and condition, every size with a tolerance or a general tolerance block, the threads, any surface finish that matters, the quantity and the revi
A machine probably needs align boring when pins bind, bushings wear out far faster than they should, bores have gone oval, or a pin that used to slide through now will not. These are signs that bores
Repair when the part is sound, the wear is in one place and the original size can be put back. Replace when the damage runs through the part, when a crack cannot be removed, or when the failure will s
Metal spray suits bearing and seal surfaces where you want little heat in the part, a sleeve suits a surface that needs a fresh hard face, and weld build-up suits parts that need strength across the r
Before a portable line boring visit, make the bores reachable, clean and supported, take out the pins and bushings, and have power and light at the machine. Then send the shop photos, bore sizes and t
A gearbox rebuild is a teardown, a full inspection, repair of whatever has worn and a careful reassembly with new bearings and seals. Noise, heat, oil leaks and metal in the oil are the signs one is d
Send us the job
Tell us what you need, attach a drawing or photos of the part, and we will get back to you during shop hours. Free consultations; prompt estimates.
Shop hours Monday to Friday, 7:00 am to 3:30 pm. Send your request any time and we will get back to you during shop hours.
Stock photo: a lathe turning a bar, hot chips flying
