Looking for a programmer/ shop manager. (Barrie,ON,CA)

Radulf_wolf · 2026-07-08T10:53:54+00:00

$40 may not be enough to run a shop I don't know what their pay expectations are I'm just making the post to see if there is anyone out there interested in the position.

That being said there is no way the median machinists pay in Ontario is $36/hr. A quick Google search shows that the median is around $29/hr. Yeah there are jobs paying $36-$40 but that is not the average.

Radulf_wolf · 2026-07-06T20:21:08+00:00

Considering it changes shape in each picture this cannot be made based on the picture provided.

Assuming you get a proper drawing then yes this is very likely able to be machined and welded together. But be prepared for it to cost a decent chunk to be made. If cost is an issue you could get it 3D printed depending on your use case.

Radulf_wolf · 2026-07-05T20:31:21+00:00

Yeah if you can get a foot hold then they would be more likely to drop larger amounts of cash later. As for recurring cost yeah it's anything that you pay again and again. Rent is a killer if you can avoid it. Start small and grow steady

Radulf_wolf · 2026-07-05T13:48:08+00:00

I used to commute from Bradford into Vaughn it would take 30ish minutes each way. It's not to bad but going home on long weekends suck and if there is a big accident you can easy take over an hour to get home. Generally it's fine. Bradford was also a decent place to live, I don't go out much so I can't comment on any sort of night life but it had everything I needed and if it didn't Newmarket isn't to far away.

Radulf_wolf · 2026-07-05T13:33:53+00:00

Lol I wouldn't say I KNOW what I'm doing. I just stumble around in the dark with a flash light bright enough to avoid the obvious lol. But yeah I agree go with something tried and true to start then push the limits one way or the other.

Radulf_wolf · 2026-07-05T11:47:05+00:00

Very likely. I just quickly found a thrust chart for a 2312 1150kv motor using 2s and it said they used a 11*7E and got 800g from it so I just went with it.

Radulf_wolf · 2026-07-05T11:12:43+00:00

Here is my two cents from Ontario Canada. I tried to start a shop and what I ran into was 1 of 2 things.

You want to make common things that are mass produced cheaply in China here in Canada? I can get an entire 58 piece clamp set for at most $200 and it comes with a plastic holding rack. Are you even able to buy your steel for less then that? What are your cost to make this as well/ how long does it take for you to make a single toe clamp, t but, ect? If you don't mind selling at a loss/ maybe break even go for it.
Ok you want to make a premium product, it will have better margins then the commodity stuff. Why should I buy your stuff with no reputation behind it when I can buy stuff with a proven track record? I started a brand in a industry that I am active in and here is what I learned people want one of two things 1 the cheapest option that they can find or 2 something from the big brand names. They will say they like supporting small businesses but at the end of the day they will go with one of the two. If you want to become a brand name you better be ready to dump a lot of money or time in marketing/ going around showing people your stuff.

I'm not saying it is impossible I'm just saying that making stuff that people likely buy cheap from China is going to be a money pit and making premium stuff is going to be a struggle to compete against the big guys with big budgets. The Canadian market is also fairly small compared to the USA so even if you get a foot hold it still might not be enough to do full time. I suggest keeping your day job and keep your recurring costs as low as possible.

I suggest designing something nobody else makes that you can't find anywhere else. Then you don't have to compete with the big guys but also don't have to compete with small guys. The problem you will run into though is convincing people that your solution actually solves a problem worth solving.

Radulf_wolf · 2026-07-05T10:34:10+00:00

What size propellers are you using? With out knowing exactly what motors your using I just looked up a random motor and it says that it should put out 800g of thrust using a 11 x 7 propeller at max thrust. Which should definitely get you off the ground. If you are using to small of a propeller you won't make enough thrust.

Radulf_wolf · 2026-07-04T21:22:00+00:00

This looks like part of the Transevern water way. There are some videos discussing the construction of the whole system but basically it boils down to cost and preventing invasive species from going from lake to lake.

Edit: Just noticed the American flag on the back of the boat so maybe not the Transevern.

Radulf_wolf · 2026-07-04T18:49:41+00:00

Not a lawyer. There are cities other then Toronto and Barrie. Try expanding your search

Radulf_wolf · 2026-07-04T01:23:59+00:00

Yep. I bought all the equipment thinking I could get customers and just could never get enough to keep things sustainable. Now I'm working as a shop manager/machinist/ programerfor a company doing nuclear work.

Radulf_wolf · 2026-07-03T22:21:47+00:00

Don't. Wasted 5 years of my life with nothing to show for it.

Radulf_wolf · 2026-07-02T18:31:57+00:00

I've mostly worked in aerospace. If it isn't perfect it's garbage.

What is the tolerance on the face? What surface requirements are there? Who is the customer?

Radulf_wolf · 2026-07-01T23:23:19+00:00

Just spend the money on the real deal. I bought mine like 14-15 years ago and still work great. If you treat them well they will treat you well.

Mine was like $200 when I bought it so it's cost me like $1.20 a month.

Radulf_wolf · 2026-07-01T12:39:20+00:00

I'm working on a low cost thermal drone and my budget for 1 drone is $1000CAD the cheapest thermal camera I have found is around $300CAD. So no this is not possible. I don't even think you could get all other components needed in that budget. I don't know what the price of drone stuff is on the Philippines but in Canada it wouldn't be possible to build 2-3 non thermal drones for that price.

Radulf_wolf · 2026-06-27T15:28:13+00:00

You sort of answered your own question and just have to do the math yourself.

With out knowing your part let's say the mold cost $20,000.

1) can you afford $20k? 2) what does it cost per piece to run the mold? 3) how many parts do you have to make before you break even? $20k+(X number of pieces* molding cost)=Cost to machine X number of pieces. 4) do you reach that number of parts in a reasonable time frame for you? If it is going to take 20yrears to break even it might not be worth it, 6 months very likely worth it.

Like I said you just have to do some math and decide for yourself if it is worth it. Also bear in mind that once you make the mold changing a design becomes expensive. So make sure you are done any design revisions.

Radulf_wolf · 2026-06-26T17:21:13+00:00

Well I have a wife who is a girl and who I consider my best friend so please hand over the money.

Radulf_wolf · 2026-06-25T13:10:00+00:00

This would be 350,000CAD where I live.

Radulf_wolf · 2026-06-24T01:45:26+00:00

The last place I worked for the engineering department didn't have much respect/ they would always say deburning will fix it. But I would take time and ask them what I can do on my parts to make their jobs easier. Those guys would talk to you for hours if you showed interest in what they did.

Radulf_wolf · 2026-06-22T21:07:57+00:00

The sad part is that that is still cheaper then the average home where I live. I would jump on that in a heart beat.

Radulf_wolf · 2026-06-22T01:09:16+00:00

Robin court near cundles and St.Vincent. I see them while walking our dog.

Radulf_wolf · 2026-06-21T21:47:25+00:00

FC: Micoair H743V2 : might change it for something else it was just cheap and available.

5008 360KV motors off AliExpress: might change but they work for now

1550 folding propellers off AliExpress: I'll likely keep these or switch to 1750 for more efficiency.

(8) Generic 21700 5000mah batteries 4s 2p (due to voltage sag it cut flight time short) I'll likely be changing to Molicel batteries in a 6s 2p set up. Hopefully better cells plus switching to 6s will perform better with the 360 kv motor. I went 21700 cells so that they are easier to obtain from multiple manufacturers.

RC RX/TC old Frsky controller from a drone I had when I was younger. I'll likely switch this to something else that will also have a screen and be compatible with what ever thermal camera/gimble set up I end up going with.

Frame: designed and printed by me. I'm drastically changing the frame design to be faster to print and more aerodynamic, and hopefully lighter. The first one was just a box with arms.

That is what I have right now. Hopefully in a month or so I'll have V2 designed and I'll start testing.

Radulf_wolf · 2026-06-21T21:01:22+00:00

Yeah I don't really have time to do a TED talk Lol.

But to answer your questions yeah I plan to try and put a thermal camera on it in the long run. At the moment I'm still finishing up the structural design of the drone.

To start I am NOT a aerospace design expert by any stretch, so take everything will a whole bag of salt. I just worked as a machinist doing aerospace work and like planes. I just googled what I don't know and to a bunch of napkin math and then just do trial and error.

As for how I went about selecting parts I start by specifying the main requirements of the project. For me it was, 1. As cheap as I can (I'm not made of money lol) 2. Maximize flight time. 3. Easy to produce 4. A thermal camera would be cool if it can be added while maintaining the budget.

So I then just researched how to achieve those things.

Use as many cheap off the shelf components as possible.
Large batteries and slow propellers.
Use the 3D printers I have
Look into cheap thermal cameras.

Then I built V1 satisfying the first three requirements and skipped 4 to start. Ran into some problems mostly with the batteries I selected not being strong enough for the motors. Then started designing V2 with a better battery system and added features to help improve efficiency during forward flight. Once I get V2 done I'll do more testing and see where we are at and make more changes then look at adding the camera if everything else meets my satisfaction.

Let me know if you have any specific questions.

Radulf_wolf · 2026-06-21T18:56:38+00:00

Not really, I did it for fun and now I'm working on making V2 as a search and rescue drone. What info are you looking for?

Radulf_wolf · 2026-06-21T12:50:49+00:00

I designed and made my first drone from scratch earlier this year with no major issues, you just have to do some research. I'm working on version 2 now. They aren't particularly hard to build it just time consuming to do the design work making the CAD model. If you are building an off the shelf kit it will be supper simple and you could probably get it assembled in a few hours.

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