Who can earn a living fixing chainsaws?

[Fish]

Just a good question. Most of the techs here work for a dealer, and likely
make crappy pay. Just curious...................................

 

[Lakeside53]

only as side jobs....

You can get more money working for the customers - hauling brush and cutting lawns - than fixing saws..

 

[Tree Sling'r]

It helps me make a living fixing mine. Although if I never had a hard** for power I would probably not know what I've learned. Never blew a saw until I started modding mine - now I am a vet. But have learned from the mistakes of the early days.

 

[spike60]

It kind of depends on how you define "make a living". If we had nothing in the store but saws, we wouldn't have a store for very long. We really make our living on the big ticket items. And a tech would also have to be able to do more than saws, because in our store, he'd only be doing saws about 20% of the time.

A guy could do saw repair on the side, but just for pocket money. And it's far more complicated getting set up with parts sources and such than a guy might think. Anyone working out of the house or part time is going to be getting all of the junk work, and there is no money in the low end.

I agree with what Lake said. We had a local guy who was doing some repairs and selling used stuff out of his house. He got hold of an Exmark walk behind, and started doing a couple lawns. He says that it's way better to make a few bucks doing some lawns than dealing with a lot of cheap people wanting him to fix junk, or asking him "can you do any better?" than $35 for a running lawn mower.

 

[Hard Knocks]

We would not be able to exist on saws alone. We deal with all types of outdoor power equipment both residential and commercial. Our prices are a bit higher than some of our competitors but that seems to work in our favor by keeping us from working on "turds". Today education is the key element for technicians and dealers to succeed. It is no longer acceptable for a handyman with an understanding of engines to work in a profitable dealership. Our technicians are well educated in engine diagnosis, electrical troubleshooting, hydraulic systems, power transmission, and customer service. This brings them higher wages and our customers better value.

 

[newguy18]

We would not be able to exist on saws alone. We deal with all types of outdoor power equipment both residential and commercial. Our prices are a bit higher than some of our competitors but that seems to work in our favor by keeping us from working on "turds". Today education is the key element for technicians and dealers to succeed. It is no longer acceptable for a handyman with an understanding of engines to work in a profitable dealership. Our technicians are well educated in engine diagnosis, electrical troubleshooting, hydraulic systems, power transmission, and customer service. This brings them higher wages and our customers better value.

i dont do it for a living but i have fixed anything you can think of cars, trucks, tractors all kinds of small engines and of course boat motors and hulls.

 

[Al Smith]

Oh sure,I could make a living repairing saws.Of course I would have to tighten my belt a bit,so to speak.Perhaps taking up residency in the back of an old Chevy van and living on stale doughnuts retrieved from the dumpster behind dunkin doughnuts and Mellow-creme or something similar to that.

Might not be a bad idea,come to think of it.The tax burden would be nil.

 

[Simonizer]

Our two techs make $25.00 and $24.00 per hour. This is about 50K per year.

 

[Lakeside53]

$15-20 is the higher end around here... (sure here are some more and some less, but... it's hard to get paid more than $15.. Can't live (feed a family, buy a house) on that in Seattle. Unskilled work pays more.

 

[Lakeside53]

Our two techs make $25.00 and $24.00 per hour. This is about 50K per year.

What's your shop rate?

 

[Simonizer]

$15-20 is the higher end around here.. Can't live (feed a family, buy a house) on that in Seattle.

Wow, that's pretty low. Journeymen tradesmen at the mills here average $29.00-$32.00 per hour. Instrument mechanics are around $35.00 per hour. Our shop rate is $60.00 per hour.

 

[Lakeside53]

Educate me on Canada... What payroll deductions result for the employee and/or the employer. Does the employer pay the medical insurance (if applicable)?

 

[Simonizer]

Educate me on Canada... What payroll deductions result for the employee and/or the employer. Does the employer pay the medical insurance (if applicable)?

We pay full medical and dental, the employee pays zero. Federal income tax is deducted (about 24% at this hourly rate). There is also CPP, (Canada pension plan). Take home pay for our guys is about $1600.00 every two weeks.

 

[clearance]

Educate me on Canada... What payroll deductions result for the employee and/or the employer. Does the employer pay the medical insurance (if applicable)?

An employee-all provincial and federal taxes are deducted from his earnings by the employer and forwarded to the Govt. Pension payments and unemployment insurance paymnets are shared by both the employee and employer and also collected by the employer for the Govt. The employer also pays 4% holiday pay to the employee (also taxed) So, by the time the employee gets his pay after all the deductions, its a long way from $25hr./$200day. And the more you work, the more they take. Some of the deductions are for good things, some of them are outright theft. Medical insurance can be paid by either, its only $1-$2 a day.

 

[D]

I used to pay 50% commission on jobs with at 60 dollar an hour rate. That was 7 years ago. They made easily $30 an hour and it helped me when it was slow. I didn't have to pay out when it was slow. Luckily, January and February were mainly the slow months for us. Still had a few snowblowers here and there. Most of them made between $50-$70,000 on commissions.

 

[Lakeside53]

Simon: is your $25 per hour based on billable hours of service work or a "wage" 8 hours a day?

Darin: Maybe I missed something ...your guys were billing 1700 to 2300+ hours a year each, and it was somewhat seasonal?

 

[Tzed250]

Is that 25 Canadian or 25 US?

 

[Hard Knocks]

Is that 25 Canadian or 25 US?

Currently there is very little difference between $25 Canadian and $25 US.

Our shop wages range between $15 and $20 depending on experience performance and skill.

 

[Four Paws]

Is that 25 Canadian or 25 US?

Anymore, that is about the same. I think the exchange is $.93USD = $1CAN.

I would like to make a living fixing saws, and 2-strokes in general. I am really not into maintenance on 4-strokes - I do it to my own stuff because I have to, not because I enjoy it. I would like to modify saws, bikes and sleds, but from my limited experience on here, egos and politics get in the way...and then someone is always claiming that you ruined their saw. I figure I ought to just keep it a hobby - that way I can continue to enjoy it for years to come!

Josh

 

[RiverRat2]

Fish,,,,

We pay full medical and dental, the employee pays zero. Federal income tax is deducted (about 24% at this hourly rate). There is also CPP, (Canada pension plan). Take home pay for our guys is about $1600.00 every two weeks.

Ya need to swim your pectorals up to Canada and go to work for the Simonizer,,,,,,,,,,,,, seeing as how Darin's no longer in tha biz :hmm3grin2orange: :hmm3grin2orange: :hmm3grin2orange: