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Turning is the backbone of the workshop. Round work, held in a chuck or a collet, cut to a diameter and a length that somebody actually needs. Most turning enquiries arrive as a drawing with a handful of critical dimensions and a generous tolerance everywhere else, which is exactly the sort of job we like: clear requirements, no guesswork.

We work in one-offs and in batches, and we set the job up the same way either way. If a part is going to be repeated later, the set-up notes and inspection records are kept so the second run matches the first.

What to send usA drawing (PDF, DWG, DXF, STEP or IGES) with the material, the tolerances that matter and the quantity. If there is no drawing, a clear sketch with a few key dimensions, or the worn part itself, is usually enough to quote from.

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Milled work is usually flat, angular and full of features. Plates that need a pocket in the middle and a bolt pattern around the edge. Brackets that have to fit an existing machine and cannot be redesigned. Profiles cut from plate with a tolerance on the outside shape and nothing much on the inside.

Features are kept in as few set-ups as possible, so hole positions stay related to one another rather than drifting between operations. Where a job needs a feature on more than one face, we will tell you at quoting stage what that does to the price and the lead time.

What to send usA drawing or model, plus the material and quantity. If the part has to fit something existing, send a photograph or a sketch of the assembly as well — it often saves a question later.

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Some jobs are defined by a number on a drawing and some are defined by a fit. A bore that has to accept a bearing with the right amount of interference. A shaft that has to turn freely in a housing without rattling. A worn surface that needs building up, re-cutting and finishing back to the original size.

This is the work where measurement matters most, so it is measured rather than estimated. Bores are checked as they are cut, fits are tried before finishing, and the finished part is inspected against the mating component wherever we have it.

What to send usThe mating component if you have it, or its measured dimensions, plus the fit you are trying to achieve (interference, transition or clearance) and where the measurement is being taken from.

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Fabrication is where machining and welding meet. A guard that has to clear a rotating part and bolt to existing holes. A stand that has to carry a known load and sit level on an uneven floor. A frame that has to be square within a millimetre across two metres, because everything bolted to it depends on it being square.

Material is cut, prepared and checked before welding, and critical dimensions are verified after welding rather than assumed, because heat moves metal. Where a fabricated item needs machined faces or accurate holes, they are cut after welding so the finished geometry is correct.

What to send usA sketch or drawing with overall sizes, the material and the loads or environment it will see. A photograph of the space it has to fit is genuinely useful, as is telling us whether appearance or function matters more.

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Not every job arrives fully specified, and it does not need to. Plenty of good parts start as a sketch on a bench, a photograph of something broken, or a drawing that was never quite finished. If you can describe what the part has to do, we can usually work out how to make it.

Where a design will be difficult or expensive to machine, we will say so before quoting, and suggest a change if there is an obvious one — a corner radius that would need a special cutter, a feature that could be a standard size, a tolerance that is tighter than the function requires. That advice is part of the job, not an extra.

What to send usWhatever you have: a sketch with key dimensions, a PDF, a model, or the sample part itself. Tell us what the part has to do and how many you might eventually need, and we will quote with that in mind.

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Batches are quoted with the set-up in mind, because on a run of twenty parts the set-up is often a meaningful share of the cost. That means it is worth talking to us before you commit to a quantity: sometimes a small change to the drawing, or a slightly different quantity, changes the price per part more than the metal does.

Repeat orders are made to the same set-up notes as the original run, and the inspection records from the first batch are kept so we can show that the second matches the first. If you need parts delivered in stages rather than all at once, that can be arranged at quoting stage.

What to send usThe drawing, the quantity you need now, and the quantity you might need over a year if you know it. Annual or repeat volumes often change how we would set the job up, and we would rather quote it once, properly.

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A machine goes down, the manufacturer no longer supports it, and the part that failed is no longer available at any price. That is a familiar situation, and it is one of the most useful things a small workshop can do: take the broken part, measure it carefully, work out what it was originally meant to be, and make a replacement.

Where a part has worn rather than broken, the wear itself is the information. Measuring a worn surface carefully tells us what the original size should have been. Where a design was clearly weak, we will say so, and can suggest a modest change that keeps the part interchangeable while lasting longer.

What to send usThe failed part, or what is left of it, along with as much information as you have about the machine it came from. If the part is still in service and cannot be sent, photographs with a rule held against it are a workable starting point.

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Machining is only part of the route to a usable component. Edges need breaking, bores need cleaning, pressed parts need pressing, and sometimes the customer wants a finished assembly rather than a bag of parts. We would rather supply the second.

Finishing is done by hand where hand work is what the job needs, and deburring is treated as a real operation rather than an afterthought, because a sharp edge is a defect whatever the drawing says. Where an assembly is supplied, it is checked as an assembly — fits, alignment and freedom of movement — not just as a collection of parts.

What to send usThe component drawings plus, where relevant, an assembly drawing showing how the parts go together, the fit required at each joint, and whether you want the item delivered assembled or as loose parts.

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