and the local light engineering company quoted me a price so high my legs buckled underneath me and I felt very unwell. ( £12 each for a 60mm stanchion??????? :( )
That seems an OK price, considering that to make them will most probably take the best part of a day. Making of holding jigs and cutters, for most probably two machines. Setting up time etc. If it is done with CNC, you have programming time.
Most small engineering firms charge about £60 per hour including setup times or part of an hour, some a lot more.
Model engineers sort of fill the gap, but people still go white when we ask for £10 to £15 per hour. Would you work for £1 an hour, as some people expect, and they would want us to provide materials as well. We fill a need, and usually provide an excellent service to those who don't have the necessary bits to make it themselves. We are not a charity, as some people expect us to make something for less than the cost it takes to produce it.
But, they say, you do it as a hobby.
Hobby or not, I have just invested £10k in rebuilding my shop and getting all new machinery. In my situation, that cost has to be recouped some way, as my workshop has to pay for itself. If I break a small milling cutter doing a job, they don't like it when you add £10 to replace it, they expect us to absorb all costs from our own pockets.
So spare a thought for us, sitting in the background, with usually years of knowledge and experience, waiting to help out the unfortunate amongst you. We WILL help, but don't expect charity.
Just think of it this way, would you build a kit for someone, with you providing all the time, glues and paints etc, then all you get is a 'thank you'. I think not.
John