How It Started vs How It's Going

Wow, have things changed since last year! I figured it might be cool to stroll down memory lane, talk about where we have been in the past year, how we have grown, and where we hope to go. The photo above is the OG Talons Garage. Where this whole operation started, and where everything happened up until a few months ago.

Many of you have seen my “Contact Me” page. The picture of the CNC plasma on the page was what started Talons Garage. I started building that CNC plasma table in our one bedroom apartment in the Houston Medical Center, quickly outgrew it, and built a larger 5x12’ CNC plasma table.

Above is a photo of my original press brake. It was another Facebook marketplace find. This press brake was old, and not as powerful as I needed. Some of our early customers will remember the bend lines I had to put in the plates so this press brake would be able to bend it. This press brake was great for what I needed it for at the time. Granted, for every angle change, and every material I had to adjust it manually, and it took a lot of time to do so. It also did not have a back gauge. I couldn’t afford new tooling at the time, so I ended up making my own on the CNC mill. The photo below is my experiments in making custom lower dies to bend the plates on.

Sales started to pick up, and we started to become more popular. I soon met Gary Ramsey and decided to pull the trigger on a much larger, more powerful but entry level CNC press brake.

This press brake was a total game changer. It is a 2 axis CNC, I could make programs for all of my parts, and it literally changed my world. Soon after getting this press brake, I was able to redesign some of my skid plates, and design new front skid plates. Being able to have a machine that could automatically go from a 90 degree 2” long flange bend to a 30 degree 2” flange bend was amazing! The more I played with this press brake, the more I learned, and the better my products became. It was very soon after getting this press brake I released my front skid plates.

Over the next six months we got busier and busier. My wife and I ran the show for a long time, but eventually hired two of her cousins and one of their friends to help us out. I have been slowly teaching them more about fabrication techniques and they have been a huge help. I also have both of my neighbors’ kids doing a few things for me, and one other new employee helping my wife with shipping!

As I grew, I realized I needed more space…. And the CNC plasma was not cutting it anymore….. Essentially it was time to man up, bite the bullet, and go big or go home. This was not an easy decision for my wife and I. This was a very large commitment for both of us. We both were still working our very safe jobs as Advanced Practice Nurses, but we both decided to go part time at our jobs. I called my friend Gary again and ordered a CNC laser and started searching for a true shop.

Here is the install video of the Laser when it arrived. Pretty good video, don’t mind my goofy self! You can see most of the tools I already talked about in here. Blinding Laser

This laser is another true game changer for us here at Talons Garage! The cuts are cleaner, the holes are perfect, accuracy is at a whole new level. I will be the first to admit, we have had a few issues in the past year. While our screw up rate was less than 1%, we did accidentally send out a few plates that didn’t have holes cut properly or had some other small issue. This laser is going to dramatically change that, if not virtually eliminate it.

Not only is it going to improve our current products, but it is dramatically improving our ability to make new and better products. We have a lot of things planned for next year, and have a few more surprises coming, but that will be the topic for another post.

My wife and I are continuously investing heavily back into Talons Garage and are working hard to get to the next level. This laser was a HUGE part in that, and I am happy to say - Welcome to the NEW Talons Garage. What would you like to see from us? Drop a comment below.