
A repair shop in Atlanta is making electronic components from materials found in homes and homespun furniture.
The shop is named Electron Repair Shop and it has made its first products from wood, steel and aluminum.
Owner J.D. Haggins, who works for the shop, says the shop is trying to save on labor costs and keep the cost of parts down.
“I think if you can do that, and if you make it as cheap as possible, you can actually save money,” he said.
Electron Repair has had the ability to make its own electronic components since 2012, but has been hesitant to open a shop in order to save money.
Haggins said the shop was inspired by a project by a Georgia resident, who is trying out different materials.
He was inspired to create his own products because he is a big fan of wood.
A small shop, Haggons said he is also a big believer in making things with recycled materials, as long as it is made from high quality wood.
He said he started with materials that are used in homes, and has since refined the process to make the products from metal and steel.
“I wanted to make products that would not only look good but also work,” he explained.
To create the new products, Hoggins said he had to think outside the box.
His first order of business was to get a piece of wood and start making it into an electrical component.
That turned out to be a tricky process, because there were many different types of wood to choose from.
“It’s a little like making your own furniture,” Haggs said.
“You get it to a stage where it’s just a little bit dull.”
Haggs’ shop has made electronic components like the speakers that connect to a computer, the motors that control the lighting, the LED light bulbs that light up the room and the doorbell that will alert the owner when the front door opens.
Each of those components is made of wood, he said, and can be made into all sorts of products, like lamps and other lights.
Haggens also made a case to use wood for his electronics, including the motors for the door, the speaker for the speakerphone and the LED lights.
If you look at that, you might be thinking, this is not really what we want to do.
It’s not like we have a lot of money to spend, he explained, adding that he was able to purchase materials that were cheap and easy to find.
“If I can get those materials cheap and cheap, it’s going to be cheaper than having to do it yourself,” he added.
“We want to make this as easy as possible.
We want to take a bunch of stuff we’ve made, throw it together and make something that is going to look good, and we can save money and have it ready in time.”
Hoggs said his shop started in March and he is still adding products.
While he has started a small shop with only wood, Higgins said that he wants to expand his product line to include the kinds of items that you might see in a home repair shop.
One of his favorite projects was creating the lightbulbs that make the lights in a house work.
“You might see that in a lot, but I wanted to get it into something that I could put on a table or a chair, and it would have the light, and I would be able to see that,” he joked.
For now, Hagins is just working on making the products that make him happy, but he hopes that the shop will eventually have a bigger and better business.
And he said he hopes the shop and his company can help people understand how to save time and money.
“The whole purpose of this business is to make people happy,” he noted.