Build-It-Yourself Attachments KITS??? interested?

[charlz]

Shipping is the killer for me. The total pricing would have to work out to around or below what I can purchase a decent used one for. I am a cheap bastard so I don't really buy anything new, I either make it or wait for a deal on craigslist. Right now I would be interested in a garden bedder/hiller, which doesn't look to require too much welding, and a 48" box blade.

 

[ericher69]

Travis,

Will you start the polling thread to choose a worthy member? Or should one of us?

Also could you include criteria like;

Average mechanical knowledge
Average welding skill
Average fabrication skills
Etc.

Reason I say average I doubt you want a master fabricator or welder to be your test subject!

I believe the average TBN member may be a better test subject as it would reflect a bigger demographic than the experts/experienced TBN members.

Thanks

 

[EverythingAttachments]

Travis,

Will you start the polling thread to choose a worthy member? Or should one of us?

Also could you include criteria like;

Average mechanical knowledge
Average welding skill
Average fabrication skills
Etc.

Reason I say average I doubt you want a master fabricator or welder to be your test subject!

I believe the average TBN member may be a better test subject as it would reflect a bigger demographic than the experts/experienced TBN members.

Thanks

You guys can start a polling thread if you think that's the best way to go about it. A master fabricator is probably not the best choice and the other points you bring up are very valid and open for discussion. I will leave it in the hands of the TBN community to give us the best advice possible.

 

[mikehaugen]

Hey Travis,

Nice to see that you ARE paying attention. I think that there was a lot of good advice on this (and the other) thread. I also believe that some people are trying to make this too complicated, and what I believe is beyond the scope of what you are trying to do. I still stand by saying that it is a great idea and if/when this thing gets off the ground I will be in line for a couple attachments. I love fabricating different things, but find that sometimes the cutting and shaping of particular items needed are beyond the capabilities of the shop (garage) that I have at my disposal, and usually end up finding a used implement is the way to go for the price. If I could find pre-cut and bent parts to weld together it would be awesome.

I will also add to the comment about the "master fabricator" not being the greatest idea. He/ she will probably have a dedicated fab shop at their disposal and will be tempted to modify parts to meet their needs. This needs to be built exactly as designed to be a worthwhile experiment. I can't wait to see this happen. I would nominate myself but don't want to sound greedy. I have seen so many worthy fabricators on here it is hard to pick just one.

Come on everyone and post your credentials/ equipment and lets start doing this!!!

 

[Renze]

Just another idea: the hardest part for most weekend fabricators is getting things square and tacking it in the right position. Because the weekend fabricators will not have the welding jigs you work with in the factory, you might just laser cut tab and slot positioning to the parts, and engrave positioning marks with the laser cutter. tab and slot positioning sure costs valuable cutting time because you have to cut into the plate to start a hole, but on thicker material even just laser marking (laser without adding cutting oxygen) will help most guys a great deal.

 

[charlz]

Just another idea: the hardest part for most weekend fabricators is getting things square and tacking it in the right position. Because the weekend fabricators will not have the welding jigs you work with in the factory, you might just laser cut tab and slot positioning to the parts, and engrave positioning marks with the laser cutter. tab and slot positioning sure costs valuable cutting time because you have to cut into the plate to start a hole, but on thicker material even just laser marking (laser without adding cutting oxygen) will help most guys a great deal.

That would be awesome but might add a lot to the cost. A decent set of drawings showing how the parts align, spacing, angles etc would have to be included.

One of the time consuming things for me is cleaning off mill scale etc in order to do a decent paint job. If the parts were already cleaned up that would be most helpful but likely adds to the cost and probably would promote rust if the parts got exposed to moisture in storage or transport.

 

[Renze]

they could be shipped in a thin coat of weldable primer. Just enough to prevent rust, but thin enough to weld through without grinding it first.

 

[LD1]

they could be shipped in a thin coat of weldable primer. Just enough to prevent rust, but thin enough to weld through without grinding it first.

I would make that an option. I would also make the "laser cut" tab and slots and option as well. Because both would add to the cost of the kit, And may not be needed or wanted by all.

 

[Attono]

This is Travis. I do most of the posting for ETA here on TBN and get the answers to many of your questions directly from Ted because typing and emailing aren't really his thing.

Your opinions really do matter to Ted. An example is.....When he first starting his manufacturing venture, he had a paint color in mind but before he started painting everything that color, he got opinions from you guys and determined that the majority preferred a color that can be purchased locally for touch-up and that goes with all tractors. That color was industrial yellow(CAT yellow) which is totally different from the red color he planned to use. Your opinions directly affect what we do here at ETA. . . From start to finish, we work for you and want that to be well known!!! You are making it possible for Ted to do what he is very passionate about.

Ted wanted me to start this thread to get opinions and see how much interest there is in the idea. You guys have provided us with many great ideas and it seems that there is a great deal of interest and support out there in TBN land!!!
This is not something that we are going to rush into overnight. It will take a great deal of planning to make this work and your input is very valuable and appreciated.

The next step I want to take is to test this idea in the real world with an attachment kit of our choosing($400-$1000 value) in which we will send, free of charge, to one capable person who will agree to provide us(and you) with an in-depth step-by-step review(complete with pictures) of the complete process from beginning to the painted, final product. We will choose a fairly simple attachment but it will require welding and the other capabilities already discussed in this thread.
This will require more help from you guys to let us know who is the right person for the job. Get together and recommend that person by polling/discussion. We will then gather your feedback and proceed.
Again, thanks for your outstanding assistance!! This will also be posted on the attachments forum.

OK, we all discussed and voted. Thanks everybody for choosing me as the lucky recipient of an Everything Attachments land plane kit! I'll do you proud!!! :drink:

I run a Lincoln 175 mig from my garage, have a JD 3520, and live in VA so shipping wouldn't be huge. All in favor???

 

[Hooked_on_HP]

This is Travis. I do most of the posting for ETA here on TBN and get the answers to many of your questions directly from Ted because typing and emailing aren't really his thing.

Your opinions really do matter to Ted. An example is.....When he first starting his manufacturing venture, he had a paint color in mind but before he started painting everything that color, he got opinions from you guys and determined that the majority preferred a color that can be purchased locally for touch-up and that goes with all tractors. That color was industrial yellow(CAT yellow) which is totally different from the red color he planned to use. Your opinions directly affect what we do here at ETA. . . From start to finish, we work for you and want that to be well known!!! You are making it possible for Ted to do what he is very passionate about.

Ted wanted me to start this thread to get opinions and see how much interest there is in the idea. You guys have provided us with many great ideas and it seems that there is a great deal of interest and support out there in TBN land!!!
This is not something that we are going to rush into overnight. It will take a great deal of planning to make this work and your input is very valuable and appreciated.

The next step I want to take is to test this idea in the real world with an attachment kit of our choosing($400-$1000 value) in which we will send, free of charge, to one capable person who will agree to provide us(and you) with an in-depth step-by-step review(complete with pictures) of the complete process from beginning to the painted, final product. We will choose a fairly simple attachment but it will require welding and the other capabilities already discussed in this thread.
This will require more help from you guys to let us know who is the right person for the job. Get together and recommend that person by polling/discussion. We will then gather your feedback and proceed.
Again, thanks for your outstanding assistance!! This will also be posted on the attachments forum.

You need to choose some one who has some fabrication experience . You should choose someone who has posted some of their builds on this forum. This way you could see that they have the skill and proper tools to do the build.You don't want your first review to come out bad because the builder wasn't capable. But as others have stated you don't want a master fabricator either. This would also allow them to give you ideas to improve the product. The person also has to have the time to assemble the attachment in a reasonable amount of time. The person should also be given a choice of several attachments to chose from. If he already has a box blade he wont be as ambitious about building one. Let him pick somthing he wants that is in a reasonable price range.
Bill