Hi Guys:
I Nominate ME
as I have been BROKE DO TO my woman being out of work for 3 years. We BOTH have lots of projects in-mind just time/money either one or the other not both...
First a couple thoughts, I agree should be someone with good skill but maybe not the best tooling/equipment. OR someone with good tooling and average skills both have merits. I look at it as the guy who has the skills and all the tools probably would not be buying "pre-fab" kits they would BUILD it with little more than chalk and shop floor sketches.
The guy who has limited tools and good/moderate skills with JUST ENOUGH tools to do the job needed for a "KIT ASSEMBLY" on top of the skills to Document the build and provide feedback. Someone who can weld grind & paint but has limited heavy steel cutting ability or limited access to steel.
That all said heck I'll toss my hat into ring. Vote SPIKER
(shameless pandering to follow)
I'm now riding a desk, years of fabricating industrial equipment got me there. I do engineering now for my paycheck but still get into the shop during builds to make sure everything is done well.
Now I'm not in the shop I have less access to equipment which for this type of a KIT I think what I have will work.
Tractor, JM284 (28HP 4 wheel drive) with FEL and Backhoe, Implements include Box Blade, 5' Finish Mower, 6' Rotary Cutter, 6' leaf/root rake, 6' blade, 4' rototiller as all the BOUGHT add on toys er tools.
SHOP 38x50 Pole Barn w Concrete 120/240VAC (not yet heated
)
SHOP TOOLS include 120V Mig, and 240V Stick (AC/DC).
Great Compressor with a good bit of Air Powered Hand tools; Grinders, Sanders, Drills, Sandblasters and die-grinders etc.
Lots of Electric Hand Tools as well; Drills, Saws, Grinders and the like.
Hand Tools galore
and a lot of both Standard and Metric sizes, tons of squares angle finders and a good bit of machining accuracy type tools.
WHAT have I built, it is a real long list but for the sake of my above posts I'm going to say what I've built mostly at home and or home repairs to my equipment.
Dump Trailer, Single Axle made mostly from sheet steel and SQ tubing with Mobile Home axle cut down to fit. Pics can be seen here.
dump trailer Photos by WPSPIKER | Photobucket
pre-paint photo this was built using cut & formed 14AWG 3x3x1/4" sq tube and 2x2x14awg sq tube. It was all made from 2 lengths of 3x3 and 2 sheets of 4x10x14awg hot rolled. cost about 500.00 in materials thru shop & a weeks time 6hrs/day. It was built while I was on Vacation but did bend/form & cut to size at the shop welded up using Mig. It also took a few 1/2" x 4" bar cut welded drilled for the hinges and cyl mounts.
Carry All little different than most as I used 2x2x14awg Angle Iron to reinforce 2x2x3/16" wall Tubing that I notched the tube to hold chains across it. the Notches were cut/designed to grip the chain when wrapped over it. Never thought it was much so have not posted any photos, and ones I did take are on my DOA hard drive
(EDIT IN found the OLD post of it.)
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/build-yourself/42002-carry-all-attachments.html
Syrup Pan
Yep make my own home made syrup
Pan is 14awg SS that is Tig Welded up, (cheating a bit as I used the SHOP's Tig to make this one up.) I have since tore out the block pit and replaced it with bigger pit & sand stone
What I used to do a lot of seen here for work related stuff.
control panels I build Photos by WPSPIKER | Photobucket
General Repairs and QUICKIE projects, such as Welding up Hydraulic Cylinder Rod Ends on the backhoe or Adding FEL Hooks and Receiver Hitch to the tractor bucket. Built & installed NEW 12000LB Winch Mounting System to my Beaver Tail Trailer. reinforced the Backhoe Sub-frame mounts and moved it forward for better tractor support.
Projects I'm working towards but not finished biggest one is the "FEL Grapple" I started collecting parts but never got around to the Hydraulics, (which I did in USAF on Aircraft) so easy to do with a switched valve or adding section to the FEL control. The missing parts are the "Long Arms" and Cylinders/hoses. I have receiver parts and a few small items just no longer working where I can get the Plate cut way I need/want for the arms. Which would be a good "KIT" option as a LOT of people would like to add grapple to their FELs. Grapple is my choice but other items would be counterweights and carryalls (which I have.)
The biggest issue I see for the KITS to be come successful is figuring out WHAT is easy to CUT into shapes and EASY to SHIP that people are willing to assemble to save $. Buying a Box Blade ready made is CHEAP so much so that paying for the Steel costs almost as much as a Ready Made Painted Box Blade.
EDIT IN Sorry for long posts, Searching I tend to POST REPLY'S to questions more than my own items as I started 44 posts and have 3K posts in total...
Mark M (my TBN name is SPIKER)