Plans for sale via the net...any interest in such a product?

[mjncad]

I used to be a piping/mechanical designer (industrial & commercial facilities), and I've been thinking of offering plans for sale via the web of the tractor stuff I make to supplement our income since we bought a bunch of bare dirt recently.

I would set up a web site with pictures of the tractor stuff I've built, offer paper plans for sale in either 22" x 34" or 11" x 17" sizes. I'd also offer a free PDF download of a letter size plan that people can print out as a sample of my work.

Since I don't have an outbuilding for a shop; I don't plan on doing any production fabrication.

Before I get too gung ho with this idea, I thought I'd see if there was any interest.

Thanks in advance for any and all opinions and suggestions.

 

[SPIKER]

mjncad:

I sent you a PM on / in regards to the post.

mark M

 

[tnhomestead]

depends on the items -- i have bought plans, and used free ones too.

 

[mjncad]

As I said to SPIKER in my PM reply, I am thinking more along the lines of a part time income supplement and not a full time job.

I also would offer plans of stuff that I have personally built and something the average tractor owner with fabrication skills could build.

If someone wanted me to draw up professional plans, I could offer that service too.

This is something I need to think about more.

 

[EddieWalker]

I've thought about this too. A few years ago I bought a set of plans for a pole barn that somebody had recomended on here. He was building a pole barn and said the book was really good. After looking it over, I didn't agree. It was impossible to follow along with the plans as the author forgot steps and jumped ahead of himself. Since then, I've always thought that a well writen, step by step set of plans for building pole barns would be useful to others. I'd have to build the barn and document each step of the process to be sure I got it right. I'd also have to document every piece of material needed, plus take into consideration codes and liablity issues. That's probably why I haven't done it.

I love to brouse through ebay to see if something is for sale that I might like to have. From time to time I'll come across a set of plans for different things. Lately I've been seeing plans on Deer Blinds. The sell for about $5 plus shipping and from what I've seen, are rather basic and limited. What amazes me is when I look under the sellers feedback, there are all sorts of people who have bought the plans and recomend them. I know I can do it better, but lack the motivation to do so.

If you have a good set of plans that anybody with zero experience and minimal skills can accomplish, they will sell on ebay.

Before I sold them, I would give out a few sets to friends or even people that you don't know personally, and have them build with them. The feedback you get will tell you what you forgot or how to improve on them.

From reading some of the posts on here, there is a huge market and demand for quite a few things. Everything from rakes, grapples and thumbs, to sheds, barns and chicken coops. Most of it is available online for free, or just common sense will explain how to build them most of the time, but from some of the posts I've read, a step by step plan would be very helpful. My specialty is framing and I've seen some doosey of disasters in a few posts here. Things that frighten me and I've PM'd people about fixing.

Do it better then everyone else and sell it for a reasonable price, and you can't fail.

Eddie

 

[mjncad]

Thanks for the input Eddie. I've made thousands of drawings in my life, and I took pride in the work I created. I know what you mean about poor quality plans and drawings being next to worthless. I call it "Rectal Engineering" when one has to rely on winging it because the plans are incomplete and unclear. And yes, I've done my share of this kind of design from time to time.

Some things lend themselves quite well to step by step instructions as evidenced by a plastic model kit's instructions. Others don't as there are numerous ways to accomplish the same thing depending on someone's fabrication skills, tools, time and money. I would probably draw up traditional plans and place key notes where required that this needs to be done before the next part is made and added to the assembly.

A lot of the stuff I build would go faster if I had a PlasmaCAM to cut parts out instead of my band-saws and hole-saws. I also suspect most people don't have a PlasmaCAM either.

 

[BucketHoe]

mjncad,

As sad as it sounds, be aware that in this day and age if you sell a plan and someone gets hurt, everyone will get sued, all the way back to the guy that drew the plans.

If you sell a plan and you are not a PE registered in all the states you sell the plans in and do not have the engineering data to back up the safety of the design, be prepared for a rough time in court.

BucketHoe

 

[mjncad]

That's the other thing in the back of my mind Buckethoe...keeping the legal beagles at bay.

 

[Blagadan]

It is sad but true.

You HAVE to cover your butt, think of all the cons before you move on this.

 

[RickS]

I would like to have one of the attachments that you built for your bucket, with the 2" hitch and hooks. I'd buy one.