Welding On 100 lb Propane Tank Questions

[JB4310]

I made a portable air tank out of a 20#er and the air stunk for 5 years.

 

[excelagator]

Doing some research I found this site.
The Beach Burner Portable Bonfire: 24 and 30 inch Recycled Steel Fire Pits: ArtBuzz
Look at the prices guys! Go get more propane tanks!

 

[johntunger]

Hi Dan,

Please be aware that my firepit designs ARE copyrighted and that I do make every attempt to prosecute commercial copies of my work. Please note that any instance of willful copyright infringement entitles the copyright holder to all rights and remedies available under the Copyright Act, including but not limited to injunctive relief, statutory damages of up to $150,000.00 per infringing work and attorneys fees.

Please do not suggest to others on the bulletin board that they should make copies of my work as you are setting them up for trouble.

If you are unsure of the legal consequences of violating copyright, you can learn more by visiting U.S. Copyright Office or seeking proffesional legal guidance.
Thank you,

John T Unger

 

[bx2230orange]

Maybe instead of threatening to sue you should thank him for letting people know about your site.....I know I would have never heard of it or you if it hadn't been for excelegator.
I doubt if there is going to be a huge increase of Kubota owners with propane tanks converted to fire pits from his post. Your buisness is safe.

 

[gemini5362]

Hi Dan,

Please be aware that my firepit designs ARE copyrighted and that I do make every attempt to prosecute commercial copies of my work. Please note that any instance of willful copyright infringement entitles the copyright holder to all rights and remedies available under the Copyright Act, including but not limited to injunctive relief, statutory damages of up to $150,000.00 per infringing work and attorneys fees.

Please do not suggest to others on the bulletin board that they should make copies of my work as you are setting them up for trouble.

If you are unsure of the legal consequences of violating copyright, you can learn more by visiting U.S. Copyright Office or seeking proffesional legal guidance.
Thank you,

John T Unger

John I went back and read his post. I dont believe he was advocating commercial copies of your work. I believe if anything he was saying that they were too expensive for his taste and maybe if someone wanted to make their own firepit they could out of propane bottles. I agree with the other poster that he has done you a great service by pointing out your web site to a large group of people with the funds to purchase some of your items. He has done this advertising for you absolutely free of charge. I for one would be an example. If I was in the market for a firepit the prices you have on your web site would not faze me a bit. There are a lot of people on this forum that are the same way. What you have managed to do with your post is to turn a lot of free advertising into negative advertising. Your I am going to sue if someone looks at my post and makes their own firepit type of rhetoric would keep me from purchasing anything from you. Their is another poster on here who makes tractor disconnects. There are people who are copying his product and selling it on EBay for about 25 per cent of what he sells it for. He has been in this forum several times. One of the things he posts is the difference between his product and the cheaper copy. He also hangs out in a thread about his product and is very quick to answer questions if you have problems with his product. One person wrote a bout a problem they had and was sent a new part before they even contacted the manufacturer. I would guess that he probably sells a lot more items with his style on this forum than you do.

 

[dynasim]

johntunger

I was going to(actually did) write a negative note about your reply, but deleted it after contemplation. The threat that you made was hollow, unless the entity who copied the concept was/is an idiot.

I sometimes look upon such threats/terrorism as a challenge.

Chris

 

[excelagator]

Dear John T Unger,

The advertising bill is in the mail.

Sincerely Yours,
Dan

 

[JB4310]

how could he possibly consider your post a threat in any way, also how could you patent flames cut in a pc of metal, how could there be an infringement unless it was a carbon copy, he probably got his idea from some one else's work on another web site.

 

[patrick_g]

A tank that has NOT been opened to the air while empty has only propane in it and does not constitute a direct explosion hazard from sparks. After ventilating it you may have a mixture of propane and air that could be explosive.

A propane tank may be filled with water by attaching a short hose to it, opening the valve, heating the tank, immersing the other end of the hose in water and then spraying water on the hot tank. The air in the tank will contract and draw in water. Place the tank upright, heat it again and again immerse the hose in water and cool the tank. A few iterations and the tank is full of water.

Pat

 

[aczlan]

Please be aware that my firepit designs ARE copyrighted and that I do make every attempt to prosecute commercial copies of my work. Please note that any instance of willful copyright infringement entitles the copyright holder to all rights and remedies available under the Copyright Act, including but not limited to injunctive relief, statutory damages of up to $150,000.00 per infringing work and attorneys fees.

first off, do you work for the RIAA? you sound like a RIAA infomercial.

Secondly, (edit, never mind, suffice it to say that I don't like your site)
Aaron Z

 

[excelagator]

how could he possibly consider your post a threat in any way

I guess as an artist he can't read smiley faces!

I found the site searching info cleaning my propane tank. I have seen other homemade propane tank burners on other sites also. I think the real problem is that members reading this thread can figured out how these are made.

Dan

 

[AlanB]

Hi Dan,

Please be aware that my firepit designs ARE copyrighted and that I do make every attempt to prosecute commercial copies of my work. Please note that any instance of willful copyright infringement entitles the copyright holder to all rights and remedies available under the Copyright Act, including but not limited to injunctive relief, statutory damages of up to $150,000.00 per infringing work and attorneys fees.

Please do not suggest to others on the bulletin board that they should make copies of my work as you are setting them up for trouble.

If you are unsure of the legal consequences of violating copyright, you can learn more by visiting U.S. Copyright Office or seeking proffesional legal guidance.
Thank you,

John T Unger

What in the World do you think you copyrighted?

Flame patterns? Making a bbq pit out of a propane tank?

Give me a break, you may believe you did something original but look around and you will see all sorts of examples of this type of work done prior to yours.

You remind me of the guy telling me of his great invention of a Y shaped block of wood with a wedge just behind the base of the Y to elevate it slightly, you put the heel of your shoe into it, stepped on the wooden part and lifted your foot from the shoe without touching it with your hand.

He did not understand why they would not patent it.

I said it must be incredible that he sent one to my wifes Grandfather in Germany, prior to the "inventor" being born.

Either way guy, please tell me what you have copyrighted so I can insure I don't infringe on your copyright.

 

[tommu56]

I guess I will have to patent truck rims as fire pits at $1.00 each royalty wouldn't be a bad income. you get the rim build a fire and send me a buck!

tommu

 

[Berniep]

John T has his website set up to notify him of links to his website. so anytime his website shows up in forums he can go check it out. I bet he just copied and pasted the "notice". I bet he didn't even read another post except the one that linked to his page. And he probably noticed the forum title of "build it yourself" and thought we were trying to copy his art. And it is the art which is protected. The idea of burning something in a cutoff propane tank would have to be patented.
Of course this is only my opinion based on a little research and experience.
ymmv

 

[Egon]

Now when will the fellow with the 49 Merk that is chopped, channeled and lowered with that lovely flame paint job start to sue over artistic infringement??

 

[GinNB]

For those who're interested in making something similar to Mr. Unger's firepits for a whole lot less, I'd suggest asking your local machinists about which one has an abrasive water jet. Google here:

abrasive water jet - Google Search=

Cutting the patterns in a cylinder might be tricky, but I imagine that some experimentation with the gizmos that welding shops use to rotate and weld around pipes would yield good results if there isn't a ready-made commercial alternative. Heck, even mounting a cylinder on a sliding bearing and moving it under the jet by hand might be fun. Maybe free-form with a handheld jet? Sounds like fun.

 

[JB4310]

John T has his website set up to notify him of links to his website. so anytime his website shows up in forums he can go check it out. I bet he just copied and pasted the "notice". I bet he didn't even read another post except the one that linked to his page. And he probably noticed the forum title of "build it yourself" and thought we were trying to copy his art. And it is the art which is protected. The idea of burning something in a cutoff propane tank would have to be patented.
Of course this is only my opinion based on a little research and experience.
ymmv

This does make sense, I'm just wondering when he's gonna get sued himself after some kid at the beech playing Frisbee falls on one of these things and gets impaled or puts an eye out.
If I was his loss prevention advisor/lawyer I'd recommend he leave a continuous rim around the top to prevent such a mishap, I know that would take away from the "Artistic quality" though.

 

[Kendrick]

lol jb you turned a stab wound in to a 3rd deg burn with permant tatoo. i would suspect that if you talked to a insurance person they would say skip the ring and just dont have one at all to easy for rug rats to faceplant in the pit.

johntunger's riaa scare has about as much bite as most 80 yo's with dentures. you would have to work very hard to get close enough to be liable. the clame to sute has me discusted with the claimed product. funniest line "The Pot-de-Feu (pot of fire) grill is hand-cut by artist John T. Unger from scrap 20 lb propane tanks. Each is an unique work of art, never to be exactly repeated." i cant even start on the rest it would just go to a political thread lock type of conversation.

Back to the original question. I like egon's answer. the true answer to the question is use a remote robotic arm in a blast chamber. follow any prior suggestion and have garonteed safe results.

 

[Tim Stuart]

The guy puts his cell phone on his website so he can provide great customer service. If any of you guys have any questions for him. I am sure he will be willing to discuss the latest in fire pit designs say around 3 o'clock.

Quote "Phone: I prefer to answer most initial questions by phone. My mobile number and skype handle are published under the "Call Me" tab. If you have a quick question, or an idea that requires conversation back and forth, the phone is definitely your best bet."

 

[firedog]

Tunger's bio states

I'm currently best know as an artist and designer, but I also get a fair amount of press for business, marketing, technology and more. Relaxing makes me tense, so I tend to put in a lot of hours on diverse projects.

On the way to a successful art career I've been a poet and writer, a tech geek, a print and web designer, illustrator, industrial designer, musician, teacher, actor, set designer and even a paid guru once.

Sounds to me like what you're saying is, you've never really held a steady job