NEW VERSION of an OLD VALVE (supah)
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Navigator7
- Private 2
- Posts: 23
- Joined: Thu Feb 10, 2005 1:32 am
- Location: Tonasket, WA
- Contact:
DesignGuy,
Here is my take on this.
I know Joel. I've have purchased valves from him.
Great guy.
We've talked at length about biz and other stuff.
The market place abhors a vacuum. This is America and somebody with the right stuff will move in to fill the void.
It could be you, me, DR, Gort or 1000's of other entrepreneurs.
It happens every day. A door closes and 10 more open.
Nobody knows this better than Joel himself.
I'm confident Joel is just fine doing whatever he is doing.
You mentioned something in one of your earlier posts about risk.
I am a businessman and minimizing risk is a healthy business move.
Surely...I know I'm going to insult many here with this post but it needs to be said. It's one thing to build a cannon for your own use but quite another to build one for profit.
I've done both as many here have. Still....our litigious society will remove the skin from your body and the hemoglobin from your blood if you become successful and an idiot kills himself or another with your product!
If you are the engineer you say you are....Why build from PVC?
The thought of selling QEV valves to pre teens or non adults makes my blood run like chilled alcohol. Sure....I'll buy a valve but put food on the table and prepare for a career knowing the next phone call might be your last.....It's a tightrope walk.
Even the PVC manufacturers do not recommend using PVC for air. This is clearly called out in Joel's website.
Predicating a business on a product that is not even recommended for air by the manufacturer.....to my way of thinking...is a very risky business move.
This is not to say I don't think the cannons most of us build are unsafe....there are simply too many idiots and lawyers in America.
I'm looking to create a Extreme Team to raise the bar.
I know I don't have the time to produce my vision by myself but as a team it's a possibility. We need people working from all angles.
I'm talking high~end!
The buzz word in our society is mega, super, extreme this, extreme that.
In virtually all sports there is extremism going on...a push to the limits.
That is where the money is.
I envision a league of kick ass, jaw dropping air cannons limited only by what one can legally be hauled on a double axle trailer pulled by a pick up truck. Something a successful middle class American would purchase to just be different.
$10,000.00 to $20,000+ cannons. There are 10's of thousands of guys out there who would pay really big bucks for a ready made kit to launch common things an uncommonly long way. A league would make a huge draw. And I imagine people willing to pay to watch......Just as millions pay big bucks to see Tiger Woods or John Daly crunch one. Pumpkin Chunkin is proof positive but I find the limiting factor is the bio-projectile and the sport will self destruct as only the super rich can make a showing. I think projectile design should be unlimited....but non explosive.
Why not build a class of valve much bigger than Joel's and attract a whole different class of customers? Move yourself beyond. Guys with money...and common sense?
The other aspect is ... I simply believe air cannons should be built to astm standards...if sold to others. I've built a rather large air cannon using Joel's valves and had no problems...but the engineer in me knows the risk and the safety factor which isn't much.
I've recently started a Rapid Prototyping business that deals mainly with architectural modeling and rapid Prototyping
Later this year I will be starting a small foundry business.
I have the capacity to build very accurate molds and patterns to produce exacting parts in resin, plastics, epoxy, pewter and non-ferris metals.
If any thing I have said is of interest .....you might view my website:
www.g3dp.com
(Under construction)
See the videos on the right.
and or drop me an e-mail.
Nav7
Here is my take on this.
I know Joel. I've have purchased valves from him.
Great guy.
We've talked at length about biz and other stuff.
The market place abhors a vacuum. This is America and somebody with the right stuff will move in to fill the void.
It could be you, me, DR, Gort or 1000's of other entrepreneurs.
It happens every day. A door closes and 10 more open.
Nobody knows this better than Joel himself.
I'm confident Joel is just fine doing whatever he is doing.
You mentioned something in one of your earlier posts about risk.
I am a businessman and minimizing risk is a healthy business move.
Surely...I know I'm going to insult many here with this post but it needs to be said. It's one thing to build a cannon for your own use but quite another to build one for profit.
I've done both as many here have. Still....our litigious society will remove the skin from your body and the hemoglobin from your blood if you become successful and an idiot kills himself or another with your product!
If you are the engineer you say you are....Why build from PVC?
The thought of selling QEV valves to pre teens or non adults makes my blood run like chilled alcohol. Sure....I'll buy a valve but put food on the table and prepare for a career knowing the next phone call might be your last.....It's a tightrope walk.
Even the PVC manufacturers do not recommend using PVC for air. This is clearly called out in Joel's website.
Predicating a business on a product that is not even recommended for air by the manufacturer.....to my way of thinking...is a very risky business move.
This is not to say I don't think the cannons most of us build are unsafe....there are simply too many idiots and lawyers in America.
I'm looking to create a Extreme Team to raise the bar.
I know I don't have the time to produce my vision by myself but as a team it's a possibility. We need people working from all angles.
I'm talking high~end!
The buzz word in our society is mega, super, extreme this, extreme that.
In virtually all sports there is extremism going on...a push to the limits.
That is where the money is.
I envision a league of kick ass, jaw dropping air cannons limited only by what one can legally be hauled on a double axle trailer pulled by a pick up truck. Something a successful middle class American would purchase to just be different.
$10,000.00 to $20,000+ cannons. There are 10's of thousands of guys out there who would pay really big bucks for a ready made kit to launch common things an uncommonly long way. A league would make a huge draw. And I imagine people willing to pay to watch......Just as millions pay big bucks to see Tiger Woods or John Daly crunch one. Pumpkin Chunkin is proof positive but I find the limiting factor is the bio-projectile and the sport will self destruct as only the super rich can make a showing. I think projectile design should be unlimited....but non explosive.
Why not build a class of valve much bigger than Joel's and attract a whole different class of customers? Move yourself beyond. Guys with money...and common sense?
The other aspect is ... I simply believe air cannons should be built to astm standards...if sold to others. I've built a rather large air cannon using Joel's valves and had no problems...but the engineer in me knows the risk and the safety factor which isn't much.
I've recently started a Rapid Prototyping business that deals mainly with architectural modeling and rapid Prototyping
Later this year I will be starting a small foundry business.
I have the capacity to build very accurate molds and patterns to produce exacting parts in resin, plastics, epoxy, pewter and non-ferris metals.
If any thing I have said is of interest .....you might view my website:
www.g3dp.com
(Under construction)
See the videos on the right.
and or drop me an e-mail.
Nav7
I'm not sure why a beautifully machined valve would have to be 300 dollars. It wouldn't necessarily be more complex than the internals of a quick-connect coupling and they are machined to close tolerances and cost less than 10 dollars.