[iisthemuffin]

I agree, And as stated, while the machining is impressive, it carries no importance to many people here.

And i agree with you sputnick, a gold turd is still a turd.

Again, while impressive, what you make is essentially the same thing as what any of us make. You may machine it far more precisely with better materials than most, but once you get it all ready to shoot it does the same thing; shoots things really far/fast/hard.

[mark.f]

Well, to start off, I think you guys need to appreciate the fact that Mike Bond is sparing the expense to sponsor Spudfiles. He didn't have to do it, and in all probability it should keep is posting here. No thank yous? Thank you, Mike.

The only concern I have is this high precision stuff is all you sell on your site, Mike. You need a little more variety. People who sell only one thing (even if it's the best out there) generally don't get very much business. Maybe you could put out a few more "poor man's" launchers and components to boost your sales.

Take a look at Spudtech's Jeremy, for instance. A while back he was selling what he called "The Stimulator", which were cannons made from a batch of pipe and fittings and parts he got for a bargain. Sure, they're basic, sure they're cheap, but there are people buying them. He also sells cannons that go for hundreds of dollars as well, but they go slower.

Actually, in fact, the most sales I've seen in a while have been going towards a certain site which shall not be named, towards a certain well-built piston valve. Not at all expensive, and the only special tool used to build them was a wood lathe.

Lastly, take a look at our member clide. No CNC machining at all (probably no machine-shop work at all), and he's built some amazing stuff.

It's your business, and we have no right to tell you how to run it, though. I'm just firing off suggestions.

[jrrdw]

Thanks for all the comments... I've built many Home Depot specials and was looking for something really custom. I understand the zen of making a run to HD and putting together something in an afternoon that works well for cheap. I built the first one at a friends machine shop and immediately had people interested, hence the website. The last 6 months was a lot fun designing/refining it and putting it together, probably why we are all here. I designed this to be a performer and have a real military feel.

Honestly the web site can't convey the performance and reliability so I'll be posting some video footage shortly.

To answer some of your questions:
-CNC machining is expensive and these parts are made domestically with tolerances of +/- .003"
-There is nothing like this out there.
-The metering device was engineered from the ground up and is pending a patent.

Mike Bond
Sureshot

Welcome to Spudfiles.

Good luck on the patent, the only thing close to it that I know of is for gas stoves and furnaces. Where else is gas metering commonly used?

[mark.f]

Go ahead and put the patent out. We'll still build it. The patent just gives us all the juicy little details to build it easier.

[jrrdw]

How about a warmer welcome for the one who decided to step up and help Spudfiles. He could have taken his advertising dollars anywhere, but he brought it here. Remember, any help to Spudfiles is a help to whom likes it here! So cut the man some slack.


Thanks for coming to and choosing Spudfiles Mike.

[mark.f]

What do you think I said earlier? No thank yous?

Thanks again, Mike.

[POLAND_SPUD]

I hope you realize that charging 1000$ for a gun made of PVC that has some machined parts is ridiculous

as markfh11q has pointed out you need more variety.... I think there are people who would kill to get a well made 2" metal piston valve or something like that

[PCGUY]

Wow, you guys are seriously pissing me off. I run SpudFiles for the community, and when I see some of you shitbags come in here and shit on this thread with no knowledge of anything outside of SpudFiles, it really makes me wonder WHY I care so much about the people on here.

Im not trying to critisize their business or anything, but like someone said above me, very few hobbyists would be interested in what they are selling. I was much more likely to buy something from bcarms.

In my opinion, our sponsors should represent the community as a whole. And by represent, i mean support what we are doing. They arent really supporting the hobby. Instead they are trying to sell things they built along with parts that are far too overpriced so you can build your own.

They are supporting the hobby by paying to keep SpudFiles online. Yes, the products are one of a kind, however that is the point. What you guys don't realize is that there is a market for very custom and high end cannons. Look at some of the expensive stuff that is sold on SpudTech and all of the other cannon sites you find online. Who in their right mind would pay that much when they can build it themselves for so much cheaper?!?

Very simple answer - The people who do not care enough to build it themselves. They are also companies who need items for promotional events or for some other reason. These are not SpudFiles members, these are SpudFiles visitors. They want fancy finished products that perform, that's it. SpudFiles members tend to build their own things, that is the point of it... but there are far more people that visit SpudFiles than just it's members. This sponsor is simply targeting the visitors, not the majority of members who build their own stuff.

@ PCGUY
I doubt this will be answered, But how much do you get from ads? For the number of people this site sees, Its not worth very much.

I am not at liberty to discuss exact figures from the ads, but SpudFiles is worth quite a bit and receives far more traffic than you realize. The problem is just that I need more direct advertisers since Google isn't paying the bills very well anymore. If you read the first post in this topic, you would see how many visitors SpudFiles gets per month.

Also, it is not like this is the only sponsor for SpudFiles. This is just the first of many sponsors who are already working on things to put up on SpudFiles. I have in fact received a very good response with my "looking for sponsors" ad. Each company can target whatever audience they would like, the build audience, or the high end finished product audience, or a combination of both.

Go ahead and put the patent out. We'll still build it. The patent just gives us all the juicy little details to build it easier.

Do you really have to be such a dick about it? Of course people are going to build things that are patented... patents are not supposed to stop people from building things, it's supposed to stop people from using that idea for profit. It's not like he is trying to patent a normal metering system.

You guys are fully welcome to give ideas and advice to any of the SpudFiles sponsors, but don't be an ass about it! Just because I think it would be ridiculous to buy a Dell PC when I can build one that is much better for cheaper, doesn't mean that I can try to walk all over Dell about their products. They just target a different market, the market which can not or does not wish to build their own PC. The market is the same with cannons, you guys do not realize how many people out there would not be able to figure out how to build a cannon.

[iisthemuffin]

Point taken PCGUY. And i apologize on my behalf.

I meant no desrespect. I only intended to voice my opinions about the sponsor. I apologize if i came off the wrong in doing so.

I guess i was seeing it as the sponsors should benefit us (the members) more than the visitors. I understand that the cannons and parts being sold on the site are mostly for people who can not build their own cannons.

Once again, im sorry for any "shitbag" behavior.

I will say though, no matter which audience you intend to target, lowering the prices would tremendously help your market. Or as said before, apply some variety. I think while being advertised on spudfiles, you would benefit more if you sold things that visitors AND members would buy.

My apologies for not saying it before, But welcome to Spudfiles, Thank you for your sponsorship, and i hope you enjoy your stay here.

[jeepkahn]

Very Well Said PCGUY, I am and always will be a firm believer in support those who support you...

The Rest of You need to think about what the Advertisers are doing by supporting the site, and even though some on here CAN build as high a quality finished product doesn't mean they're going to rush out and buy lathes and cnc's and the mega-dollar software to support them so that they can outdo the advertisers... And not everyone who comes here has the time or knowledge to correctly build hi-quality guns similar to what's being offered...

Some of us like to tinker, some like to buy and fire, you really think that everyone who visits is capable of building their own gun, Shoot, their are prolly a few on here that for the sake of life and limb would be better off buying a prebuilt gun...

Now, with all that said, I'd like to see more ad's by online supply houses, such as Harvel PVC, McMaster, Fastenal, etc... I'm sure they'll want major disclaimers, but that shouldn't be too hard...

And PCGUY, thanx for a Quality Site!!!

[PCGUY]

The trouble with getting actual part suppliers is that since PVC is not intended to use with cannons, they are afraid to advertise it for that use. I asked McMaster about this long ago... and I think that is now the reason that all of their PVC parts now say "Not for use with compressed gas!"

[mark.f]

Go ahead and put the patent out. We'll still build it. The patent just gives us all the juicy little details to build it easier.

Do you really have to be such a dick about it? Of course people are going to build things that are patented... patents are not supposed to stop people from building things, it's supposed to stop people from using that idea for profit. It's not like he is trying to patent a normal metering system.

I was actually trying to both a.) make a point and b.) make a joke. I think if he wants to profit on the design, he shouldn't put the patent out there for other people to build. Take a look at Joel's Supah valve. He didn't give any details as to how he built them, and eventually some photos got leaked and now all we know is it's just a well-built chamber sealing valve.

Not trying to put down on his business, as I stated about twice so far.

Good luck with the sales, and I hope we can throw a few people your way who come here saying "gotz ne plns guiz?".

[Ragnarok]

Well, I too thank anyone who wishes to sponsor the site, regardless of whether their product is one I personally am interested in buying - or able to buy. Which to be honest, assuming our sponsors will be in the majority (if not the entirety) American, is a lot of things I won't practically be able to buy from this side of the pond.

Still, that does not mean that people browsing this site will not have an interest in it. Indeed, many people looking to buy a spudgun will no doubt find this site. They might then choose to build - but if they were looking to build, they'd have probably been looking to do so from the start. As such, people looking to buy who find this site and who are looking to buy are still a valid market, even if they don't make up much of our active userbase.

You guys do not realize how many people out there would not be able to figure out how to build a cannon.

I think we realise they exist...as Mark said, the people who ask "Can I have plans please?" or more usually "woow awesum!!!!1111!!eleven!!one cool dood!!!!one111!! can i have plans plz?????? thx!!!!!111"

[Davidvaini]

I welcome their advertisement and their business with spudfiles whether or not their prices are suitable for spudfiles members.

[rp181]

Just a question:
Do you have ad unit tracker's on the google ads? I think all the ads are well placed and camouflaged except the banner. I personally think that one ad takes away the "community" feel, and makes it look more like a commercial site. Maybe if that was removed, all content moved up, and some more text ads on the side?