Looking for help testing new tools...

rhardman

Kiwi,

Can you email a picture to me? I have a ton of patents for those tapers and most cutting blades are similar to the "finger" blade you mention. Personally I don't like them as they shread the end of the tape and don't cut it clean. There are many fold away shields available but they are not quite compatible with our design. I've been in contact with a blade manufacturer so we should have the new cut off (blade) spec'd in a few days.

The "tab" is presenting a challenge as with the design of this tool I'm having a hard time understanding what the benefit would be. I'm sure this is because I'm so biased with the way I run the thing. I'm 6'4 and can reach anything within an 8 ft lid. I use 2 hands to apply the tape but if that's not the natural inclination of most users, I'd better listen real well...

I've asked for more clarification to see what it is they want to accomplish so I can design it to do exactly what they want.

As best as I can determine, the request for a tab is either to hold the tape in a certain position (after cutting) so they can start another run with one hand or to flatten the tape on to the wall after the tape has been cut.

The box tapers have several methods to hold the tape in position but the glue on the mesh tape is different than the adhesive on box tape. It comes off much easier and can transfer to the tab if it's not done properly.

Just a learning thing, if it's really needed, we'll get it.

Rick

Raptor Update:
We added a lot of *rap to the mud to see how the pump would handle it. After a while the pump started loading up and I was afraid that the 150 feet of hose might require too much pressure to push thick mud through it. This presented a fundamental problem as my intention is to build a system that will pump straight up 3 floors, feed through a window and then run another 100 feet to spray texture. I started to get a little worried. I added more power (aka Tim Taylor "ar, ar, ar") and it was still fluctuating. I was watching the pump as it bound and then suddenly blew a hole through the 500 psi (operating pressure) hose. The funny thing was that it was only 12 inches from the end which made no sense at all. The mud sprayed 15- 20 feet in every direction covering me, the cars and everything else in the prettiest orange peel texture you ever saw. I shut everything down and investigated.

Apparently in the process of adding garbage to the mud, someone dropped a piece of road gravel in there. The 1/2 inch rock travelled through the pump, through the hose and lodged at the final connection with the quick coupler that attaches to the new spray gun (shown above). After I cut off the damaged end of the hose, things were fine. Pressure looks (real) good, flow is consistent and now we just have to confirm how long our new pump will hold it's seal under abusive conditions.

rhardman

We're negotiating with 3 different Mfr Rep/Distribution sources to help with our upcoming launch. Things should be solidified in the next 2 or 3 weeks. Since Nathan agreed to let me ask for help (while I was in the R&D stage) I think it's best to stop asking for input once we begin selling tools.

So we'll get those new mesh cutting blades specified and then out to Darren and A+ as soon as we can.

If any of the current or past testers have suggestions or other feedback on anything, please let me know so I can make any last changes to our tools before we start selling them.

One interesting thing that has come up, one of the DrywallTalk viewers has sent me his idea for another mesh taper design that is different from mine. I'll do some patent research and if it's available, I hope to form some sort of agreement with him so we can sell it too.

At first we'll be pursuing plastering and EIFS markets as our first tools are much more applicable to those fields. As our other tools come out we'll come back to drywall where we will really shine.

Thank you for all of your help,

Rick
(Bazil, your tool is still in the que.)

rhardman

Still trying to get a good cutting blade for a decent price...

Guys, I ran across the following site I thought you might find interesting. They add photography to suspended ceilings. I don't know anything about them but thought for some of you it might be an option to sell to a GC.

http://www.ceilingscenes.com/

Rick

rhardman

Pump is looking very good! Standing strong and better than any of the 6 or 8 (I lost count) of the previous pumps I designed. Cory's made a huge contribution. Everything needs more testing but is going well. 3 more hours and we'll tear it down for evaluation.

Mfg costs are still too high. Meeting Wednesday to discuss options with a mfg guru. Really don't want to go to China for the hand tools but the prices the distributor's want to retail for would cost us money to send out. Didn't get a big response to selling direct so it doesn't look like that would be a huge advantage.

I think the Man Pan is going to hit a home run. Problem is my cost to get started with them is $15.00 each (qty of 1000). That would put it on the shelf (with the distributors) at about $22.00 and we wouldn't make a dime. Nobody would pay the retail price that would be required.

The blade prices for the mesh taper are still ridiculous. Working on it...

Interesting times...

Thank you again for all of your help with this.

Rick

Tim0282

Tough road to hoe! Hard decisions. We appreciate your efforts! Thank you for making a better tool.

rhardman

Thank you Tim0282,

I mentioned earlier that we're starting our tools out in the plastering / EIFS arena where margins have a little more room to move. This will help as we begin our manufacturing and costs are higher than they will be later.

Our choices are two; build here make 25% with the absolute highest quality paddle we can build or go to China and make 80%. This gives the distributor their 30-35% and a 6% bump to the mfr rep. The mixing paddle will be at the upper end of the price range and probably have the highest ranking on the menu. The distributor I spoke with yesterday has no problem with that as it gives them something new to advertise. Their customers want to see anything new that comes out so overall, it adds to their reputation for having the newest tools on the market. If we take the low margin to build domestically and retain our quality standards I figure it's better advertising for our "focus" tools that will come out later. I mean, if a potential customer sees that we make everything the best we can, it will be logical to believe that our elaborate systems will receive the same attention. Likewise, if we go to China and bring back tools with typical quality standards, the potential customer sees something new and better to use, but long term it won't hold up and it won't clean as easily. So that damages the "Tools for Life" reputation we want to build.

After I fell off the stilts and got into electronic distribution in Silicon Valley, I figured that (as with electronic engineers) the general drywall community, especially the distributor's would be fanatic about hearing about any new technology. I've been sorefully disappointed (not the case here at DWT thankfully). A few people have reached out to provide advise (a major automatic tool manufacturer especially) but the online guys have been very difficult to convince to listen to us. Sure, it's possible that they may not like what we are offering so far (which is fair) but the feedback has been, "cheaper, cheaper", "come to us" and "drop ship if you want our business" which is entirely different than what I experienced in electronic distribution. There, it's "Something new? Get in here quick before our competitor's find out and we'll do anything for an exclusive relationship!"

Washing buckets at age 6, owning my own drywall company at 18, AIA Architectural Craftsmanship award, and I thought I understood the drywall mind...

Guess I'm not as smart as I thought I was (not the first time) and as Sunil recently didn't disagree with, I'm probably a little too arrogant too...

This reminds me of my first paragliding solo flight. I was so "excited" and afraid of making a mistake, I vomited all the way to the ground.

Tom Clark Deimos PG view downward.JPG

Rick

rhardman

Just completed the 80 hour high pressure test under crazy conditions. Pulled it apart to see what shape the wear surfaces were in.

No visible sign of wear at all, anywhere. Next week we'll start the second test phase: 30 days/24 hours.

Our web guy will back on the scene in a few days. As soon as we launch the site (with a big DWT logo under the "Friends" tab), the R&D thread will need to end (as I promised). If anyone wants to follow up on the new developments, PM me so I can add you to the list.

As I've said before, our first pump attempt was in 1977.
Today is a VERY GOOD day!

Frankly, I'm doin' the happy dance huggin' strangers, and counting the minutes until I see Francesca tonight ( ).

Rick
(Now we're getting close to the "real" tools)

drandy19

please send some work,then we'll test the tools.

Tim0282

Can hardly wait to see and use the new tools! Couldja hurry it up already?? Been waiting since 1977, you know!

Kiwiman

Poor Francesca

GYPSUMTRADESMAN

i would love to try these out for you i buy from fantastic tools i love the cinta pump is great you can get back to me i live in norwalk cali

rhardman

Thanks for the offer but we're leaning away from any new testers. It's evolved into a different program now.
__________________________________________________ ___________

I decided to fire myself. I'm just not the right person to talk to distributor's and the supply chain players. We found the perfect person and after my last discussion with him, I was convinced that he is much better at that aspect of the process than I am. He explained the Drywall distributor in way's that I've been blind to. It all makes much more sense now.

My title say's R&D which is probably the best use of my time. I've assembled an excellent management team and if I can stay out of their way, we'll do well.

Thanks for the ear, just needed to be honest and fall on the sword (again).

Rick
Oh, I was contacted by a new manufacturing source this past week which may prove to be very helpful in keeping our street prices low.

rhardman

We found a source for the cutting blades (for the fiberglass taper) from another company providing a tape system to another industry. Seems they had the same problem with their cutting method and couldn't find an economical source so they built their own machine to make them. They are domestic (which we love) with pricing that is fair. Today they sent out some samples that I will test. Provided they work alright I'll send some to the testers for their review. We'll also get the video done (down and dirty; we'll do a professional version when more tools are ready) so you can see how fast it runs. We've also requested samples of a different type of glass that may be better than the traditional mesh tape.

We'll also be sending a taper to Whitey97 so he can abuse it with his normal amount of "enthusiasm." After his and the other guys review, we'll get the rest of the tapers out to everyone else that was promised one.

The EIFS front is looking great as our texture machine seems to be more powerful and manuverable(sp?) than anything they are currently trying to spray with. We have a couple of EIFS mfr's jazzed about it and are sending samples to us for testing. Clean out was a big concern so I developed a rinse that can be used to totally kill the set of the material and loosen it from all metals and the valve system(s). Even if the mud gets hard, this rinse disolves the mortar without any acid and is perfectly safe for the environment.

We're in phase 3 of proving the pump's durability and are establishing our first national EIFS distributor.

Mfg costs for the hand tools are being further scrutinized. It's funny, looks like the bigger machines (Drywall and EIFS) will be easier to compete with* as they have turned out to be so different from the converted paint sprayers out there. We can provide a lower price right out of the gate with a stronger pump.

*It's turning out to be the opposite of what we originally thought would happen.

Viva la DrywallTalk.com!

Rick
Website is stalled with the photographer.

rhardman

I gave Francesca your condolences...

rhardman

detoured.JPG

Back at it today.

Rick

Tim0282

Looks like hard work to me.

rhardman

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPcp4yNEJu4

FOR THOSE ABOUT

sorry this is 6 mos old but

I bet it's a beast looks like my clutch linkage of my 78 International Scout I just replaced (minus the plastic)...

Attached Images

BLUE.jpg (97.6 KB, 3 views)

rhardman

Eeeeerrrrrttttt! Wrrroooogggg! ( )

Actually it's an industrial steel yoke engineered to be much stronger and then powder coated to prevent rusting (and eliminate any possibility of destruction as a result of insane Whitey97 testing methods).

But thank you for for playing...


You know...you're never going to be able to get the trailer ball on your Scout to fit in a 1/2 inch drill. We tried already...(VERY extensive R&D going on here....when we're not paragliding!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhhDEnpknvI )

Rick

FOR THOSE ABOUT

You mean its not a Clevis Pin ?!?!?!