I haven't forgotten about everyone that has ordered their parts. I am still waiting on a completion date by the fabricator. I have a call to him and an email trying to verify when the parts will be complete and shipped.
Shipping boxes are pre-labeled, poly has been purchased and just waiting for the fabbed items. So once the fabbed parts are shipped to me they'll go out the following day.
My apologies for the long lead time. Hopefully, I will have an answer in the next day or two from the fabricator.
I have some bad news for everyone in regards to the fabricator. After a long and depressing conversation with the fabricator on Friday morning he has notified me that he can no longer manufacture these parts.
In a nutshell, his comments were that they retired the old jet machine and the new one didn't have compatible software so they would have to reprogram everything. In addition, with their increased workload of building structural equipment skids they no longer have the available time to produce these. And, the one person who had the knowledge to build these has retired due to health issues.
There were some other factors that needn't be discussed here but I am very dissappointed in this turn of events. The fabricator initially stated that he was going to continue making the mounts and now one month later he balks. One thing on the positive sides, I will probably have all the forms and the pre-programmed software for the mounts so I can find another fabricator.
Now, here's where everyone who placed a pre-order comes into play. Please PM me or email me if you want a full refund. I don't want to hold onto anyone's money while I search for a new fabricator that can offer the same quality of fabrication. If you want me to hold on to the funds during my search I will do that as well but there is no telling how long this search will take. I would rather return everyone's money, get a couple of test sets made and then start over.
I'm sorry for the bump in the road but rest-assure that I will do everything I can to get these produced with a couple of new products.
I need everyone to PM me in the next day or two so I can assure you receive a full refund from Paypal.
I will let you know after fieroX has posted the results of his visit. Do you have any stock left on any of it? The low mount alt is what I had my hopes on the most.
This is the exact reason that I specified in the initial thread that if you are going to buy the business, make sure you own CAD files of the parts. Any fabricator can make them for you if you have proper drawings.
I can program these parts for you for any waterjet if you can give me a cad file. No charge. Then you just take them and get them welded.
CAD files must exist, and are likely still available, even in the machine's control in DXF format.
I should be able to get the cad files, blue prints and jigs. If they arent going to make them anymore, there isnt any reason they shouldnt give them to me. Plus theyve basically been paid for over the years in all the sets they made for me. I will do my best to work this out Steve. This is bullshit that Larry would pull that kind of **** . There wont be a very warm welcome for me tomorrow when I show up.
I should be able to get the cad files, blue prints and jigs. If they arent going to make them anymore, there isnt any reason they shouldnt give them to me. Plus theyve basically been paid for over the years in all the sets they made for me. I will do my best to work this out Steve. This is bullshit that Larry would pull that kind of **** . There wont be a very warm welcome for me tomorrow when I show up.
I understand your frustration Ryan but don't go in packin' six shooters. As a business owner I understand his point of view but I would have at least expect him to honor the first order. Either way, don't burn the bridge, he and I didn't quarrel no need for this to get ugly in retrieving all the stuff. Larry did say he'll work with me to find another fabricator so let's keep this amlicable.
Cam-a-lot, I understand your point of view but hey, let's make this a positive thread not an "I told you so" thread.
All parties involved will be taken care of positivily and no one has fear of not getting their money back. Let's not derail this thread to the negative side.
I will let you know after fieroX has posted the results of his visit. Do you have any stock left on any of it? The low mount alt is what I had my hopes on the most.
I have a spare FieroX low mount if this doesn't get resolved soon. If u have already paid for one then sure we can all work something out with it.
Sorry for the delay, yesterday after waiting for Larry for an hour and a half we had a meeting and we discussed whats going on. I finally got to work 2 hours late and was completely swamped all day. Steve, give me a call back tonight and I will explain what all is happening at the machine shop.
Cam-a-lot, I understand your point of view but hey, let's make this a positive thread not an "I told you so" thread.
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My reply was not an "I told you so" reply. It was a "I feel bad for you, and am offering to help you at no charge and am asking for nothing in return" reply.
Well, I've spoken with Ryan and we have a path forward. It will take some time to get the new fabricator in line and to make sure that they are producing the same quality of product.
I am unsure of the timeline on how long this will take so in the best interest of my current and future customers I will be sending full refunds out today and tomorrow to everyone. I don't want to hold on to anyone's money for two to three months while waiting for parts to be made. I will honor the original price no matter what the price change is from the new fabricator for those who have already placed orders and are receiving refunds. It's my way to show my appreciation to everyone for having faith in my first order.
One thing everyone should know. The previous fabricator had every intention of making these mounts but his main person who made these had left the company and unfortunately, there was no one else that even knew of the setup or the programming. So as of Ryan's meeting with the previous fabricator I now own all the forms, CAD files and programming for the parts.
Once I get the new fabricator rolling they will also be producing two new products. Hopefully, these will be released at the same time as the mounts.
So, if anyone is looking for these mounts they will still be available in the near future. I just ask everyone's patience while I get setup with the new fabricator and test fit the first few sets for proper fitment and alignment issues. I want to make sure everyone receives the best product possible.
Thanks for everyone's support on this endeavor.
If you have any questions please feel free to PM me, email me or ask here in the thread.
New member here, as I'm getting things in order for my swap. I'll definitely be paying attention to this, as mounts are on my "who am I getting it from" list.
Everyone has been sent a full refund via PayPal or money order. Repayment was made in the same form payment was made. So, if you paid by PayPal you should have received an email stating that a Full Refund has been sent to you. For those that sent money orders I have money orders to mail back to you as well.
A low mount alt bracket that uses the stock 3800 alt and has an integrated upper dogbone support.
+1
I would ALSO like to see an adjustable DM mounting point so there wouldn't have to be any more crooked DB's. I have a pretty good concept in mind if you want to hear it.
Danielos, I should be up and running again in a month, maybe two. If you can hold out for awhile then I will have everything you need. If you can't wait then there are other options available through other vendors.
Also wondering if the mount kits are available yet? Or how far along are they before they become available? Interested in purchasing a set. thanks in advance. Trev
At this time I am not accepting orders or pre-orders. I appreciate all those who have contacted me for these mounts but I am unable to get past the fact that I am unable to get these fabricated.
Long story short is the original fabricator was going to continue making these mounts for me and then he backed out. Now he wants nothing to do with them and getting all of the forms from him are worse than pulling teeth from an angry alligator. He's very unreasonable.
If there is anyone here that knows someone with excellent fabrication experience/references in the Houston area let me know. I may just need to have the forms built from scratch if I want to continue this endeavor.
So for the time being there are no Brand X 3800 mounts. I have some mounts but not enough to make a kit. So if you need one part or maybe two I may be able to facilitate your needs.
The mounts are super easy to replicate for anyone with fabrication skills. I think WCF was the first to make them, and several people copied their design and made their own. Why not just take them to any machine shop to get the measurements (easily done with micrometer, vernier caliper, surface table, etc) so that you will finally have the CAD drawings that you should have had in the first place. Once you have CAD drawings, they are simply to manufacture anywhere.
The mounts are super easy to replicate for anyone with fabrication skills. I think WCF was the first to make them, and several people copied their design and made their own. Why not just take them to any machine shop to get the measurements (easily done with micrometer, vernier caliper, surface table, etc) so that you will finally have the CAD drawings that you should have had in the first place. Once you have CAD drawings, they are simply to manufacture anywhere.
Good luck with your endeavour
Thanks for your input, that is what I will be doing by next weekend if I can't get the originals. I'm just not interested in paying for the rework of the forms when they will just be turned into scrap metal. I can do the measurements and CAD files since I work in AutoCAD and MicroStation daily. This part is not a problem for me.
I have a good friend who owns a plasma cnc table, I'm sure he would be willing to cut the parts out for you, and maybe even weld them if he had or made jigs. He normally does small runs and one-offs, so that wouldn't be a problem, other than the shipping cost. That's Indiana though, I don't know if you'd want to contract out that far.
