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We have been busy brainstorming ideas of how people can use Kee Klamp fittings to build a whole bunch of cool things for their homes. Tricia has started to come up with a whole line of items that can be used in the basement/garage. She has also been thinking about a whole bunch of kitchen ideas.. but those are coming later. In the process she came up with this cool shelf design that can be used just about anywhere in the house.
All said and done this project should cost you less than $200 and will provide you with a quality piece of furniture that you can break down and setup again and again!!
Step 1The Plans
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Tricia made the plans for this is Google's Free SketchUp program.
http://sketchup.google.com We modified the design slightly for our project. That's the great part about Kee Klamps, you can completely customize the project.
But what if you assembled it and then filled the pvc with concrete? It wouldn't take much concrete and could possibly be even stronger. But I'm not really the one to know.
http://www.farmtek.com/farm/supplies/cat1;ft1_hardware_fasteners;ft1_quik_klamp_pipe_fittings_1.html
http://stores.ebay.com/PVC-VINYL-FENCE-CHAIN-LINK-SUPPLY
http://www.boundaryfence.net/index.htm
I think the feedback here is telling you that if you can get a slightly different product to market cheaper, you might have a wider market. I did check prices at http://www.mcmaster.com/ (search for “Kee Klamp”), and they are a bit better. McMaster Carr is the king of obscure stuff, but I hate the way they don't price shipping upfront. I called customer service, and was told you can call in the order to get a shipping price. If there's a location nearby, you might even do a “will call”.
There's got to be a way of bringing these to market cheaper, if you look, the ones made of galvanized iron cost about the same as the ones made of aluminum. The cost of the aluminum as a raw material must be significantly higher. OTOH, it's entirely possible that the price of these pieces is mostly determined by the cost of liability insurance.
If there's a demand for theses connectors, but at a lower price, and you can't or won't fill that demand, there's always cheap overseas knockoffs. The only counters you have are patents (perhaps expires or circumvented), getting government to protect your business model by tariffs and legislation, and the ever popular FUD (“would you RISK the LIVES of your loved ones on cheap Chinese knockoffs!?!?!?!”)
Parts available from: http://www.simplifiedbuilding.com
Does that answer your question? ;-)