Vantagesupplies
May 2024: Getting ready to go live. Shipping materials are ready.
In 2023, I shifted focus and built a Shopify online E-commerce store for building materials and gardening supplies.
In 2022, I worked on making bricks and tiles from plastic waste (Vantage Bricks and Tiles) after I had to stop my MuellenbachMotors parts business. The bricks and tiles I made worked okay after changing the recipe several times. Unfortunately, after sending them in for chemical testing, it appears that it is difficult to avoid or eliminate potentially hazardous inclusions from the plastic waste and recycled motor oil.
July 2023: I am looking for more products to sell with my webshop.
May 2023:
Webshop completed.
December 2022:
Results from the lab were disappointing and show too many potentially hazardous inclusions. I need to do something else. I feel bad because it had potential. Thanks to Mr. Edmonds and Mr. Hubbel who arranged to separate plastic trash for me in my High School. Mr. Hubbel -best teacher I ever had. Thanks for supporting me.
Decided to build shed for prototype production. I went to Homedepot and placed a Pro_XTra order for lumber and building materials. I need to build my own shed because we can not easily place a prefabricated shed. It is also cheaper.
November 2022:
I am sending HDPE based prototypes to a lab for analysis.
We have a company flag (27 November 2022).
Trying to MIG weld stainless steel with Flux Core (no gas) building cleaning tub for my tiles.
Working on molds. I decided to cast molds as aluminum welding is too complex. I created a casting tub and cheap casting sand by mixing concrete and motor oil. I now need to meld down aluminum to create my prototype tile molds.
I also had to build three wooden ramps to move my heavy mold tub.
I researched the chemical composition of various plastic types and identified PLA, HDPE and LDPE as the best options.
Made some nice promotional materials and I am wearing my company jacket to USN (High School).
Changed my website to vantagesupplies.com. We made a mistake with the previous .us domain as there is no privacy protection and we received hundreds of calls from web designers and spammers. I also got the plastic shredder running briefly. I made a mistake and bought a 220V industrial shredder. We made progress and hooked it up to the dryer but it only runs 10 seconds or so before the breaker flips. Need to find an electrician. Also started talking to my High School about doing a special project for credit.
October 2022: Working on company logo and website. Installing 220V plastic shredder for initial test batches. That was a huge pain (i bought a Chinese machine without thinking) and I learned a lot about phases and wiring from Joe Langford, a local Nashville electrician. Thanks, man!
August 2022: I am setting up a new webpage. https://vantageconstructionco.us/
July 2022: I have this idea to make plastic bricks inspired by some Youtube stories on how to create bricks from plastic waste.
I am experiencing with different plastic waste, used motor oil and also used cooking oil.
