(ET) Mower decks (was: E.T. membership)

["Chris Tromley" <chris_t microtrac com>]

Keith Stieg wrote:

***************
The improvising has caused Bill to close his doors, Now we have to try
to open them up!  Buy sending the membership fee it?s a chance that
might work. If not we can order new decks from YOU!
***************

Uh - Hmmmm?

As the new guy here I've stayed out of the
how-to-deal-with-Bill's-departure discussion.  I didn't know Bill had
the stamping dies for mower decks.  Not that anyone would want them,
mind you.  The setup cost involved with large stamped parts means you
need to make *lots* of them before they become affordable.  My take on
this is that those volumes will never happen again.

But who says a mower deck needs to be stamped steel?  I can pop a mold
off mine and produce fiberglass decks affordably.  I'm a mechanical
engineer, so I should be able to do a pretty good job of adapting them
for the new material, making them so they fit well, last well, etc.
They should even be easier to repair than a steel deck.  They wouldn't
be suitable for a restorer, but my tractor is a tool.

Is there a substantial demand for mower decks?  How many types are
there?  I can see keeping one of each in "stock" and available for sale,
not building another until there's a hole in my inventory.  That's a
cottage industry I could handle.  Expanding this concept, are there
others here who can produce critical parts?  With a little effort
identifying our needs and people who can fill them, we might find we're
not as bad off as we think.

Chris