Everybody's working for the weekend.

When I was in art school, (if Sallie Mae calls for me, the last you heard was that I'm dead), I once did a photo project in which I re-enacted the time that my dad almost cut off his own leg with a skilsaw. During the class critique, my nemesis said, "It's great because you are obviously in a 'construction' costume. Because nobody would ever mistake you for a construction worker." DAMNATION!!! Apparently my good looks and charming nature have outshone my blue-collar roots.

Well, regardless, those winter winds are blowing and if I want to avoid another snow-induced moped shed collapse, I must rebuild it; stronger, larger, and better in every way.

I mentioned in a previous post the UMMU, the unemployed moped mechanics union. Well, again my brother in the union offered to help me with this project and we have been working really hard.

Here is what the old shed looked like:


And here we are on day one of "project shed".



Phil decided to dress as if he were sneaking into a janitors office.


At the end of day one we had accomplished a lot. We had deconstructed the old shed, leveled and set a new floor in, rebuilt much of the rafters, and painted the wall panels.

Today, day two, we continued in earnest. We framed up and installed all the walls:



...and we installed the rafters.


At the end of the day I really had to force myself to stop. We are so close to being done but if I continued I would have burnt myself out. Soon though, my moped shed will be done, beautiful and keep little mopeds away from the rust devil.


In the next couple of weeks, Rosanna and I will be leaving for Palm Springs to work at PSIFF. I just got word from a little bird that there might be a moped trip in Joshua Tree. I'm so excited!

Building in buildings can be fun!

Times are tough, babies.
Unemployment up, cold winter coming, and nothing to do but start fights on the internet. Also, my friend Ian Templeton has left our fair city for Manchester for two years. TWO YEARS! I didn't have the heart to tell him that despite the name, that city will not be the capitol of sizzling hot man chests.

Anyway, last year Rosanna and I moved into Kastle Kvernmo and were delighted to find that with a little bit of effort we could convert the backyard shop into a workable space. Last winter the shop was very cold. It was certainly drier than being outside, but it was not much of an upgrade over the days of yore working on the floor of my very packed garage.

Notice the green tape? That's the "don't put anything other than mopeds here" zone.

Months ago, we started preparing the current shop for the long hard cold. You might recall this short essay on shelves. Well, a couple of weeks ago I insulated the ceiling, had an electrician improve the shop circuit breaker so we wouldn't be blowing fuses, wired in actual light fixtures (no more cheesy clamp-on shop lights!) and changed over from halogen lights to CFLs for efficiency. Phew! (Did I mention that unemployment leaves you with a lot of time on your hands?) But wait that's not all!!!

My fellow brother in the Unemployed Moped Mechanics Union, suggested that I build a work bench in my recently polished work space.

So I spent a while mulling it over and staring at the area that I thought would best accommodate a work bench. I came up with these criteria:
1. It would have to be removable somehow because sometimes large things need to be stored in our small shop.
2. It must be integrated into the handbuilt aesthetic because Rosanna has Iron Curtain Press clients visit the shop frequently.
3. I must be able to brace the bike without a kickstand so that I can drop puch engines.

I thought about how other people make use of small spaces and large furniture elements and I thought, "Good Lord! I'll build a Murphy bed work bench... a 'Murphy Bench'!"
Here is a photo of the plans that my dad and I drew up:


And here is the result:




My favorite part is the outlet that I wired in right under the bench for dremel-or-air compressor-or-sawzall-a-moped-in-half delights. Also, I built in some pretty beefy hooks on either side of the front tire area to accommodate tiedowns, sweet. Responsible Jon claims that my Murphy Bench idea will be the toast of the mid-west. I don't believe that the mid-west has internet.

Tune in next time for "how to make a lean-to into a legitimate garage", and "I'M BRETT WALKER! THAT KIT IS SLOW! YOU'LL NEVER GET IT TO RUN FAST!" Au contraire.