Throw a sign!

a little while ago i saw a fantastic picture on Facebook. it was an old race car from the around the 70s, Grand Prix style, was difficult to tell exactly what is was because it was from behind. it had a stunning set of exhaust pipes, three on each side. all abreast. there is something about exhaust pipes stacked like that. i have always loved it, a symmetrical outflow of power i suppose? really messes up my brains just thinking of it. must be why i really enjoy the 6 cylinder bikes from long ago. cannot get enough of it.

anyway, back to the point. what made the said photograph that much cooler was the caption. "Let me play you the song of my people". i instantly needed that in my workshop. like an utterance over my Honda that one day, it will sing that song again!

the gears in my head started turning. i found some fonts that i liked and made the printout in A3. seemed to be the right size for my sign. those letters then got stuck on some Masonite and individually cut out on the scroll saw. this was some great practice on a piece of equipment i do not use often enough!

i sprayed the letters and then edged them all with a little brush. i worked on the layout and blackened the wooden backing (that i picked up on the beach) to add effect using a heat gun.

i'm fairly satisfied with the end result. i'm still needing to fabricate some brackets to hang the sign from the rafters. but this is its temporary spot.

while making this i was thinking that all of this could get laser cut or the lettering could just get bought of the shelf, but would this then appeal to my people? ;)

Look back

A quick look at the fountain area now. i really enjoy peoples projects and love watching them evolve into what is happening inside the builders head. i get so involved in some of the projects that i even get a sense of self satisfaction when someone else finishes a project and show the completed picture. 

however every so often i come across deeply gripping projects, you know like that TV series that you almost cannot wait for the next episode. except these projects come very close to completion and then the builder and the updates just disappear. in vain you visit the blog, YouTube channel or forum thread, hoping you missed the update and could catch the next exciting bit but only to be disappointed. some of these projects never, ever reappear. 

being busy with a grocery money project myself i understand that some projects take long. you work in spurts that are powered by every little bit of cash you can squeeze out of your budget. these projects do take long and updates are few, but they get completed. so i thought i must show off what the fountain area looks like now. i'm very happy with the way it turned out.

i added some edging around the beds and raised the level of the soil to make the beds a little more level. planted some greenery (this is going to take a little while to grow and fill the area). most of the flowering plants have started flowering - that was with a little coercion using some refined chicken manure. it is in powered form and waters into the ground really quickly. less stench and a nice little kick start for the newly planted plants. 

.the grass however seems to be taking its time. hope that it will show face again in summer! 

Fixed up in flames

i love dumpster diving! whenever i get rid of my garden refuse or drop off some recycling i have to stop at the steel recycling dumpster. it is incredible what people throw away! (its also incredible what people will take out the trash! *drops head in shame*). i dropped off some chopped branches after an excessive garden cleaning spree and stopped at the metal bin again and found this three tier metal shelf. it was rusty but the shelves seemed not to be rusted through and the whole thing was still in a sturdy fair condition.

now the recycling part of the dump is a low income site and there are people that work there that sort all the rubbish and then generate an income from selling the scrap steel and glass. so you always need to enter into some negotiations to buy what ever scrap you would like to take. i approached the guy in charge and motioned to the dumpster that had the shelf sticking out the top. "how much you going to charge me for that shelf?" he gave a deep sigh and a slight whistle, "that is a lot of steel, uh, R30." thats about $3 and i had that in my pocket. suddenly i owned a rusted shelf.

At home i took it apart and put a wire brush to it removing the rust and loose paint. it was somewhat pitted but the shelves would still be able to hold what ever i had to put on it. i got hold of some gloss black Rustoleum appliance epoxy and gave it a couple coats before re-assembly. just leaving it plain black would have been terrible so i  scratched around and got hold of some colors i had left over from previous projects and set the back plate alight.

always nice to have some fun in the workshop. i've made some brackets for the shelf to sit on since i'm planning to mount it on the wall. you can barely see them sticking out from behind the little blue desk next to the shelf. they still need a little finishing, some holes and some paint. hope to have the shelf on the wall  by the end of friday. yay for more packing space!

Stuff

apart from building fountains i have invested a considerable amount of time in sorting out all my rubbish. being a hoarder it does not bode well when you have limited space. i needed to get rid of some stuff (because i wanted to get other stuff).

i endeavored to replace the leaking roof on my single garage that i'm using as a workshop for all things with wheels. i had attempted many different things to try and safe the old fibrous cement roof and had just given up. i could stand the damp wetness no longer, everything that was inside this garage was getting destroyed by the leaking roof. so a new roof was going on. one days really hard work paid off. i officially have a dry place to work. i don't have to strategically place everything away from where the leaks where anymore. this was incredibly freeing!

now that it was dry i could go ahead and solve a problem that i have had for ages!

i have always coveted a proper too rack. to keep everything within reach and nicely organised. having some old crates on hand and just having heard of the french cleat system i got cracking to make this space accessible. i started with the garage looking like this:

there was no access and everything was being stored on top of each other and nothing was being packed away because it was too big a mission.

so for my tools i made this:

this was GREAT fun since every little shelf was a project on its own. all the shelves are modular and the entire rack can be re-arranged to suit the need at the time. having worked with it once or twice now, i'm in love... 

the racks look like this from the side:

i also made a shelf to triple the floor space along the back wall, it so worked out that the honda and the bike lift fit into the gap as if it was made for it! and although still full, i can walk in and use the workbench without removing anything from the garage. 

the work bench underneath the tool rack has been relegated to the driveway and the one on the other wall has been given a new back board and a new work top. the  bench vise was mounted on it and it was moved in place. 

the little blue table in the front (it was my childhood desk in my bedroom) will be put on wheels and will become a moving island in the garage that is the perfect height for stripping a DOHC CB750 engine. 

there is still a lot to be done but the place is becoming a much more functional space, adn i did not need to get rid of too much of my junk... 

Cornered

It seems that i'm not very diligent...

since my last post i have had a new addition to the family, a little boy full of life, and life has changed dramatically. for the better, but right now we are MUCH busier. apart from that there has been a couple of things that have happened, everyone has been ill and things are returning to a greater sense of normality. i'm feeling a little more human and it feels like my creative me is rearing his head again and it is feeling fantastic!

for the Honda, i have slowly been gathering more spares to do a complete rebuild on the engine. it is the right thing to do i suppose, these old bikes are great and the are reliable if kept in a proper state. so i thought it good to start with a clean page and take 3 engines that i now have and make one good one. new seals and gaskets EVERYWHERE, etc and so on. and what i don't use might be useful to someone else and could help me get some of my money back...

with all of that happening in the background. i have had this ugly little corner in my garden that has been a thorn in my side for some time. we have attempted to get various different plants to grow there, and it has not been very successful... too little sun and being stingy with municipal water is not a helpful combination. what this area needed was a water feature...

i have a relatively old house and a modern looking thing would be completely out of place. i don't really care for "rock art" so that was out too... decided that i'll design my own.

being in shade most of the time minimizes water loss due to evaporation, and is a great spot for the lilies that we have been trying to propagate. when this was published the new leaves had just made their appearance. this has really made a great difference to my little back yard and the has brought a nice calming feel.

Start again

well so much water under the bridge since the last post... life switches on an indicator and switches to the fast lane and one needs to focus as not to miss the turn off.

the honda has been a nightmare. brakes and all were serviced. and it fired up nice and easily after refitting everything. the bike however did not want to idle normally once it warmed up. narrowed the fault down to the carbs and removed them and cleaned them. replaced some suspect o-rings with what i could get hold off. seemed to be fine. fitted the carbs back to the bike. same problem.

so dad jumps into the picture and buys me a kit to rebuild all four carbs. new jets, new, rubbers, new everything. decided that if i'm going to this, i'll do it propperly and i stripped the entire bank of carbs down to bits. clenaed everything. all the small passages pushed clear using a guitar string. re-assemble. fit the carbs to the bike. same problem. oh the disappointment. incessant head scratching insued. pulled the bank of carbs off again and checked the idle passages again with the guitar string. i remembered that in the kit there were new slow idle jets but the new ones were made for a newer model carburettor which unlike mine screw into the carb body instead of being pressed in. i thought since they are the same size let me see what the jet passage looks like. took the new jet tried the guitar string and noticed it does not fit... ran up to the house opened my guitar case and found one that fitted through the jet. went back the bank of carbs, pushed the guitar string through (this time really through) all the slow idle jets,  refit it. and ther you have it.

there was a lesson in there for me: if you have the wrong strings on your guitar, then your bike will not run!

so now i have a minor problem with an old spring on the brake pedal and i need a new headlamp, then we have a bike that will pass the road worthy test and we will be off! it has been nearly three years and too much money. really close now. still cannot believe that the bike is running. i think i'll go start it agian this afternoon...

Progress

Well the Honda has been standing long enough for the petrol in the tank to start going off (yes fuel also goes off).

I found a bike that is a bit newer that was involved in a crash but the motor made it unscathed, bought it, and started the transplant of the motor from one frame to the other.

The frame that I got had a whole bunch of little things on that are still in very good condition, that mainly makes the projet a little better aesthetically. What a great experience working on something old and having spares right there on hand, little things like a power cable that still has all the little rubber end covers on, handle bar controls that have not been through the war and so on.

I also got my bike lift working and the project bike is now mounted on the lift. this makes it wonderfull working since the bike can easily be moved around the workshop and is a little higher so no more back breaking bending over or sitting on the cold cement floor.

Currently I'm waiting for some spares to service the front brake master cylinder and a new brake light switch for the front brakes. Hopefully everything works and we will have this bike back on the road within the next month or two! hope to keep you posted!