Current Work
Technology upgrade
I am somewhat of a hypocrite when it comes to technology. On one side I tend to stick with good old trusty stuff like machines from the 40's, vernier or dial calipers, transformer welder over my inverter welder, etc, etc. I admit however that I like newer digital stuff like my Canon G10 and my iPhone. This week marks the end of our old desk top computer and DSL for the interweb. FIOS has arrived and I admit it is a killer change over DSL. It seems rock solid, fast and once the new computer arrives I think it will really shine.
The computer I am typing on is going to the Smithsonian for both being old and the most amazing computer on the planet. It has had a good life but it is now time to rest (well it already seems to rest a lot when I ask it to do things!). I suspect I will gain about 5 minutes per day with the overall speed and consistency of the new system. Those 5 minutes are very welcome since 24 hrs in the day is rarely enough.
Check out this paint job. I think it is killer. The pink and brown might not show up on the screen but trust me it is cool. This bike is a great combo of parts and I hope Tolsun enjoys riding the heck out of it.
I am also wrapping up Beau's bike and then on Monday starting Tyler's single speed. Here are some shots during the week:
Here is to seeing if I can get 2 updates in the month of May.
Cheers,
Drew
Terrible at updating
I find the less you update the blog the more it becomes an easy thing to avoid. I really was in a good groove and updating each week. Then you get busy and let a few weeks go by. I am now doing a monthly update which better not become a seasonal update and then a yearly update!
This month marks what I hope to be an end to a period in my life. Our house renovation is coming to an end. We hope to move in before the start of May. I am really looking forward to having a spare minute to sit back and reflect on what got accomplished over the past 5 months. Now there is still plenty of work to do and lots of stuff to make but it can all be managed while living there.
This week I am working on Beau's new bike. It is going to be a 29R hardtail that takes the place of what many would call a hybrid. It is going to be a full rigid hardtail and running some tires like a Nanoraptor or Specialized Fastrak. It should be a good all purpose bicycle. Apparently his father enjoys watching the flickr stream so I will try and get some good updates throughout the week. Here is the early stuff:
Some random chips:
This week we will be assembling this bike which should look real slick:
Hope everyone has a great weekend.
Cheers,
Drew
The new 30....
They say 40 is the new 30. Good thing since today I am 40. Or as my brother says it is my 20th annual celebration of my 20th birthday. I am not sure which seems older?? Never had any issues with turning 30 and now turning 40 seems even less dramatic. No time for a mid life crisis!
Had a very productive week with Carl's disc commuter. Got the bike welded all the basic brazing is done and now I am waiting for the Tubus racks to come in and the light so I can work on wiring and location of the mounts. Here are some pictures from the week:
For my birthday I got myself a dust collection system that I now need to get working on my table saw. So many differences with wood and metal but the main thing is how important dust collection is with wood. That stuff is nasty and I am sick of cleaning it up!
Next week I am going to get as much desk work done as possible. I need to communicate with the next three people (Tyler, David and Beau) about all the details.
March came and went lightning fast!
Cheers and hope nobody gets fooled too badly tomorrow.
-Drew
G.C. what does it stand for??
In the world that I spend my days the term G.C. is often used three times a year. It stands for General Classification and is the person leading the race in a stage event such as the 3 grand tours. So come July the term G.C. is used often. It represents the person "winning" the Tour de France. Recently the letters G.C. have taken on a whole new meaning. They stand for GENERAL CONTRACTOR.
My phone has become an extension of me where in the past it was something that I often turned off or just looked at towards the end of the day. Contractors, suppliers, scheduling deliveries, etc, etc. The dang thing never shuts up. On top of that I am one of the "contractors" doing some of the work.
We had this master plan that got heavily derailed by the lack of winter and the instant arrival of incredible weather. The bike shop is insane (which is a good thing right?) and it is March. Next week might see some welcome changes and the balance between work and my other job might become more balanced. We (the shop) have a new employee starting (his name is Dan) and the kitchen in our house might actually be done. This a huge for both the family and the shop. With some luck we might move in the house some time next month and I can get back to looking forward to the letters G.C.!
On top of all this I got REALLY sick by working myself into the ground and was forced to take a few days and spend them in bed. This really knocked me down. Unfortunately it seems like I have yet another cold but I hope this one is not as nasty.
Back to bicycle content. Here is a bike that is for a repeat customer. Carl's new bike is a commuter/light touring bike. It is getting disc brakes and will allow say 32mm tires with fenders. I think he will get many happy rides with it. Here are some shots from the shop.
I also got a care package for the shop. This is two new drill chucks. They are one of the many ways you can maintain good tolerances in your machining. The old ones went back for a tune-up and to have the run-out checked and it was determined that they needed to get replaced. I look forward to the many years of service these new ones will give.
I hope everyone is loving this weather and getting great bike rides in!
Cheers,
Drew
Comments
Happy Birthday Drew! Be
Happy Birthday Drew! Be careful with the hip...