Between 485 & 705 SQ/FT Mid-Century Moto Mecca Makeover

[E12-535iTurbo]

I wasn't jealous of the bikes. I've got more bikes (mostly scooters, but still) than I know what to do with.

I wasn't jealous of the mad photography skills. I've put in my time looking through the lens, and stopped when it was no longer holding my interest.

I wasn't jealous of the awesome woodworking skills. Though much more meticulous than my own, I've spent years doing it myself and am satisfied with my skills there.

I wasn't jealous of the Festool collection. I have a few pieces of my own, and undoubtedly more to come.

But dammit, I don't have a hammock, and now I know for sure I need one.

Thanks, Gregor.

Ha I was thinking the exact opposit. I do have a nice hammock, the rest....

 

[sakurama]

But dammit, I don't have a hammock, and now I know for sure I need one.

Thanks, Gregor.

Ha, that's the cheapest option right there!

G

 

[PittsS1]

The new glue is a bit thinner than what I was using but I'm still able to manage squeeze out pretty well. This is about as much as I'm getting at least on the inside. I bias my glue towards the outer edges since it's easier to clean up there. Inside corners are a pain. I also have experimented with scraping it dry, letting it skin and wiping it up wet. Dry glue ***** to remove - don't let it dry. Letting it skin is the best/easiest but requires timing and remembering which I am not good at. Wiping it off wet is the easiest to do for me and it's out of the way.

Gregor- Awesome projects! I've just built my own cabinets and mudroom cubbies in stain grade maple (couldn't tolerate glue marks), and one trick I found online that works really well for cleaning up glue squeeze-out on an inside corner:

Get a plastic drinking straw and flatten the end, then open it up a bit again. Wait for the glue to skin up, then just chase the inside corner of the box with the corner of the straw acting as a scoop. You can apply some pressure toward the inside corner so it conforms to the sides and cleans both sides up nicely. The excess glue goes inside the straw. Stop every few inches as the straw fills with glue and cut off the filled end, then repeat. Worked wonders for me! Wish I could take credit for the idea... and you are done with the boxes now...

Keep up the good work- it's inspiring and fun to follow along!

 

[Jim_No_Garage]

Okay - now can you give us some details on the hammock?

I've had the "coarse rope" hammocks and currently have a canvas hammock.

Your's looks interesting - never seen one like it.

Of course if there really was a Double D Blond in the hammock it would have been - Hammock? What hammock?

Cheers

Jim

 

[sakurama]

It's a Rada Handmade Yucatan Hammock - from Amazon. I got it because I've had those others too and this reminded me of the hammocks in Mexico which I liked. For the price ($64) it doesn't have to last much more than a season to be worth it. Hell, one beer and it was pretty much worth it!

Gregor

 

[Onedivinehammer]

Well, let me start, great thread; it's certainly one of the reasons I joined the site, or at least became interested in such. I love the style of your house, and obviously your attempts to bring it back to its glory. I'm not sure if you follow the Tools section of this site, but I've recently acquired a vintage tool kit, of which could be either that of a motorcycle or car. I thought it's possible you've come across something like this before, and thus can shed some light. Here's the link: http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=4050722#post4050722

 

[sakurama]

It will come as no surprise I didn't finish getting the drawers installed I suppose. I got a bit more than 2/3's of them though and just the amount of organization they've imparted in the few minutes of service is worth it.

I started by calculation the spacing for the stretchers and then making blocks of the correct dimensions and pocket screwing the stretchers in from the bottom.

I rest the slide on the stretcher, level it and drill through the holes.

If you've ever seen these self-centering drill bits this is what they're used for; drilling through a slide, hinge, bracket or similar and in the Festool case sized for 5mm and with a stop of 10mm so that you can use traditional european 5mm cabinet screws which are like mini confirmats. The Festool bit is like $78 which is nuts but I got it with a whole euro Centrotech kit from England and it had a lot of very nice bits, drills and drivers so the price was only really expensive as opposed to outrageous or insane. The quality though, of this and all the bits is better than anything I've ever used by a long shot.

Believe it or not that's only half the utensils. Judiaann was a chef and then a VP for a culinary products company and I'm a gear nut and I had my own collection of esoteric kitchen things (Dutch can opener anyone?) so we need to trim down but already it's worlds easier to find things. It might (not) come as a surprise but it used to make me nuts that salad and dinner forks shared a bin previously - never again!

I need to install a couple more drawers and get some shorter slides too for the short drawers but this is a good start. Ben and I talked about the pot rack and we both had the same unusual idea to solve the short ceiling problem. Now I just need to make a plan then plan to make. Then make. It.

Gregor

PS As for the tool kit - well to me they look German but I don't know. BMW makes a more refined kit and so perhaps they're Italian?

 

[sideroad]

Looking great Gregor, I like the simple and natural look of the ply. Those draw slides look good for 100yrs or so. Did you mention the brand? I'm a long way off my kitchen build, but as you said 'make a plan, then plan to make, then make it'. I found with my workshop build the planning saved me a lot of money. eg. last week I installed a double glass sliding door in the workshop that I picked up 3yrs ago for $150 and new they go for about $3000.
Thanks for the great updates and top pics.

 

[sakurama]

Looking great Gregor, I like the simple and natural look of the ply. Those draw slides look good for 100yrs or so. Did you mention the brand?

I've been using Grass which is an Austrian brand that seems as nice as Blum but far less expensive since it lacks the name recognition. I've been more than happy with them but I'm learning that under mounts are more picky than side mounts.

For the garage I used Glide-Rite slides (full extension side mounts) which lack the fancy adjustments and soft close but are super cheap ($3-6/pair) and have worked great. In fact I may use more of these for closets.

Gregor

 

[YoungMedic]

Gregor

I'm surprised no one caught this yet, but.. nice Bob Kramer's They are on my wish list.

I have been off for a few weeks and I must say your progress looks fantastic! Definitely motivating me to get back in the garage working on it.

 

[sideroad]

Thanks Gregor, will see if I can get either of these in Aus for a reasonable price. Was it the under mounts you were having issues with when 1mm out? Thanks

 

[elvee]

I was going to ask about the knife. I saw the insignia in the handle. Is that one of his customs, or one of the mass market pieces he designed? Either way it is a beautiful knife.

 

[sakurama]

I'm surprised no one caught this yet, but.. nice Bob Kramer's They are on my wish list.

I was going to ask about the knife. I saw the insignia in the handle. Is that one of his customs, or one of the mass market pieces he designed? Either way it is a beautiful knife.

I wish is was a "real" one but a $2500 chef's knife is not in my near (or distant probably) future!

It's a Shun Kramer and I have to say it's quite the disappointment. It really doesn't hold an edge at all and the handle's wood wasn't stable and expanded past the tang. Balance is nice but that's about it. When we've recovered from this remodel I'll look for something better but it's okay for now. We used to have a lot more knives - maybe we still have them somewhere in a box but this is all that we have now.

Gregor

 

[Onedivinehammer]

PS As for the tool kit - well to me they look German but I don't know. BMW makes a more refined kit and so perhaps they're Italian?

I'm still at a lost, but thanks. I'm beginning to believe it's definitely an auto kit anyways. I guess it's not a Guzzi set.

 

[elvee]

Gregor, thanks for the info on the knife. I know the Shun / Kramer relationship didn't last very long, and I only know one other person with any of them. He isn't a heavy user so hasn't had a lot to say. I have some Shun Classic pieces and really like how they have worked for the last 8 years.

As for the real Kramer's, the lat time I looked into his lottery system the going rate was $500 to $1000 per inch. Even if I had the money I don't think I could justify it.

Your kitchen work is inspiring. Of course, it makes me want to take on more of,our potential kitchen rebuild, but don't think my wife will go for that. Regular job and other side business projects consume too much time.

 

[sakurama]

Gregor, thanks for the info on the knife. I know the Shun / Kramer relationship didn't last very long, and I only know one other person with any of them. He isn't a heavy user so hasn't had a lot to say. I have some Shun Classic pieces and really like how they have worked for the last 8 years.

As for the real Kramer's, the lat time I looked into his lottery system the going rate was $500 to $1000 per inch. Even if I had the money I don't think I could justify it.

Your kitchen work is inspiring. Of course, it makes me want to take on more of,our potential kitchen rebuild, but don't think my wife will go for that. Regular job and other side business projects consume too much time.

That's nuts! So that's $4000-10000 for a chefs knife. Damn. It should come with a sous chef. Actually it's probably worth it if you have the cash but for me it always translates into motorcycles and that's a damn nice used motorcycle.

Yeah, I've had and liked Shun knives before but this ain't them - two rights made a wrong in this case.

Your wife is wise - listen to her...

Gregor

 

[YoungMedic]

I wish is was a "real" one but a $2500 chef's knife is not in my near (or distant probably) future!

It's a Shun Kramer and I have to say it's quite the disappointment.
Gregor

That is disappointing to hear. Are these this same as the Zwilling series?

 

[elvee]

That is disappointing to hear. Are these this same as the Zwilling series?

No, Shun and Zwilling are two different companies. Shun / Kershaw / Kai Cutlery are one group, Zwilling does Henckels, and I think Victorianox plus some other lines. Haven't heard anything about the Kramer / Zwilling knives.

 

[Mpower5266]

I opened this thread yesterday at work expecting a cool little two car garage motorcycle shop. Awesome thread, bikes, photography, renovation, etc etc. This is best thread I have read in a while.

 

[poorhouse]

Yes, and it continues to deliver.

On this page we are learning about kitchen knives. Excellent.

Next page? Who knows..

 

[sakurama]

Do you mean amaze as in how it constantly seems to be veering off track or because of it's beautiful free flowing diversity? If it's the first skip this post...

To keep this vaguely garage related - my garage no less - I installed a couple of fancy light switches. The first (left) is a motion activated switch which is fantastic in certain rooms - the garage being one of them. It's so nice to just walk into the garage and have the lights come on and then leave and know they are off.

The next one is a time switch which solves a problem of the funky house wiring. The lights outside the garage are controlled by a switch in the garage - not one in the house like you'd expect. They function as porch lights when you come home after dark so you can find your way to the front door. Anyway, because the switch is in the garage you never turn them on and so they are useless. This switch has a timer that turns them on at dusk and then off at my preprogrammed time. Those of you with fancy full house mission control lighting systems might scoff but this is just what I needed and nothing more. We already have some motion controlled lights outside but this will be more useful.

Anyway, if you haven't checked out the motion control switches do so and you'll be a believer.

Now, onto jumping the shark!

Since I fly a lot and forget my keys a lot and like having a knife-like-thing with me even when I fly it occurred to me that maybe I could take apart my Leatherman Micra and ditch the blade that would get it confiscated by the clowns of the TSA (Theatrical Safety Asses) and put my house key in there instead. I thought I was a genius for about two minutes (longer than usual) until I looked it up on the inter webs and found that, of course, someone else had done it before me.

Dang it all, it's still cool.

This was my test one on my 15 year old worn out version. It works fine but I realized I should have done the key the other way around and been more careful in shaping the rounded end.

And this is the newer one I had. I was more careful about it and filed instead of ground and this one snaps open and closed and there's no slop. It will make a very nice back up key to keep in my bag and the scissors are handy to have. Now we'll see if the TSA let's it fly.

In other news the rest of the drawers are installed. Now we're just sorting out what goes where and then I'm going to tackle consolidating the lumber onto the roof of the garage to start to free up space in the house and reclaim the back room.

Gregor

 

[YoungMedic]

Seriously Trick!

 

[Nuts]

Epic, just effing epic.

Oh by the way, welcome to Oregon.
Remember there is a dry side too.

Doug

 

[Fandango]

Other TSA nicknames...
Tub Stacking Association
Thousands Standing Around

That Key idea is slick!

 

[Hostyle]

Cool work on the keys.

With regards to the knives, I've always loved the way the Global series of knives look. My eldest brother has some in his collection and as an amateur cook, he rates them highly. I still want a set of Global knives, but I can't justify the costs.

 

[rice rocket]

I have the 8" chef from Global. I love the feel and the design. I plan to add more at some point, maybe a paring/boning knife, but the whole set is a little excessive for an amateur like myself.


Back on topic though, I have those light switches in my bathroom. Very handy! Especially the 5 minute time delay on the occupancy sensor, which let's me leave and it'll air out the moisture and shut off without me having to come back.

 

[Modern Jess]

Since I fly a lot and forget my keys a lot and like having a knife-like-thing with me even when I fly it occurred to me that maybe I could take apart my Leatherman Micra and ditch the blade that would get it confiscated by the clowns of the TSA (Theatrical Safety Asses) and put my house key in there instead. I thought I was a genius for about two minutes (longer than usual) until I looked it up on the inter webs and found that, of course, someone else had done it before me.

I love the idea. It's exactly the kind of project I would spend time on, if only I still carried a house key. I don't even know where mine is at this point. When we moved into the new house, I immediately changed the locks -- and every other doorknob in the entire house. I used this Schlage Keypad Deadbolt on all the exterior doors, programmed them all with the same code, added some throwaway codes to be given to people on a temporary basis (they can be deleted afterwards) and have never looked back. In three years, I haven't even had to replace any of the batteries. They're truly awesome, and it's easier to punch in the 4-digit code than to fish my keys out of my pocket.

Prior to that, I spent about ten years trying desperately to manage way, way too many keys. After that, I swore I would never waste any more time on such a useless task. Now that I only have to carry the single vehicle key that I happen to be driving that day, my day to day life is noticeably less annoying.

I can't speak highly enough about these keypad locks. Sincerely. Genuinely. They'll change your life.

(But I still love the key-in-a-leatherman idea!)

 

[brum]

I have several of the Shun classics. 5" Santoku, 3" paring, 3" wavy paring, utility, and the 8" chef is on our wedding registry. Great blades...just need proper care.

Love the knife storage. I'm still trying to decide between an upright, magnetic knife block like the picture below or something like yours that's in a drawer.

 

[sakurama]

. I can't speak highly enough about these keypad locks. Sincerely. Genuinely. change your life.

The same way my daughter tried to swipe the TV screen to change channels I sometimes find myself approaching the house door and pushing the unlock button on my trucks key fob. It's an intuitive technology that isn't here just yet. I'm sure it's there by now in a high end system but maybe those combos are the way to go. I'll have to look into that. No keys. I like that idea.

Yeah my next knife will be Japanese and a 60-62 Rockwell. I'll take "holds an edge" over "easy to sharpen" any day.

Gregor

 

[Zippercat]

Do you mean amaze as in how it constantly seems to be veering off track or because of it's beautiful free flowing diversity? If it's the first skip this post...

To keep this vaguely garage related - my garage no less - I installed a couple of fancy light switches. The first (left) is a motion activated switch which is fantastic in certain rooms - the garage being one of them. It's so nice to just walk into the garage and have the lights come on and then leave and know they are off.

The next one is a time switch which solves a problem of the funky house wiring. The lights outside the garage are controlled by a switch in the garage - not one in the house like you'd expect. They function as porch lights when you come home after dark so you can find your way to the front door. Anyway, because the switch is in the garage you never turn them on and so they are useless. This switch has a timer that turns them on at dusk and then off at my preprogrammed time. Those of you with fancy full house mission control lighting systems might scoff but this is just what I needed and nothing more. We already have some motion controlled lights outside but this will be more useful.

Anyway, if you haven't checked out the motion control switches do so and you'll be a believer.



Gregor

Didn't "clock" the switchplate screws? That's shocking!

 

[Modern Jess]

I sometimes find myself approaching the house door and pushing the unlock button on my trucks key fob.

Hah! Okay, I admit it -- I've done that.

 

[tacostand]

Didn't "clock" the switchplate screws? That's shocking!

Actually, he did. They're set to Portland (PST), NYC (EST), Germany/Italy {BMW/Guzzi] (UTC+01:00), and GMT, respectively.
The GMT is for if Gregor is really jet lagged and has to mentally hit the reset button to start over.


Dave

 

[sakurama]

That's funny!

G

 

[sideroad]

Actually, he did. They're set to Portland (PST), NYC (EST), Germany/Italy {BMW/Guzzi] (UTC+01:00), and GMT, respectively.
The GMT is for if Gregor is really jet lagged and has to mentally hit the reset button to start over.


Dave

Nicely said!
Similar to when I take my club registered vehicle out on a non club ride. I have parts suppliers or mechanics for every compass bearing I'm travelling in to justify my travel.
A 12 point star drive would be the only way to help clocker OCD types. That way you only have a few mins/secs to adjust. (and only other clockers will notice)

 

[Vertigo Cycles]

Didn't "clock" the switchplate screws? That's shocking!

while he may not have "clocked" the plate screws, I'll wager they're all torqued to the manufacturer torque spec which is the only correct way to install fasteners.

 

[justbummin1]

Gregor,

The masses are getting nervous with out any updates!?!?! Just because you have work, small children that think they should get all of your attention, 50 other time consuming hobbies and oh yea a wife that might still actually like you. Don't forget about us out here in the internet world that cant get enough of your great work

Rob

 

[sakurama]

The masses are getting nervous with out any updates!?!?!

Haha.

I still have a hard time typing that - not for lack of humor but for the fact that it's so typographically opposed to the meaning. Typing Haha and laughing are pretty diametrically opposed yet that seems to be the thing that we do now.

Anyway, yes, you're right. It's a bit of a lull. I came back from a week in NYC and it was the 4th and I had two good friends visiting so this week I've done nothing but live in the house - sort of a novelty really. So that's what the rest of the world does... hmm.

In fact Judiaann and I were just discussing what should be the next project. Her thing is "just finish something" and my thought process is to continue working in stages. Build cabinets here, there, everywhere, then do trim, etc. So in an effort to make peace I will finish the smallest bathroom. Then I'll work on finishing the kitchen cabinets. I'll leave the banquet for a while though.

And because posts without photos are dull here's a shot of the John Pomp lights that have been in a crate for the last few years. Still not sure where to put them - there's four of these and they're spectacular. I honestly am not sure if my work or the house is deserving of them. Which isn't going to stop me from using them of course! I'll just feel a twinge of guilt.

So, for now I can't say I'll be updating things too soon but I appreciate the prodding. It helps to keep me on task and no give up.

Gregor

 

[E12-535iTurbo]

You know it's not always necessary to post updates. Just a few random shots of a tour through the house/garage/garden would be great as well. Just to get a clear view of what you've accomplished till now. To get things in perspective you know.

There will be compliments. I promise.

 

[OHSCrifle]

Did you ever hear what happened to Jorge?

 

[sakurama]

Did you ever hear what happened to Jorge?

I don't know. His lawyer never returned my calls and I suspect he was deported but I honestly don't know. I know I'll see him again but when I don't know.

Gregor