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

[nhowkins]

Gregor,

I know you have Festool tools and I'm slowly beginning to acquire my own. I've also been cruising through your 950 (990?) bike build and noticed you switch between mm and inches. So my question is, having used both in engineering, mainly inches in woodworking, and now having Festool based on mm, how do you keep them straight? Also, what type of rulers/tape measures do you use to measure in mm for woodworking?

 

[mike_the_man]

Hi Gregor,

I've been subscribed and lurking on this thread for quite some time. You inspired me to build my own kitchen cabinets, as well as introducing me to a very expensive Festool addiction (my wife thanks you for that one). Whenever I need a kick in the *** I come back and re-read this thread for motivation. I believe I've been through it start to finish at least 3 times.

As far as only seeing your mistakes goes, I was at a friends brand new very expensive house recently and there were several issues with fit and finish. Don't beat yourself up. From what I have seen your level is much higher than that of the 'professionals' being paid to work on multi million dollar houses. I am constantly impressed with what you have done.

Looking forward to seeing what the new year holds for your projects!

Cheers,
Mike

 

[sakurama]

The bike on the very first page of this thread was built by my very good friend Scott Kolb and myself (but when I include myself it was the me of 16 years ago with next to no fabrication skills). I am planning on building an off road version of the bike and I contacted Scott today to see if he could help me with a special CNC part that he'd made back then. Of course he would.

He also shared his latest blog entry on his streamliner which might appeal this group:

Kolb Racing 125cc Streamliner

Scott has set his sights on being the first person to crack 200mph with a 125cc engine which is quite the goal and I have no doubt he'll make it. Anyway, check it out while you wait for me to accomplish something and if you can give him a vote on the Champion site - he would really appreciate the support.

Cheers,

Gregor

 

[MampsOH]

...(I) noticed you switch between mm and inches. So my question is, having used both in engineering, mainly inches in woodworking, and now having Festool based on mm, how do you keep them straight? Also, what type of rulers/tape measures do you use to measure in mm for woodworking?

I'm am auto engineer by trade as well who has to live in metric during the day. I picked up a barely used Festool Track Saw last year off of Craig's list and decided to make the switch at home to metric after reading this thread (along with #2HB round pencils).
FastCap ProCarpenter tape measures have made this transition painless:

http://www.fastcap.com/estore/pc/ProCarpenter-3p112.htm
I thought I would use the standard/metric rule, but I found that I quickly started grabbing the blue True32 the most.
I'm slowly becoming more productive as I incorporate True32mm multiple concepts into my workshop designs. I also love being able to quickly scribble reference numbers on the actual tape or the side of the housing.
My number two favorite is the metric version of their flat tape, which has been fantastic as I layout multiple cuts on plywood for the Paulk Workbenches I'm currently building.
And of course, it helps to make a quick reference card of the typical sheet and dimensional lumber products you may be using frequently. Hang it on your shop wall and keep a copy in your regular tool bag/box.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk.

 

[Huxley]

A few more donuts and that speed clip is going to be engulfed.

 

[sakurama]

Gregor,

I know you have Festool tools and I'm slowly beginning to acquire my own. I've also been cruising through your 950 (990?) bike build and noticed you switch between mm and inches. So my question is, having used both in engineering, mainly inches in woodworking, and now having Festool based on mm, how do you keep them straight? Also, what type of rulers/tape measures do you use to measure in mm for woodworking?

Sorry I didn't get back on this question but MampsOH answered it very well. I use the same tapes and have several different versions but the yellow metric/standard one is the one I use most. I use inches and feet when dealing with bigger dimensions over 8' and millimeters when ever I'm building something like cabinets. I think it has to do with hating to add fractions but also mm are pretty small so they're easy and accurate.

Similarly I use mm when fabricating small parts on the mill or lathe but will often switch to "thousandths" when dealing with high tolerance fits (like a +.0005" press fit) but like the tape my calipers read both metric and standard (they're digital) and the DRO's also switch at the touch of a button.

I think more than anything it's that I use devices, tapes, calipers etc. that do both and I swap between them enough that I'm familiar with both. I will say it's weird how we're okay with some metric (engines in liters and cc's, medicine in grams and ml, soda in liters) but use mph for speed, gallons for gas, F for temp and miles for distance. If you've ever travelled outside the country you get used to it very quickly. Seems like it would be hard for a year if we switched and then we'd save a lot of time and money. Doubt that will happen now as we started the switch when I was a kid and haven't made much progress.

Cheers,

Gregor

 

[gasgas17]

Growing up in Canada and just at the start of metric in our school system in the seventies. We never had any teachings of the imperial system until I landed in the Carpentry program at our community college in the late eighties. Guess what? No metric building supplies because our largest market for our building products produced in Canada is the US. The closest we get to metric working in the the trade for the last 30 years is some tile products and roof shingles produced in Canada. They are 1 meter long. So I will use meters to lay out the side to side but switch back to inches laying out the courses. To make matters even worse our building code is all in metric (it used to be printed with the imperial equivalents in brackets beside every metric value), so we have to convert everything to feet and inches every time we refer to the building code. I suspect as long as sheet materials are produced in 4'x8', things will never change. We use metric for everything else, driving, volumes, produce and groceries, temp and of course working on motorcycles and automotive. Funny though, we still don't weigh ourselves in metric or state our height in metric. But we have America to blame for that......

 

[Fast914]

GasGas....I was just going to say the same thing when who do I see at the end of the thread...We seem to be caught in a vortex....I am a little older than GasGas...not much older...but I started school when we were completely imperial measure...and those fractions still get me!

My kids weigh themselves in metric which I always find odd as Kilos mean nothing to me...likewise air temp...I have largely made the jump with speed in the car or on the bike....my two cents worth on a Thursday morning!

Oh, and Gregor and all the rest of you...thanks for a truly great thread...I am sure I have been through this multiple times and more often than not when I have quiet time out in the garage.

 

[gasgas17]

You cant hide in here Fast914. When will that car be ready so we can chat at the PCA meets!

On the tape measure note pad idea. That is something I have been doing for over 20 years. I always use the same Stanley tape that I like (although most Stanley tapes have the same kind of label) and just carefully peel off the clear layer. This lets you wipe off the label printing with any kind of solvent, leaving a nice white writing surface. I have a really good memory but it's really short. So this helps me be much more productive at work.

 

[TRS63]

Hi Gregor,

my first post here in the forum. But had to do it here, to thank you for this thread. Amazing skills showed, crazy craftmanship, lot of inspiration and when needed good explanations. And I cannot say anything about the pictures' quality and of course the amazing bikes.. Well, I read all the 83 pages in the last 3 days and I am already feeling that, now that I am up to date.. Keep the good work and thanks for sharing so much!

Antoine (from Germany)

PS: ok, now I have posted so I am not a silence reader anymore..I am going now to introduce myself in the appropriate section!

 

[Jo Diesel]

WOW! I've finally got caught up on this awesome build. Kudos Gregor. Im getting ready to start building cabinets and plan on starting in my shop.
Have been looking for ideas for my kitchen and I am definitely showing yours to my wife. Yours is totally awesome and I love the wardrobes.
Have you thought of some kind of arm to hang one of those beautiful hand blown lights in your bedroom? Something out of steel or like that lamp in your living room?

 

[Jbonetti]

2 weeks to finish 83 pages and now the rest of my life to aspire towards perfection in all the things i am passionate about.

Thanks...i think?

 

[GiantCranium]

today i was meant to to an assignment for my builders licence. it is now your fault that i wasted a fair chunk of my day reading this incredible thread. you are one hell of an ideas man, craftsman, artist and perfectionist. congrats on a great home!
(thank you for using metric. made it that much easier to read)

 

[Vertigo Cycles]

I hope you're not living in an igloo on the streets of NY. That appears to have been quite the storm.

Fair warning, I'm going to pick up a Kapex 120, CT36 and a TS55REQ this month and when Heather gives me a hard time I'm going to point the finger at you.

There's a big blank wall above my lathe and I have things in need of storage. Might as well get a head start on 2016 deductible expenses.

 

[sakurama]

Damn, that is kicking it up in a big way. The Kapex is amazing as is the TS55 and they will appeal to your perfectionist nature and love of fine tools. I'm prepared to take any blame.

One thing to consider on the vacuum is that they are identical performance wise with the only difference being the size. I don't use mine enough to warrant the larger size so I save space and empty bags a bit more and went with the 22 which was the small size but is now the medium option. Also, if you decide to get a cyclone it's smaller so it saves space for it. The 26 fits under the Kapex I believe - mine does at least.

Food for thought.

Gregor

 

[lilscorpion]

One thing to consider on the vacuum is that they are identical performance wise with the only difference being the size. I don't use mine enough to warrant the larger size so I save space and empty bags a bit more and went with the 22 which was the small size but is now the medium option. Also, if you decide to get a cyclone it's smaller so it saves space for it. The 26 fits under the Kapex I believe - mine does at least.



Food for thought.



Gregor

I first purchased a CTMidi. I then wanted another so I could run the Kapex between other tools without switching the plug and hose constantly (it grew old quickly). I chose the 26 for the same reasons Gregor mentioned. I'd recommend going to your festool dealer and look at how each fits under a MFT and a Kapex. If you plan on it being mobile and carrying it around, a near full bag on the 26 with a couple of other sustainers on top is heavy. 36 with a mostly full bag has to weigh quite a bit.

 

[Vertigo Cycles]

Thanks guys. I'll check out the smaller ones. Since my shop is so small, I was thinking the 36 would allow me to replace my current vac and could pull double duty, doing its job gobbling up saw dust as well as vacuuming chips off my machine tools. No room for duplicates here. My shop is pretty tight as it is and I'm still not sure where the Kapex would even live.

 

[sakurama]

I'll admit I didn't see that coming but your shop is a lot cleaner than mine. Aside from the time I turned a piece of wood in the lathe I don't mix the two mediums. I bought a cheap Home Depot vacuum on sale that I use for water and chips. That stuff is so messy, oily and dirty that I couldn't bear to sully my Festool vac with it. Also, I keep he sawdust separate as I put it in the compost and use it for oil spills.

Your shop is so neat that mixing it up probably isn't an issue but I'd certainly consider the smaller vac to be able to keep it under the Kapex. If you have a project coming up but don't have a solution for the Kapex I have the stand and wings - you're welcome to borrow them for the project as I don't use them much now.

G

 

[Vertigo Cycles]

I'll admit I didn't see that coming but your shop is a lot cleaner than mine. Aside from the time I turned a piece of wood in the lathe I don't mix the two mediums. I bought a cheap Home Depot vacuum on sale that I use for water and chips. That stuff is so messy, oily and dirty that I couldn't bear to sully my Festool vac with it. Also, I keep he sawdust separate as I put it in the compost and use it for oil spills.

Your shop is so neat that mixing it up probably isn't an issue but I'd certainly consider the smaller vac to be able to keep it under the Kapex. If you have a project coming up but don't have a solution for the Kapex I have the stand and wings - you're welcome to borrow them for the project as I don't use them much now.

G

Ha! Neat isn't a word I'd use to describe my shop. I must have cleaned it before you saw it last.

I may hit you up soon with some questions. I plan on building some test book shelves that will go in the office and then some for the kids room, eventually working my way to some built-in cabinets and book shelves for the living room.

 

[jdp993]

Oneida makes a product called a dust deputy that works with the festool vacs. It is a small cyclonic separator that goes between the hose and the vac itself. If you're going to use with machine tools you'll want the metal industrial version.

If your Deckel is like mine you can end up picking up some way oil when you clean up the machine base. This tends to coat the inside of the separator so when you use it for woodworking the dust sticks to the inside surface but it still seems to work OK. Does a great job of separating out the metal chips, virtually none make into the vacuum itself. The other benefit is the vacuum bags last forever.

Great discussion in this thread as always.

JP

 

[Choirboy]

I am pretty sure the Oneida is the cyclone separator I have. I bought the kit you attach to a 5 gallon bucket. Works pretty well for things sawdust size and larger. I used it to help clean up after a round of demolition at the house and all the super-fine plaster dust and fine cellulose insulation residue was still sucked through to the filter of my shop vacuum (Ridgid), but the regular dirt was all in the bucket. Haven't used it for much else yet but I'm pretty sure it will be a really nice addition to the woodshop for everything except fine sanding dust. I think it would be ideal for metal shavings.

 

[the spyder]

Great thread. Love the house. My parents recently bought a 50's Atomic house, very simmilar construction. I grew up in the area (Hilsdale Pub). I moved out of Portland some time ago, just a bit South (but still work in downtown). I built a shop to feed my 4 wheel addiction, but it's no where as awesome. Will you be at the One Show this weekend? If you ever have a garage BBQ, I would love to see it in person.

 

[sakurama]

Great thread. Love the house...

Thanks!

Will you be at the One Show this weekend? If you ever have a garage BBQ, I would love to see it in person.

Yes! I haven't been able to finish a new bike this year so I won't, unfortunately, have a bike in the show but I'm going to be there with two of my bikes outside in the vendor area - the BMW cafe bike in the very first post of this thread and my KTM all wheel drive bike which I'll be stripping down so you can see the whole drive train. Kevin will have his XT500 and his Husky flat tracker there which are both pretty cool bikes as well.

One of the things that has been taking up so much of my time this year is that I'm now a partner in Velomacchi and finally, after a year of refinement, we're ready to launch and it will be at The 1 Show this weekend. I will be there pretty much the whole weekend save for Saturday afternoon for a few hours when I'm taking the kids to the Monster Jam show because I got those tickets like a year ago and because, well, Monster Jam!

Sadly, customs flagged our initial shipment and it looks like we won't have product at the show but we'll have our last round of production samples on hand so you can check it out. We've been quiet about it as we've managed to come up with something genuinely new in backpack suspension and wanted to get our patents filed. Kevin, my partner, was the lead designer for the The North Face for over 9 years and is one of the most talented designers I've ever met. Our system is a pivoting harness that doesn't use a waist belt but rather uses a magnetic self coupling closure which allows you to put the pack on without looking at the closure and is incredibly comfortable. I've been using it for a while and I'm convinced that it's an idea that's pretty amazing.

And we make a kick *** tool roll that I had a lot of input on and it includes magnets in the flap so that when you make trailside repairs your loose fasteners stay put and don't get lost in the dirt - always a pet peeve of mine.

Anyway, we're burning the midnight oil trying to get ready and if you're anywhere nearby I hope you come check out the show (if not for the bike for the people watching!) and come say hi at the Velomacchi trailer. I'd love to meet you and hear your feedback and if you come by in the evening we'll be enjoying some nice 15 year old Macallan and perhaps some Lagavulin as well.

Gregor

PS Yes, a garage party is still in the plans but it seems each year it gets more crowded and harder to get around in and I never make the progress that I'm hoping to... but maybe this year.

 

[Hostyle]

That's one good looking backpack you've created Gregor! If my current backpack (Boblbee Megapolis) gives up the ghost, I know where to look for a replacment.
Will you be creating tail packs as well?

 

[dreesemonkey]

Beautiful products, Gregor, I love the style. This may be blasphemous but would you consider a similarly styled messenger bag?

It's likely out of my price range anyway, but beautiful stuff.

 

[sakurama]

That's one good looking backpack you've created Gregor! If my current backpack (Boblbee Megapolis) gives up the ghost, I know where to look for a replacment.
Will you be creating tail packs as well?

Yes.

One of my goals was to make sure the stuff we're making has a wider appeal than just being motorcycle gear. Motorcycles are a small market but the extreme conditions (70-80mph wind that can drive rain past seams and make most material flap about and vibrate) was the driving force behind the designs. So we're going to make a tail bag but it will be a duffle style dry bag using our patented harness but with the ability to be tied down on the bike.

In order to not have to bring in investors we're rolling out in a staged way with just this pack right now but the other designs ready to go into production within the next month or so.

Beautiful products, Gregor, I love the style. This may be blasphemous but would you consider a similarly styled messenger bag?

It's likely out of my price range anyway, but beautiful stuff.

Yes to the messenger bag with similar classic styling but some smart details and innovations. The backpack is $299 which puts us in the middle for something similar but with a design way better than anything else out there. So far everyone who's seen it thinks it's priced on the low side considering the tech involved - dry bag, magnetic closures, new harness system, contained strap system, etc.

If you can come by the show you'll get to see it in person and let us know what you think.

This has been a pretty scary thing to dive into but I'm approaching it like I did when I got into photography - all in and no backup plan. Playing it safe never gets you anywhere but the same place on the treadmill so hopefully this will work out. If not there'll be a really nice mid-century house on the market soon.

You guys have seen me take on the house project from day one so now you get to see me try a new career. Scary but exciting. Exciting but scary.

Come by this weekend!

Gregor

 

[KeithTurk]

Perfect attitude for the new venture..

 

[Pointbock]

Pancakes!

 

[sakurama]

Pancakes!

Exactly!

 

[Hostyle]

Yes.

One of my goals was to make sure the stuff we're making has a wider appeal than just being motorcycle gear. Motorcycles are a small market but the extreme conditions (70-80mph wind that can drive rain past seams and make most material flap about and vibrate) was the driving force behind the designs. So we're going to make a tail bag but it will be a duffle style dry bag using our patented harness but with the ability to be tied down on the bike.

In order to not have to bring in investors we're rolling out in a staged way with just this pack right now but the other designs ready to go into production within the next month or so.

A month is still pretty fast! I'm looking forward to product updates. Flapping and vibrations are indeed a huge factors. Straps that don't tie down can become painfull whips at speeds above 150km/h... Not an experience I like to have happening again.

I've just gotten a Kriega US30 tailpack for my 848, but as Kriega has made their set-up modular, maybe an extra duffle bag on top would be an option.

If you need any high speed testing, I'll be happy to oblige. Limit free Autobahns are just half an hour riding from my house

 

[dreesemonkey]

Yes.
Yes to the messenger bag with similar classic styling but some smart details and innovations. The backpack is $299 which puts us in the middle for something similar but with a design way better than anything else out there. So far everyone who's seen it thinks it's priced on the low side considering the tech involved - dry bag, magnetic closures, new harness system, contained strap system, etc.
Gregor

Pleasantly surprised with the price of the backpack, I honestly thought it would be higher. Honestly, your photography and presentation makes it seem like a very, very premium product and the price seems quite competitive.

I'll be very interested in a messenger bag if/when they happen. Been wanting to get one for my dayjob for a while now. Congrats and good luck on the new venture. Unfortunately I'm on the wrong side of the country for your motorcycle show this weekend.

BTW your velomacchi.com link is currently a shopify blank page.

 

[sakurama]

If you need any high speed testing, I'll be happy to oblige. Limit free Autobahns are just half an hour riding from my house

Ah, you kill me!

Pleasantly surprised with the price of the backpack, I honestly thought it would be higher...

BTW your velomacchi.com link is currently a shopify blank page.

Yes, we're not officially "open" and trying to put it all together for the 1 Show as our deadline. It won't be finished, always a work in progress but the site should be up by the end of today.

G

 

[rvieceli]

Congrats and good luck Gregor.

Ron

 

[TRS63]

Ah, you kill me!

G

Also there.for eventual testing, highway without speed limitations is my daily way to work and the superduke loves to enter them on one wheel

Antoine

 

[Hostyle]

Don't tell me it's a 1290 Superduke R, then you'd be killing me!

 

[TRS63]

Sadly no, "only" the 990 but still a lovely toy

Antoine

 

[Hostyle]

I'd love to have a big power naked bike one day, but I'm still hooked on sports-/superbikes to switch right now.

 

[Huxley]

Nice looking site & no hiccups on Google Chrome.

velomacchi.com

 

[nes999]

Well two slow days at work later, I've finished the thread. This make makeover of your house (and all of the side projects) is simply addicting to read. Im interested to see how this continues in the future.

 

[Vertigo Cycles]

The magnetic coupler on the backpack is probably the coolest thing I've ever seen on a pack. Good to see you there on Saturday