Not all of us can afford space... let alone the tools...

It's a fact.

There was a time when I worked on my long bikes on a dirt floor garage that had no lights and no power... and while I wouldn't recommend it... you can do it. 

Where there is a will there is a way... hand tools will go a long way with some ingenuity!

Jimmy sent in another cool update along these very lines!
(Notice he didn't skimp on the coffee mug... you gotta have SOME standards!)

Jimmy says:

"Ya know I see a lot of guys that build some amazing shit, but they have giant lathes, bridgeport mills and TIG welders that cost more than 5 house payments. I was talking to a friend earlier and he asked me how I made some of the things on my bikes, and asked if I had a lathe. I can't remember exactly what I said, but it had something to do with owning a drill, file and a $20 tap and die set from Autozone. So I got to thinking about my machining skills, or lack thereof, and I figured I would put this on here. Attached are pictures of my fantabulous fab shop. I don't have a lathe or mill, drill press, hell I don't even have a bench grinder or bandsaw. The closest thing I have is a sawsall, a drill and file (my ghetto ass lathe) and an angle grinder I put in my vice when I need a bench grinder. Did I mention Ghetto? And oh yeah, I weld everything with my POS Harbor Frieght flux core welder......."

Small update

It's been a really crazy week and the weather has been screwing with me.
I'm just crawling along here... not much to report but I spent some time building the "rough draft" headlight bracket too nail down my headlight location/position.
I dig it. Now I just need to refine it.
Also did a little more fine tuning on my seat pan.
That extra long bike table paid off as well... I have room to work on the rear wheel while the bike is still on the table... my fears  of having too large of a work space for my garage were unfounded. 
It's absolutely worth it. 

Jimmy's chopper project

So I got a note from a guy named Jimmy, who sent me some pics of his new chopper project along with a few notes... check it out! 

Looking forward to seeing how this one turns out Jimmy!

Jimmy says: 

Basically it is a Jammer rigid, 4" in the downtubes and 2" in the backbone with 34* rake.  35mm narrow front with dual discs, GMA in the rear, 89" EVO, 4 speed and 1.5" open primary.  I made everything on the bike except the bars, tank and fender.  I am waiting on a backordered rivera pro clutch to get it running.  I still have to finish fabbing up the foot clutch linkage, anchor my exhaust pipes together, and wire it.  Then I have to inspect to title and register, which should be fun.

I agree Jimmy! 

 

New XS Chopper project update

Bike table on the cheap

So...I'm alive.
Yep.
Money still isn't falling out of trees, but I do have an attack chopper project going folks.
No, this isn't it.. but Tom Rose thought you all might like to see my cheap bike table project... and I think he's right: I love homemade equipment and garage shots!
So here it is... with a friends SR500 project on it at the moment where I am doing putting it on a diet for him.
The table:
4x4 corners, handful of 2x4's and some 3/4 ply wood.
Tire vise is cobbled together from more scrap I had lying around. (You can use wood to guys)
It's not a beefy tire vise because it doesn't need it for light bikes... but I have tie down anchors that I am planning on mounting on the table for heavier bikes to give me a little more security.
I scavenged a lot of it from construction sites, because I scavenge wood any chance I get, and bought a little bit more of it to finish it up.
All the parts pertaining to a project can be stored underneath the main surface on the shelves, as well as pertinent tools and fasteners.
I put a bottom on it for even more storage because I am going to mount castors on it sometime soon and make the whole thing more mobile so I can roll it against a wall or even out into the driveway if I want.
Save your back, save your shelf space, save your sanity... build yourself one of these... you could even build one per project if you were so inclined and then use the castors to just switch the projects around if you had the room to store them! All the projects parts and tools could stay right with the bike and not get mixed up between projects!

Chopper update to come.

-Bird