LeTurbo

Out in Bellville South, Hairy. Sort of Triangle Farm, Stikland, UWC area.

You really are from a different world

Final one. It's called the Notre Dame. One of my Facebook groups posted pics of the roof structure of the cathedral before it burned down. I loved all the intersecting braces. In the old days, they used a science called Stereotomy to design it all. Essentially, it uses a compass to plot all the intricate intersection of straight and curved pieces of gothic arches and transepts. They could draw the structure out, and cut all the joints in the workshop (either in stone or wood), haul it into place, and everything linked perfectly. Unfortunately, I don't know stereotomy, so this was a bit of a hit-and-miss fiddle that relies more on glue than on properly crafted joints. Neverthless, I think I could jump on it with all my 60kgs, and it probably wouldn't even flex. The wood is saligna, with a Rubio Monocoat light grey fiinsh to give it a dusty, aged look. The Victoria Titanium also needs a complete overhaul, which I'll get to shortly. It's had a chequered history. Stolen one Saturday morning from right under my nose in Woodstock, found again at Cash Converters (fairly trashed in the few hours the tik-head had it in his possession), then rebuilt by Nils. Somehow, I've never related to it as well after that event, so it gets ridden very seldom, maybe once a year.

I went a bit sideways here, because I had these very skinny bits of beech - about 4mm X 8mm - and ash in the left-overs box. So it was interesting to see whether they'd still be able to handle the weight adequately. The only disadvantage is the slight side-to-side movement; more strutting was needed there. I suppose the inspiration was one of those tall old trestle bridges we saw in good cowboy movies, just before it got blown up by the train robbers. I used Rubio Monocoat as the finish, simply because I had a sample bottle of Castle Brown on the workbench. I works better on the ash than on the beech. This Le Turbo is my baby, owned since 1985, and will be buried with me in a Le Turbo shaped coffin.

This rack is a rip-off of a design on Pinterest. Also beech. What it did was show me that my little Metabo mitre saw isn't entirely accurate - you can actually see the blade and slider mechanism flex slightly on angle cuts. Contrary to my usual practice, I also did this one with screws and used saligna dowels to cover their heads. The Colnago has been seriously covered with dust in the workshop. It's next in line for a complete stripdown. I bought her many years ago here on the Hub. She did the Argus as a loan bike to an American girl, who managed to crash on Chappies, bending the bars and smashing the r/h brake lever. Nils managed to replace it all nicely. It's a beautiful bike to ride, as smooth and comfortable as a lounge chair - but still temperamentally Italian where technology is concerned.

I finally got my bike racks up, hopefully in a place where the bikes will be subject to less dust, sawdust, and miscellaneous nasty stuff from the railway on the one side of the workshop, and the lead smelters on the other. (The lead smelters have just got MAJOR cease-and-desist notices from the council, operating as they were without any permits or any health or safety precautions. No wonder I've gone a little mad as a hatter.) I think I maybe posted this one before. It was a relatively quick Friday afternoon experiment on making something from a offcut block of beech. The main joint there is an open bridle joint. The wall mount, of saligna, goes through the bridle joint with a mortise-and tenon. This Le Turbo was bought for R1000 from an old guy in Steenberg. I took it up to Joburg for the 97.4 (or is it 94.7?), where it got transported around in the back of a VW beetle. A tight fit. Then it sat in my Mom's garage at the old age home for a few years until I brought Mother, beetle and bike back to Cape Town. Nils converted it to a single speed for me.

Hand planes ... Here's a secret resource if you're in Cape Town. I really shouldn't tell, but here you go On Voortrekker Road, kinda Maitland area, there's a Pawnbrokers on the left-hand side heading out of town. Next to a McDonalds, if I remember correctly. It looks like an old police station, or maybe a post office. Usually some (crap) bikes parked outside. He has a fantastic range, and most of the planes are in excellent condition for pretty reasonable prices. The owner collects the better planes himself, but the Stanley and Record users are about the best bet you're gonna get for the money.

Small table saws - these guys have a nice little model, I think it's Taiwanese but it seemed well made. Even has small sliding tables with good positive movement. It was in the region of R10 000 to R12 000, but don't quote me on that. COMPANY NAMEHUSTLER A MACHINE TOOL CO.ADDRESSGOODWOODPHONE(021)591-8121FAX(021)591-0896

It's like Cape Town roads in general: everyone thinks they're super-fast and hang on the right-hand side. The left-hand lane is generally more open and somewhat quicker. Relatively speaking.

Thanks carrera4s! I'll give it a bash! Thanks for bringing it to my attention - but you've got my vote anyway!

I've got a pair of the Levi's cycling denims - I don't know the model number. but they have the waist a bit higher at the back, and reflective tape on the inside leg. And they've probably lasted around 7 or 8 years.

In the "Post your woodwork here" forum, I once mentioned that I used animal glue. Next thing, a message pops up from Johann. He had an antique glue pot that had been in the house when he bought it. On a trip to Cape Town, he remembered to bring it with, then arranged to meet me on the N1 and passed it over with all good wishes. So I only met him and his son briefly, but just that one simple action gave me incredible respect for him. (But I also have to say, in the sane breath, that Bikehub always amazes me in the quality of good, good people I've met or interacted with. Thank you all!) RIP Johann! And my thoughts to your family.

Benzine is a good solvent for sticky stuff. Chuck some in a shallow pan and soak the bottles for a few minutes.

I'd go directly to Metabo themselves. They're pretty good on service, at least in Cape Town.

I had an enquiry about fitting all the bathroom fittings - towel rails, toilet roll holders, shelving etc in 20 bathrooms, all with porcelain tiles. I've never run so fast in all my life.

I love it when stuff gets repurposed. Waste not, want not. Nicely done.

I hope it gives you years of good fishing. Maybe your sons, and their sons too!

You get intense projects, and then you get ridiculously intense. I don't know that I'd ever repeat this little exercise, but there were good learnings (like never countersink screws if you're trying to adjust drawer faces). So this is for a jolly good Hubber, who has recently be doing some sharp posts on this thread. It's a hackle chest, which is how fly-fishermen (I'm probably using all the wrong terms) keep the feathers, fur and other dingly-dangly bits for tying flies. The only electric tools used were the tablesaw and router. (My old Metabo circular saw - used in a Triton 2000 - had to go for its first bearings and brushes since 1997. It's been a hardworking beast, but is so old it brought all the staff out to look ) Everything else was done by hand with the trusty old Stanley 4 and 5, my chisels (including a ridiculously useful 3.5mm Milnerton market find), even the old egg-beater drill (it was the only thing that fitted in the drawers for drilling). I'd probably have used a thicknesser if I had one; that would have made life easier. It's walnut, with beech drawer carcasses and 3mm birch ply bottoms. I think there are around 200 hand-cut dovetails. It's mainly glued with bone pearl glue. Um, what else ... I bought the brass corners from a tucked-away place with a funny name in Paarden Eiland, but all the other brasswork was cut and filed by hand. It's sealed with Danish Oil, with a final coat of beeswax. The doors slide out of pockets in the side, and then swing around to close. I originally fitted a lock but all the miniature cabinet hardware is really *** and weak. A cup of tea brought the answer of the drop-down brass latches; you open the doors by sliding a piece of paper or credit card under the door. The drawer fronts are largely bookmatched. Each had to be carefully handsawn (1mm kerf vs 2.5mm on the tablesaw) so the grain still kept a good match over the front. Bum-clenching stuff; one slip would be a whole remake. All in all, about 200 hours went into this. Well actually, more like 300, but that was because it took me a while to figure out that a small dry blob of glue on my square put all my measurements out. Also, always trust your gut: when I put the drawer runners in, the top rocked slightly but I didn't think much of it. Turned out there was a slight curve due to the rain, so the dovetailed corners wouldn't fit. So that all had to be recut and remade.

I did. First getting the horizontal lines with a straight edge and a V-cutter, then going back to put in a few vertical lines with a home-made T-square.

Hello lads and ladesses. A fun little project I got a week or two ago though, like everything, the last few hours get pretty frazzled. It was for an commercial, so there's an overseas director and crew and a couple of million R waiting if you screw up. And timing is always tight. So too is budget. This can't even serve as a proper dog house because it's made from the cheapest commercial ply that wouldn't last a month outdoors. Anyway, it's now at a local prop house, so maybe it'll get more screen time in future. I'm always surprised at just how much sheet material goes into a job like this.

Pretty horrid really, Stefmeister. It does splinter easily, the dust is really sticky and gets all over the place, it smells like your clothes after standing right next to the braai all night, and it's as hard as hell with hand tools. Lots of resharpening necessary.

TGIF, lads! (And ladies) Just finished this little experiment. I seem to have gone from a sidetable phase into a chair phase. In fact, the seat here was going to be the top of a sidetable. It's hickory for the seat, wenge for the frame, and ash for the backrest and other bits. She's called "Ladies and gentlemen, Miss Grace Jones". I guess it's the angularity that put me in mind of Grace, Talking Heads' suits, Dynasty shoulderpads and other stuff 80s. There's maybe hints of that most short-lived of design trends, Memphis style. From a joinery perspective, it's mostly mortise-and-tenon. The only vaguely interesting joint is the sliding dovetail I cut for the backrest. The two supports drop in, slide to either side, and then the whole is glued to the upright. I didn't want screws or dowels there.

Nicely done, Stefmeister! Like those big dovetails as a design detail.

Chipboard with oak is common, but I haven't ever come across a plywood. I think you'll have to get it made up. We've got Veneercraft in Cape Town, but I don't know who is your neck of the woods. It's around R800 square metre for veneering, but that was a few years ago.

Scandalous! I've actually started using the Rystix Armafloor on a lot of furniture, especially the lighter coloured woods like beech and ash. It's also lasted well on a countertop in the workshop kitchen.