New "Builtnotbaught" shop equipment/tools

Recently took the time to build a couple assets to the shop. GarageWrench is in a garage, its 30'x30' and full. Needed to condense things to come up with much needed bench space taken up by grinders and welders, so here's what we came up with;

Ultra expensive welding fixture (there is talk in the blogosphere that Jesse James would like to purchase this particular fixture, well its not for sale popeofwelding!)

Welding, plasma and torching station. Its completely mobile, extension cord for the 220V is long enough to not only roll anywhere in the shop, but reach 10' into the driveway. 

Back side, gas tanks strapped in nice and safe. The PVC tubes hold filler rods.

4" casters

Tig welder, plasma cutter side by side, bottom shelf for stuff.

Vise compliments of the Orient, table brakes on both sides. Every hose and cord has its own hanger.

Air hose manifold directs air for tooling and plasma. The overhang on the backsplash is where all the welding clamps attach.

110 Volts

Both machines use the same 220V outlet, has a 25" cord rolled up on the side.

3 grinders taking up bench space. Ever build an engine on the same bench as yer grinder? I did it for years, what a pain.

So here is the grinder Lazy Susan. Made from and old air press and some scrap metal.

Mounted 2 grinders and a belt/disc sander.

Has a locking pin for all three positions.

There is our space saving shop equipment ideas. Yer more than welcome to steal them for yourself.

Dyna Bobber Flag Ship

This is my personal 2002 FXDX-T. Its been thru a few changes sense I purchased it brand new in 2002. This version is a "bobber" and my first to date. I like to think that this bobber is the flag ship for my home business called GarageWrench. 

I have been wrenching Harley's sense I was 15 years old when I purchased my first one, a 1963 Panhead basket case (see previous post). I rode that chopper Pan to my senior year of high school. It was just the beginning. As the years past and the tooling piled up I opened up my first business called "Buck James Cycle Fabrication". The James is my cousin Jim "Mountain" Tharp, and we did engine and trans to full bike overhauls and all kinds of maitience together for eight years and called it quits. Very little of it was "fab work", all repairs. I always felt we had something special, just was stuck in that rutt, fixing other people's bikes. The experience was of great value, but missing that creative ability that I knew was there, and needed to be brought to the surface.

Now I'm 52 years old and with the exception of a couple year hiatus in the late 90's, I've done this garage wrench thing all my adult life. My regular occupation is a Heavy Duty Truck Mechanic. So ya see, wrenching is all I do and have done all these years. And now I have a new vision for the garage.

The chopper/bobber scene has brought a new sense of vitality and drive to what I always felt God had given me, the ability to fabricate and build one off choppers. Along with my son in law Verdun Chagnon and our good friend and brother Jamie Moore, we have started GarageWrench from my garage, and its exciting for all of us. With the support of our families and the exposure of the internet, we have a vision and a drive to do the best we can to build and create. 

The 2002 Bobber is just the beginning for GarageWrench, there is defiantly more to come!!

69 FL, Heart & History

This is a 1969 Police Special FL that I had the privilege to restore for my brother Billy Canfield a couple years ago. It returned to me to for some maintenance over the winter, and Billy ask me to keep it and put some miles on it, and I have gladly done so! 

It never fails at every stop, red light, gas station and so on that somebody has a story of there grand dad, father or uncle that rode "an old Harley just like that". These old bikes bring back fond memories for most people. You just don't get that kind of response from other bikes. It really is a special piece of history, not just the past but also from the heart, its more than a "motorcycle memory", its about your history, your past and what you are. 

This bike is special to me for several reasons that would take way to long to list. As a builder these old Harley's can be a blessing as well as a curse! It takes lots of time and patience to build an old bike, much less restore one, and this 69 was a real test for me in many ways. I hope all builders go through it, the one's that make you almost give up, the one's that cost you more than your customer. It somehow forms the real man inside that God made you to be, you must persevere to prevail.

Im thankful for the test, and very proud, in a humble way, of the results.

And yes, it feel bad ass to ride this 69!!

Nailed!

So ya want to be a mechanic?

GarageWrench Crew

We here at GarageWrench absolutely love our friends Jamerz and Kristen. Im think'in every chopper shop should have a couple like this, the chopper world would be a better place (and a lot funner also). Grace and Peace to you both, and can't wait to build you that chopper bro!

LOVE WINS

Project Flathead Lowerend

Picked up a used mandrel, 1 1/2, to hone these Flathead rods on the Sunnen MBB 1600. The flywheels spun a output shaft and gathering some used wheels to complete the project. More pics to come!

Boring Shovelhead Cylinders

Shovelhead 3 7/16, +.030 over cylinders to be bored. The front cylinder had a piston lock up in the cylinder!!

Was not sure if I could clean this one up on the old Kwik Way FN, but that old machine come thru once again.

We was able to take out only .015 to completely clean up the bore and salvage the cylinders with a set of +.050 over pistons.

Note the use of the boring plates on top and bottom of these iron cylinders. When they come of the Kwik Way, after two types of cuts, rough and fine, they go to the Goodson/Sunnen tank in the same torque plates for another three step honing process thats takes them to within +/- .0001-.0004 of being completely round from top to bottom. The torque plates allow this measurement to remain exactly the same when set between the cases and heads and torqued. 

Project Shovelhead Hardtail

Got the frame, it's a Paughco stock rake and no stretch.

Cone style lower end, 180 rear tire, 5 gal fat bobs, wide glide with no fender fat tire, tank shift with suicide clutch......

More to come! Super pumped about this project, should be fun.

69 FLH Police Special

Failed the cylinder leak down test. Thought I had a bent valve, but you can see that the valves are seated, the cylinder is scored. Hopefully can ball hone and re-ring it. Bore gauge will tell the story.

GarageWrench Sunday

We was wrenchin on the 73, heads off again and also got this Trail 70 that's been in the shed for 20 years, ripped the carb apart, and building the carbs for the XS 400 project, then just burned out with 3 hrs sleep last night so were in watching 6 Over again. That's our Sunday. O ya, got the biz card art work completed and orderd. Later

Patches?

Good news fellow wrench heads, we got patch designs together and out to get made. So in the next month hopefully we will have some kicking GWrench patches in the works. Check back for more info. Keep wrenching!!!