Bar, Day 2

Now there's a bar top, as well as braces and cupholders in the back. It's more stable than I thought it might be, as the tops are attached to the doors. The Volt/Aged acts as a weight to hold the tops down, and a keg inside is ballast for the whole thing.

It's (almost) ready for its big debut at The Shipyard tomorrow night for the Escape From Berkeley dinner & party. Jon and I will add a few touches Friday morning, then pack it for an afternoon delivery.

I'm sure we'll need to add or change a few things after we use it Friday night, but it's basically done.

A new bar!

It's been a while since we updated the blog, as Burning Man interrupted just about everything. However, I'm back in the shop, welding and building. I'm currently making a small bar to augment Jon's Boiler Bar. The Boiler Bar is great, but it takes a crew of at least 4 to load and run it. The new one, which is still un-named, will be a a 1 to 2 person unit. It can go solo, as a mini bar, or be an addition to the Boiler Bar.

I rolled some strap to the diameter of the drum, and welded it to the doors, base and top - the drum was pretty floppy without added support.

Saddle is done!

Saddle is done!

The Art Department comes to town and makes me look good. Actually, the saddle looks great, but it's a crappy picture. It was the seat from Terry's Buell that he laid down. I shortened it and Amani recovered it with a vinyl that looks like tooled leather. It should be comfortable and it was fairly quick to do (easy for me to say, as I was working on other shit). She recovered the seats as well, so there is no longer any green fun fur involved.

Saloon is coming along

we got a lot done this weekend thanks to a lot of extra hands coming in to help....weeeeeeeeeee 2 more weeks til it all leaves for the playa

Cookin on the BBQ!

Cookin on the BBQ!, originally uploaded by Splat Worldwide.

It's done!

Finish work and painting was done in a flurry over Friday night and Saturday morning. It's out of the workshop and finally parked on our front patio.

The first cook was a success! I did some brisket, beef ribs, and pork spare ribs. And that's just using one of the barrels, not even close to full capacity.

More work on the car

More work on the car

The frame of the revolver is done, on one side. Now I need to make the other side, and figure out how to attach the barrel. Sawzall added for scale; I'm standing on a 3' platform - this thing is large.

I still have a lot to do, but the structure is almost there. The mechanical bits should be fairly simple, as I designed them to stay mostly stock, although I still need to make a muffler and exhaust system.

And the name changed from Hippy Killer to Open Carry - not as subtle, but far better.




The square tube on the bottom is 14g, 2x2 and will support a house - it should be way overkill for a cowgirl. The rest of the gun will be made of much lighter 16g 3/4 square, and a bit of conduit

Splat Test Fires the Smoker

fire!

fire!, originally uploaded by Splat Worldwide.

Yep, that's smoke coming out of the stacks. Ran a successful small test fire in it today, woo hoo!

Still to do:
- Add handles to the barrels
- Install cooking grates
- A whole bunch of small detail bits I can't remember right now
- Paint!

By next weekend, we eat!

another day of progress

another day of progress
Originally uploaded by kent_skinner

The gun is mocked up in cardboard, just to make sure it looks OK and the barrel is high enough to please the fire safety people. Off to the Todd Blair benefit...

Ready for a test fire

Ready for a test fire, originally uploaded by Splat Worldwide.

Pipes run, sealant on all the seams. We're lookin almost good to go.

Today I'm going to stick on some handles, bolt on the intake vents, and fire her up!

By this time next week, expect to see it loaded up with some meat :D

Crazy Russian Pose

Crazy Russian Pose
Originally uploaded by Tackett

The base of the cart is done. It's 4' x 8' and made from 14g 2" square tube. It's stout, and now I'm mocking up where the seats go and looking at drawings of revolvers so I can scale one up. Time is near. Get it done.

The clutch and brake parts should arrive Monday, but it would have been far better if it was Friday. Oh well.

future project

So I've got this '96 Honda CBR900RR laying around. Frankly, it's more bike than I could ever use on the street or track. I've got a couple 400s too (a CB-1 and a CBR400RR), which are much better for me.

So why not rip the engine out of the 900RR and do build something fun and FAST? Four wheels, 125 hp, and target weight of under 1,000 lbs? Even better, how about a turbo for even more fun? That particular kit seems to be out of production, but there are a few manufactures making similar kits.

This is definitely a longer term project. Time to start researching and planning.

Cart base

Cart base
Originally uploaded by Tackett

I picked up a 3 wheel, 2 stroke, 1967 Harley golf cart for the base of an art car. The electrical system was roasted, and the clutch needs replacement. The body is being put aside, and I'm building a 4' x 8' platform on top of it. Parts have been ordered, plans drawn, and materials acquired.

The BBQ Smoker, oh so close

The BBQ Smoker, oh so close, originally uploaded by Splat Worldwide.

(clockwise from top left)

1. Both of the barrels have had their paint stripped and have received some extra internal bracing to keep them from twisting while the doors are open.

2. Inside detail of the right-side barrel showing the stove pipe and bracing. I'll be adding a plate above this to keep drippings from gathering in the right-angle bend.

3. Underside detail of the barrel showing the pipe exit. I still need to cut the holes in the firebox where the pipes will interface.

I'm shooting to test fire this baby next weekend. This will be a dry run just to check for airflow, leaks, design flaws, etc. If all goes well, I'll get the last tweaks done and get 'er painted in the next couple weeks. Meaty meat time, here we come!

BBQ smoker update

BBQ smoker - layout, originally uploaded by Splat Worldwide.

Everybody's off to the playa for the Fourth of July, so I've got the workshop all to myself this weekend. Muwahahahaha! I've been making good progress on the BBQ over the last week. Man, I can't wait to get cooking on this thing

New bits:
- The barrel doors have had cross members added for stiffness, as well as lips added to ensure a better seal.
- The firebox lid is complete, it appears to seal well, but I won't really know until I light a fire in this thing.
- Added inner lips to the firebox door on the hinge side
- Added racks to hold the cooking grate
- Made a grate to hold the charcoal in the firebox



Still to do:
- Mounting points for the barrels (they'll be bolt on for easier transport)
- Hook up the chimney pipe between the firebox and barrel mounting plates
- Brace the insides of the barrels to prevent twisting
- Add cooking grates to the firebox and barrels
- Strip the paint off of the barrels
- Add handles to the frame for easier transport

progress on the BBQ smoker

progress on the BBQ smoker, originally uploaded by Splat Worldwide.

The BBQ project had been moving a bit slowly for the first month, but the pace has accelerated with the acquisition of a new work space. No more borrowed workshop time, now I can pretty much go work on my stuff whenever I want, in a (soon to be) well outfitted shop.

New stuff added since the last update:
- Lots of grinding, cleaning up the edges and makin it purty.
- The firebox now has a door. Strap will be added to make a lip and the vents still need to be finished up.
- The barrels have doors now too (not pictured)
- Racks installed in firebox
- Wheels!

Lots more to come. Man, I can't wait to get cooking on this thing.

Current projects

The first, most important and most boring project is to organize the space. There's two rooms - one is about 16' x 16' and has a huge skylight. It'll be storage for clean things, Splat's photo studio and space for working on clean projects (sewing? electronics? tool storage?).

The other space has a roll up door and a door to the building hallway. We'll put shelving and benches around the perimeter, and leave the center for working. Terry wants to park inside at night, so it'll be good incentive to keep the main space free and clear.

Splat:
Photography, working on the diner booth, adding performance bits to the WRX. And of course working on the BBQ - which I somehow forgot.

Me:
Making the art car, working on the KLR, ???, getting all the crap out of my livingroom

Slinky:
Working on the Gig Bar & storage

Terry:
Parking, laundry & storage

Ellen:
Furniture refinishing & storage

First p0st!

Yup, it looks good on paper. Let's see if I can keep up with a project blog.

Step 1) My living room was being overtaken by crap, so get a bigger space. And by "living room" I mean part of the warehouse I live in.
Step 2) My landlord had a space vacate next to mine.
Step 3) Call some friends to split the rent.
Step 4) PROJECTS!