testing my new cell phone video capacity

 I recently had to replace my cell phone.  My new phone is an older Samsung 7 -

and took this video with it last Sunday - 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riQ8pe8RLVw

Back in the shed! At Last

 Since Mom passed a month ago, been taking a bit of time off , to sort through her things , and am finally back in the shed now - and working through projects! 

Dan Barnett stopped in with his 1947 Webb girder forked Velocette MSS, 

The Smiths front wheel drive gearbox had popped out it's end cap, and gone missing, and my little job was to sort out another cap /plug to hold the gears in place. 

After scratching my ass, and fiddle farting around a bit, I finally came up with a simple fix.

I turned a bit of brass rod in the lathe to size, drilled and tapped it for a grease nipple, then drilled a couple tiny holes in the drive box case to take safety wire, while I had Dan, using my Bridgeport mill, machine four safety wire access notches in the plug's face. I made the plug a .002"  interference press fit. 

Sad news from Lakebay

 Sad news from Lakebay -

Mom passed away early this morning - October 15th

So lucky to have had her as my second Mom , for the last 30 plus years -

Home life happenings -

 

Very sad to report -

Mom has been in hospitol for over a week -

does not look good at all - has two cracked bones in her back, and has been in terrible pain . Now we learned she has pneumonia - fluid building up in her lungs.

She has both feet on that 'slippery slope' -

Hope we can get her home - as nursing homes do not allow visitors, and she would be in quarantine even there, as she needs to get out for dialysis three days a week. and would never be allowed to see family again - because of current Covid laws

-

Photo of Mom, and my step sister Gretch - taken several years ago.

During good times - Hospital has allowed Gretch to see her today -

Proper Motor Cycles for Real Riders

Proper Motor Cycles For Real Riders -

A recent posting on Velocette Motorcycles fb page , reminded me of when Geoff Blanthorn and I were honored by the Velocette Owners Club UK for our trip around the USA tour, on my two MSSs, with their London Touring Trophy for 1985 -

Batteries Not Included -

- Batteries not included -

Had this very nifty desk clock come in, that am gifting to my good friend - Vincenzo Gustavo Murphy. for his little motor museum. Though I did look at it and told him if he was clever, and put mounts on it - would look great on one of his bikes! - as he has both a Velo or two, and a Vincent !

I found it on Ebay, and is the clock Dennis Quinlan had done , and presented to Dommiracer in Ohio.

Lakebay Time and starting again -

Google had informed me that this , my Blog was going to be deleted,  but it seems it has been allowed to continue -

I will be doing a bit of a change to my blog -

 - adding more overall content, that cover my own many interests ,- music, travel, friends, family, photography, making things,

that will allow others a peek into my own life, - in the shed as well as outside of the shed -

My other Velocette blog

I decided to re-start my other Velocette blog. and intend on splitting up the content .
This, - my blog  - 'Ed Gilkison Velocette' I now plan to use as a 'diary' of current shop projects ,
with my other blog  'Ed Gilkison Velocette Workshop' for previous projects,  photos of bikes others had done , tech info, etc -

http://edgilkisonvelocetteworkshop.blogspot.com

Getting Back to Giving Back

Getting Back to Giving Back

Since Dad's passing last Fall, several thoughts come to mind.

One is - Dad was a huge believer in working with his hands, & liked new things. He often had several projects on at any one time, and the thought of failure at making or doing something he was interested in, never stopped him. He just continued practicing, trying different ways of doing something, and reading up on how other people made things
.
Dad loved making knives, and was working on making one right to the end, the day he passed away.
I remember getting him a nice, very thin Case folding pocket knife, and the next day he had taken it all apart, to check out how it all worked, the shape of the blade that was hidden in the handle , what the spring looked like, and the specs on the pivot!

One of the things he always was very proud of me doing, was wanting to teach the kids in the family about motorcycling - which he also enjoyed in his youth, - teaching them to work with their hands - he went to Bates Voc School in Tacoma to learn boat building, and me wanting to pass on some of my knowledge with Velocette motor cycles, with my Ed Gilkison School of Velocette.

I still get asked about how the kids are doing on their projects, though I had to temporarily stop my 'school', as my main income- earning customers projects, were getting sidelined, and not worked as much as needed and finished as quickly as I had hoped. This was mostly because of my own health issues, and not because of anything the kids had done.

I've been looking how to re-arrange some things in the shop, to make room for four of the kids projects to be set up and worked on - without interfering with customers bikes and projects , resuming my Ed Gilkison School of Velocette. & seeing what I can do to make it all happen this time around.
Getting back to trying to pass on a bit of my Velocette Specialist knowledge and not to just having it lost, like so many of the small shops I have known and worked with over the years.

Link to a set of six YouTube videos that was filmed at the last vintage races held at Westwood Race track in BC Canada -  Great sounds and wonderful footage -   Enjoy !

- A visual walk around my workshop to start the 2020 new year - I've got my Ed Gilkison Velocette blog up and going for 2020 -and will be using it for customers and friends to be able to see what I have going on in the shed. Doing the blog enables me to keep up on my photography and computer skills. Am looking forward to showcasing customers bikes and show, in photos, how I diagnose problem points, and how I carryout the repairs. Hopefully spreading a bit of my knowledge along the way.

Happy 2020 and Greetings from my little Velocette Workshop