The Rathskeller: 2012

05 December 2012

Seat pan, pad and fiberglass cowl...

I saw this bike a few weeks back (Spotted in Cambridge) and left a note with my contact info. The owner responded. In his words....

"The brown seat pad was home made. The covering is vinyl from Joanne's Fabric and my wife did the stitch pattern with her sewing machine. The tail light was bought on e-bay. Attached are some pics of the seat process."

The base of the pad is made from a marine material called Starboard. It's easily cut and can be formed with a heat gun, and nails/staples hold well in it.

The first layer of foam is actually from a few cheap gardening knee pads.

Then I put another layer of soft smoothing foam on that.

The foam is glued to the board with contact cement...

...and wrapped the vinyl around it (stapled underneath).

The vinyl is glued to the foam where it curves upward in the back to keep it flat. The vinyl was cut into strips and then sewn back together in the pattern you see here (stitching idea taken from THIS technique).

The fiberglass seat cowl was purchased from Sean over at Roc City. Check them out HERE

13 November 2012

November scoot on Veterans Day

The weather was perfect for riding (this late in the year). Me and a friend went for a rip around southern New Hampshire, and ended up at the Cathedral of the Pines in Rindge. It seemed an appropriate place to stop on Veterans Day. Founded in 1945 as a memorial to those men and women who had sacrificed their lives in World War II. Situated on a hilltop with a panoramic view of the Grand Monadnock, the Cathedral of the Pines is a breathtaking open-air cathedral and meeting space on 236 acres. The historic monuments honor the service of American men and women—both military and civilian.

I'm still in the dark ages as far as camera phones, but here are a few I managed to snap. More can be found at http://www.cathedralofthepines.org/

16 September 2012

Epic beer label art...

...(a couple) from yesterday's beer tasting event. Also, I won the Stein Hoisting Competition for tickets to Samuel Adams OctoberFest Brewery Open House and New England's Stein Hoisting Championship. Funny day.