So. Thanks to the heroic efforts of two good friends, I got the table.

Picked up from the perfect chaos of George Vettor’s shop in Guelph. He got it from Marinoni (it was Marinoni’s first table, apparently) and used it to build the odd frame on over the past few decades. Included: bottom bracket post (Yes!), fork brazing jig (Yes!), a surface gauge (Yes!).

Two tricky things. First, the table has a little surface corrosion / miscellaneous gunk on it from years of not being used for building. I’m confident that with some careful and gentle restoration, it’ll be in tip-top shape with no problem.

Second, it’s really heavy. Like, really, really, really heavy. I had anticipated this by not really thinking about it – the big job was actually getting to Guelph (2+hr drive) in time to get the table (Vettor was courting a few other offers), and getting it in the truck.

Here, Fraser and I are pushing the top into the truck, with help from a passerby on the ground (while Vettor looks on).

We used lumber, leverage and rehearsal to get the top to go where we wanted it. At over 500lbs (48x36x1), you don’t really get to improvise with it, nor do you get second chances after leaning in it the wrong direction.

On the way back, after some exploratory figuring of how to get the table top into my burgeoning workshop space, we got a little nervous. Out of the truck, up eight steps into a foyer, turn a corner, then down about 25-30 steps into a basement, then across the basement into my room. The width wasn’t the problem – it’s a big old church, with lots of room everywhere. The weight became a serious concern – we could probably get it down (using 2x6s as runners down the stairs) – but would we ever be able to get it out again?

…

Well, friends, combined with an inability to pay for rebuilding the church if I burned it down, this was all too much.

Enter: shed.

Ok, more like: workshop.

Sarah and I have been thinking about building a shed in the backyard for a while. The incentive has arrived. To build bikes, I need to build a space to build bikes. And since I’ve got the boundless energy of man consumed by a dream, and the skills of someone variously employed as a cabinetmaker, general contractor, and landscaper, it’s a project I can probably take on. The main constraints are money and time.

So!

New goal: Insulated shed by winter!

Step one, make a concrete foundation.

Here’s a hole:

Well, half of a hole. Onwards!