Paints and Bikes and Lights! Oh my!

Well Sports Fans, I apologize we've been gone for so so long. I had a bit of surgery on my right shoulder. Trust me when I tell you that you should not attempt to "school" a ladyboy about proper pole dancing techniques while vacationing in Thailand. Turns out my shoulder has been ever so slightly dislocated since February, which is less than ideal.  Anywho... So I've been trussed up like a Thanksgiving Turkey for the last three weeks:

This has not been conducive to anything other than sitting on my couch and watching everything on Netflix.. and of course buying things on amazon. Which I have been doing at an alarming rate.

I realized today that Burning Man starts in exactly one month. We have a lot to get done. We gotta get cracking. Man I wish I had a functional right arm.

I had some pictures to post of our brand new bike and whatnot... but well, then my phone died... So I present you with pictures that I stole from the internet (amazon) that look just like our new bike:

For lighting I have found a really awesome really awesome tutorial on adding LEDs to your bike. She just did her handlebars, but we are going to do both sets of handle bars and a larger section of the bike. It should be brighter than the surface of the sun. El Wire is for punks. LEDs are where it's at.

Chris has been much more industrious and has been diligently learning new techniques at TechShop SF to make the wagon bigger, better, faster, stronger. Last week it was Powder Coating, this week Aluminum Welding.  Speaking of Powder Coating, we're going to buy paint today.
As a color scheme for our wagon, I've often gone to this picture for inspiration.
So we've chosen Ford Light Blue for the cabinets an Vermon Red for the counter top. And as an extra special bonus we've discovered that you can make Powder Coating GLOW IN THE MOTHERF*ING DARK. Our Wagon will truly be for the Burning Man Nuclear Family when its glowing. Initial poking about on the internet would imply that glow paint is a bit finiky- but we may have to give it a whirl on a few test strips.

And I also have purchased some new oil cloth for the table covering. Glen and I found a really great fabric store in the mission (Discount Fabrics) that is just a burners dream. Tons of stretchy, glittery, furry, hot pink, psychodelic fabrics at reasonable prices. And walking distance from my house.

 

The previously pictured table cloths just weren't speaking to me.. so they've gone back to Target.  Who knows, after we paint, I may go back again and pick something else. One thing at a time.

Chris and I are scheduled to work on bike lighting tonight. I will post some pics.

Tandem

We got a Kent tandem bike to pull the wagon, and it comes well reviewed with caveats.  Those caveats are why you see the bike here being rolled to Roll, our neighborhood bike shop for assembly.  In case you ever has to move an unassembled bike through a city known for its hills, I would recommend a firm grip at all times, and be very aware of wind patterns.  A 10 foot by 2 foot box is also a highly effective sail.

Ahem...

So apparently some of our authors (CHRIS) do not actually read the blog before they willi-nilly post their updates... if they did, they would see that certain pictures had already been posted. Pardon our repeats ladies and gents, we're new at this.

Sammie Frame

Here's the cart after a second day of welding.  It's much easier to transport now that all the parts fit together in a nice rollable package.

Sammie Frame

Here's my super professional style setup to get everything lined up.

Nearly level

The level and the right angle magnets are what lets you know it was done by a professional.

Now with action shots!

Hunter here. As Carrie pointed out in the last post we took a trip to TechShop this weekend. In observance of the vows I took to the holy order of procrastination I hadn't taken their basic safety course before the work day. For reasons unknown to me the TechShop doesn't want untrained people operating large machines which can rip your arm off in an instant. I thus wasn't allowed to seriously harm myself but I was free to take some photos of the process:

Cutting the steel bars. This machine was seriously cool.

Grinding the spots we were about to weld.

Setting up the drill press.

Holy crap! It fits!

More welding prep.

I seriously doubt this was necessary but let's be honest: Everyone loves sparks.

Sure the playa might never be flat but at least we know our shit is straight.

A true master at his craft (note: there might be a reason no close up shots were taken of the welds themselves).

I love it when a plan comes together.

What a weekend/week. We went to precompression on Saturday night and had a blast. I met so many awesome people. Brody and Beth from the Art department... the awesome fellow who does the lamp project... and I'm having a blonde moment and can't remember his name. He had some truly excellent cinnamon whiskey though. I danced and laughed and made cupcakes and drank entirely too much. It was exactly as it was billed- a prelude to the fun. I feel completely pre-compressed. All of my excitement is packed into this little glowing ball of joy right in the center of my chest. Which is good. I need some joy.. because is very much less exciting news, I'm having surgery on Thursday. Many of you know that I had a very hilarious, but unfortunate, incident that involved pole dancing in a ladyboy bar in Thailand. I have fucked my shoulder good and proper and now must get it repaired.

But this blog is not about my stupid shoulder. It's about wagons! And much progress has been made.

This weekend was a flurry of activity. True to our 50's theme, the ladies took on a sewing project while the gentlemen adjourned to the garage (read: TechShop SF) to do manly metal working.

Glen and I bought hilarious fabrics for apron making. We got as far as cutting out the pattern before we completely wilted on the couch. People Magazine isn't just going to read itself. Regardless, we have fabric and patterns. We'll cut it out maybe tomorrow.... or I'll watch Glen cut it out this weekend while I'm high on percocet. It'll get done. Plenty of time (famous last words of a procrastinator).

The boys were ridiculously more industrious.

So... Chris and I have one car. We live in San Francisco, where you are obligated by law to own a Mini Cooper... and I believe a pug, which we don't have... yet..... anyway... So, putting anything more than two human beings in a mini is ridiculous. Thankfully we opted for the convertible. So when we need more space we just put the top down.

So off to TechShop they went. And there was much welding and shenanigans. 

There was some whining about the lack of AC and the required leather outfit for welding. But comfort is not a primary concern in manly endeavors.

Now if that's not a 90 degree angle, I don't know what is. I mentioned the OCD right?

And VOILA:

 Frame complete!