Done

The shoe-polish restoration is done.  What was supposed to take me all winter long and keep me occupied, was finished in about two weekends.  I purchased the bike, took it apart, got it running, put it all back together along with some new parts, and then cleaned and re-painted most of it.  It is about as clean as a dirt bike should ever be now, and it is a blast to ride.  I am now looking for another one, a vintage street bike of some kind...because I need a winter project...

Let's go racing!

One of the cool things about living in Eastern Oregon is the access to amazing scenic country.  We are less than an hour away from amazing mountain terrain, rivers, lakes, and the high desert.  One of the best ways to see that country is on a motorcycle.

I love motorcycles, and this year I went to the local AHRMA vintage motorcycle races held in Central Oregon and got to see some great vintage bikes.  I have always admired Steve McQueen for his acting, but also for his auto and motorcycle racing abilities.  After seeing the races in person, I was hooked.  Yesterday I bought this vintage beauty with the intention of having it re-built in time for the races in April.  It's a 1975 Yamaha DT 250.

Our movie

I mentioned in a previous post that my best friend and I have been working on a movie.  We ended up getting the funding that we needed to finish it, and now it is done.  Our goal is to get it into a major film festival, generate some interest, and hopefully use this project as a stepping stone to our next project.

With a tiny budget, it was difficult, stressful, tormenting, and utterly satisfying in the end.  We found out that there are a lot of people in our community that support our crazy ideas and that was amazing.  My role in this film was getting people to give us money, and that is all.  The artistic vision, writing, directing, and execution was all by Brad Elmore. The main character actor Greg Hill has already moved back to Los Angeles and has gotten television roles, and a movie role, and the video crew have started work on a pilot for an internet television project called Littlefish.

Please take a look at our official finished trailer and share it with as many people as you can.  If you want to know more about where to see the film, e-mail me.  This trailer and subsequent movie has strong language NSFW:

Me and Buddy Lee (Buddy Lee and I*)

 In case you don't who Buddy Lee is... The Buddy Lee Story

 

 This is what the office looks like now.  We got rid of the long dresser (put it in the garage), and put our $10 Knoll chair in the corner with some vintage wool blankets on it.  I didn't get a new camera, but I did buy an iPhone, so I can at least take new pictures for the blog.  More to come...

Knock it off

So here it is, my knock off Eames chair. I must say, it turned out nice and this is one of the better reproductions that was made.  

 I got a few quotes to re upholster the chair, but the cost to do it in vinyl hovered around $400, and in vinyl $700+.  Because it's fake, I figured why spend the money so I took a chance and decided to dye it. The chair was already leather, and the light color took the dye quite well.

It took me a couple of hours to take it apart, dye it, and get it back together and the result is a close match, in leather, and a nice vintage "lived in look".

For those that are thinking about doing the same thing to any leather chair, some concerns I had were:

- It would look blotchy.
- The dye will rub off.
- It would cause a huge mess.
- The leather would become hard, and uncomfortable.

In fact:

- If you use a well soaked rag with dye on it, it goes on perfectly even.
- The dye penetrates well, and even without the sealer doesnt appear to come off.
- The mess was well litigated by wearing gloves, and doing it in the garage.  I also had the entire chair apart so as not to get dye on the wood shell.  The small amount that I did get on my skin washed off with soap and water.
- The dye seems to condition the leather so it is now softer.  It also makes the few cracks in the leather look somewhat natural.

Lastly, is cost.  The chair itself was $75.  I spent $6 on these supplies.  I used paper towels to apply the dye and used the dauber to do the edges.  After letting it dry, which takes about an hour, I applied the finish.