Waltworks Custom Bicycles- sweet frames handmade in Utah

Salt Lake has a pretty great biking culture- we’ve got sweet trails for mountain biking, lots of bike lanes for commuting, and pretty robust cyclocross and road racing scenes.  It is no surprise, then, that we’ve also got some nifty bike-related businesses.  Most of us have a favorite local bike shop, for example, and the Bike Collective offers a ton of great programs that are worth checking out.  And, since I have a deep affinity for all things handmade, I am especially psyched about Walt Wehner’s framebuilding shop.  He’s  been at it for about a decade, and he's got a big following, especially among hard-core mountain bikers.  The funny thing is that not many locals know about him at all.  If you dig bikes, keep reading, and you'll see why he's one of SLC's best kept secrets- and why he probably won't stay that way for long. 

Prior to moving to Salt Lake City two years ago- his wife Sarah took a job doing research at the U, which is coincidentally how I ended up out here, myself- Walt lived in Boulder, Colorado.  His first bike was a 29er, which he crafted back in 2003 or 2004, because he saw great potential in the style.  This was before 29” wheels had exploded into their current level of popularity.  The timing was fortuitous, because only two major companies offered frames for 29ers, and Boulder’s enthusiastic mountain biking community starting asking Walt to build frames.  While he's quick to point out that his early efforts weren't as well-crafted as his later bikes, I bet they were still pretty good- Walt's obviously a pretty modest guy who I'm guessing is his own worst critic.  Over the years, his clients have pushed the limits, and he’s built road bikes with disc brakes, framesets and forks for wheels with through-axles, and more. 

One of Walt’s major areas of expertise is in designing a bike to fit well and handle the way its future rider envisions.   He's got a whole bagful of tricks that he can apply to a bike's geometry, and this helps him to focus first and foremost on performance.  He works with a powder-coating company in Salt Lake City that can provide all kinds of colors and finishes, but he doesn't generally go in for heavily adorned bikes at the expense of poor fit or function.  He told me a story about some of his customers from the endurance-racing side of the mountain biking community: when asked about their choice of color, they flat-out told Walt that they didn't care.  I think that's a pretty apt summary of how well Walt is able to deliver on his promise of performance and handling.   

Walt’s focus on bike fit means that the process of designing a frame calls for a lot of back-and-forth with his clients.  They describe their goals and riding style, and they work together to develop a plan for how to make it happen.  To this end, Walt spends a lot of time on the phone with his clients, and he also maintains a really interesting blog at http://waltworks.blogspot.com/ where he posts work-in-progress shots of his frames so that his clients can see how things are shaping up.  

 Walt has built between 500-600 bikes, which blew me away.  He said it comes down to about 50 per year for his clients, and then as many as 10 more for himself and his family members.  A recent project that I’ve seen him riding around the neighborhood on is a cargo bike with a large cargo platform on the front.  He designed it to be versatile, and it can comfortably fit people from 5’6” to 6’5” without requiring custom geometry.  It sells for $3000-$3500, and I have the feeling that it could get pretty popular.  But then, all of his bikes do- he’s never advertised, and all of his work comes from repeat clients and referrals.  And anybody who knows business can tell you that means he must be doing something right.

Making Sawdust- a quick look at my current projects

Right now, I'm finishing up a custom kitchen for David & Leah, who have undertaken a very ambitious restoration of a great old Victorian house in Salt Lake's Capitol Hill neighborhood.  Or maybe it's the Marmalade District; I've never been clear on where one starts and the other stops.  Either way, its a great 'hood, and it is under 10 minutes away, so that's a real plus.

In addition to the kitchen cabinets, I made the countertops, using reclaimed oak barn boards, the funky blue hutch, and I'm building a large built-in banquette for seating.  I'm also building some cabinets upstairs.  I'll post more later when I have more pics- when the dust settles, I'll get out my good camera instead of just using my phone for some work-in-progress shots.

In addition to the kitchen cabinets, I made the countertops, using reclaimed oak barn boards, the funky blue hutch, and I'm building a large built-in banquette for seating.  I'm also building some cabinets upstairs.  I'll post more later when I have more pics- when the dust settles, I'll get out my good camera instead of just using my phone for some work-in-progress shots.

Anyway, just thought I'd share what's currently keeping me covered in sawdust!

Tree Branch Wooden Spoons

Got any tree branches lying around your yard?  Sure you do.  If not, its probably just a matter of time.  There's all sorts of stuff you can do with them, depending on your inclination, but one of my favorite projects is using them to make wooden spoons.  I've been pretty obsessed with spoon-making for the past couple of years, so I'm use this post to point out the tricks of the trade.  Using very basic tools that most folks have access to, you can probably make your first spoon in a hour or less.

This year, I decided to institute a new holiday tradition: starting in 2014, I plan to make a wooden spoon (or several) from the trunk of our Christmas tree each January.  I’m all kinds of excited about this, but, of course, you can just use whatever you have on hand, up to and including actual milled boards.  In this case I used a handsaw to cut the trunk into few 12” segments.

 Each spoon will be coaxed out of a blank that roughly resembles a board.  How you make this blank depends on the tools you have on hand.  A bandsaw is ideal, but an axe and chainsaw work too.  

Once you have a blank roughed out, draw the outline of your spoon.  I always draw an oval where I’ll be removing material for the bowl of the spoon, too.

      To cut out the spoon, use a jig saw, bandsaw, or hand-held coping saw with an aggressive blade. 

 

 I like spoons that look good in profile, too.  I usually go for something curvy and fun.

With the excess cut away from beneath the spoon, it is really starting to shape up.

To hollow out the bowl as quickly and easily as possible I use a large Forstner bit to remove a lot of the material.

To shape the interior of the bowl, I use a nifty little saw that mounts in any drill or Dremel tool.  With a little practice, you’ll quickly get a feel for how to use it.  I suggest starting out slowly if you haven’t used one before.

Because I’m pretty experienced, I can rough out a bowl in just a few minutes.  Even if it takes you twice as long, that’s still pretty fast!

From here on out, the work consists of smoothing things out.  To smooth the interior of the spoon bowl, use sand paper, or follow my lead and use a sanding drum in a drill.  Just make sure to let the sandpaper sleeve hang over the edge of the drum so that it mashes down and creates a rounded edge.

 A belt sander helps if you have one.

And so does a palm sander.