Is Columbus the Next Little Big Town?

I cannot believe it has been one year to the day since I have posted a blog. Not sure what sparked me to post today other than I’ve been thinking I should get back at it once in a while. So I look at my last blog and my previous post was November 12, 2010. Not sure about you guys but I have been really into the whole 11-11-11 thing so this must be another sign of some sort. Seriously every time I looked at the clock in the last year it read 11:11. Dude that has to mean something.



So is Columbus the next little big town? I’ve always thought it could be. I always thought it should have been a long time ago. You know the town where everything is hopping and people want to be there. The town that creative people flock to in throngs to be part of the culture. Is Columbus next?



I’m thinking it was 1999 when we opened our shop in downtown Columbus in the former First National Bank building. There was some synergy then for a few years. Some new business’s opened and things started to move but for some reason it just didn’t last. Timing wasn’t right.



Something is changing. One thing I’ve learned in the last 12 years or so about this downtown redevelopment thing is it’s not about buildings. It’s not about City Hall. It’s not about the “downtown fix-it group” and maybe it’s not even about money. It’s about people and synergy. The most successful downtowns happen organically. It can’t be forced and getting the right mix of entrepreneurs that all kind of "get it" is the key. There is something happening here that I have never seen in the years we’ve been doing this.



There are different people looking at downtown. It’s a different generation and they want to live and work here. I have run into some of the most creative and energetic people recently showing apartments and storefronts and that has been fun. We have seen more interest in opening business’s downtown than maybe ever. These people appreciate the buildings and the character of downtown Columbus.



In the last few weeks I have met with just about every type of person you can imagine about downtown Columbus. From artists to merchants to big developers all seeing the same potential in this little downtown. It’s interesting and exciting and a few have taken the leap.



Watch for the grand opening of Hydro Street Brewery very soon. It is at 152 W. James Street and the whole town seems to be a buzz about the new hang out. Aaron and Sandye Adams have been working very hard to get the new place into shape and HSB will be a great addition to downtown. This is not the only one. I’m crossing paths with numerous people looking to set up shop in Columbus. In the tough economy downtown Columbus just might be the next little big town.

So stay tuned and I’ll keep you posted. Want to set up shop here? Call me! There should be a couple of really fun announcements in the next few weeks.

Have a great Weekend!

Ciao!
T

Brewster Park Drag #25895

Every time I post a new blog I seem to say the same thing so let’s get that part over with and move on. “Sorry I’ve been too busy to blog, bla, bla, bla…” There got that out of the way. But we have been busy. Juggling a lot of balls, or flaming torches, or rubber chickens these days. Pick your pleasure. Some good restorations going on in the shop. We are about midway on an Albany Cutter, wrapping up a Portland Door Cutter and getting a good roll on a Studebaker Sailor Wagon. All good fun.



I wanted to share a number of photos from a recent project. It was a pretty good sized project and it turned out spectacular. It is Brewster Park Drag #25895 built May 18th 1912 for D.R. Hanna. This could very well be the last Coach built by Brewster. It has many unique features that coincide with the order direction to be built extra light. The axles are equipped with Timken Roller Bearing hubs per the specification.



We acquired the coach in New England for a client and dove right into restoration. The majority of the original finish had been stripped. Some of it was painted and some was stained and varnished. It had been in rather damp storage for a number of years but all in all the coach was a very solid and intact vehicle.



The wheels are traditional Brewster and all original. It appeared the hubs were a bit oversized to accommodate the original roller bearing boxing inside. All the original Brewster oil caps were in place and in good condition. This vehicle weighed in at about 1,800 pounds and with roller bearing hubs it moved effortlessly.



The original Brewster lamps were with the coach and in very solid condition.



Interior was all original and complete. Notice the simplicity. No buttons. I believe this was done to keep the weight as light as possible on this coach. The new interior leatherwork done by Greg Hunt was an exact duplication of the original.



One of the first steps is removal of the body.



There was only one cracked panel on the front boot below the toe board. Here we are in the early stages of stripping the main body and replacing the panel.



The chassis was dismantled, stripped and shown here in first coat primer.



The lamps were very solid and pretty straight for the most part. After minor repairs they were stripped and then into primer.



Here we have the body in final coat primer. It has been wet sanded and ready for first coats of base color.



Our wheels in first coat primer after sanding and ready for another.



The body in first coat base color black. Much wet sanding, color and clear to follow.



We completed the chassis, striping and all before we installed the body. Here the body is coming down and Dale is aligning the fasteners. Once it’s down with a couple bolts holding it in place everyone can take a deep breath.



Outside in the sun after completion.



Find a ripple if you can. Flawless paint and preparation by the crew at Frey Carriage Company.



Beautiful details.



The completed interior in a soft chocolate leather. The simple interior is very unusual.



The chassis was just gorgeous. Deep red with vermilion stripe per the original specification. We were lucky to find some original red intact on the window shades to make a match.



A very striking Coach at any angle. It was a privilege to bring it back to life. You can click on any photo to see a larger view.

We have numerous new arrivals at the showroom. Stop by sometime for a look. We are going to be planning some sort of open house in the near future but have not picked a date as of yet. We’ll keep you posted.

Have a great Weekend!

Ciao!
T

Entrepreneurs

I like being a entrepreneur. It’s not always easy, especially these days but it’s rarely dull either. Yesterday was a typical day in the life of this Columbus small business operator. A few things on the to-do list included fixing a furnace, meet a client to pick up a carriage, create a new magazine ad, anchor some gas pipes to a building, meet with our accountant and then try to get some work done in the shop. One of my biggest frustrations about my career choice is clothes. Is there one clothing option that can be used for cutting steel, meeting with clients, welding, fixing my truck and getting together with my accountant for breakfast? I make more wardrobe changes than your average Las Vegas show girl.



What makes an entrepreneur? I think you are kind of born with it. Sometimes you are forced into it. Maybe you grow into it but I for one never stop dreaming about the next big thing. Sometimes it’s challenging to think about the next big thing when you are buried in the task at hand. Sometimes that pressure pushes you into the next big thing. It’s not a predictable scenario for me anyway.



I’m really excited about a new concept that is developing in Columbus with my friends from across the street and a long time friend from Chicago. It’s a development program designed to help young entrepreneurs turn their ideas to reality. It’s too soon to get into details but I love the way this concept is evolving and it just might be the next big thing for Columbus. It’s a unique concept built on community development, sweat equity and mentoring. Much more to come so stay tuned. Speaking of the next big thing the photo above is our new Show Gig in the early stages.



We have also been working on the all new 150 Marathon and here is our first one in powder coat. It is looking good and I’m anxious to get it on wheels.



The Portland Door Cutter project is moving right along. Dale finished striping the runners and shafts making those parts ready for final assembly.



Here are the doors. Nice and shiny like always.



The body has also been painted black. A body like this usually involves two coats of black base coat, three coats of clear, wet sand and three more coats of clear. It’s looking very nice and now ready for striping.

Well my to-do list for today is about as diverse as it was yesterday. It’s looking like about three wardrobe changes at this point.

Have a great Weekend!

Ciao!
T

Do the Times Compare?

It was a time of big changes. The photo is not dated but it probably dates around 1920. Some old car buffs ought to be able to date this one for me. The card is titled Sentinel - Autos at Columbus Wis. At this point the automobile has been solidly cemented as the preferred form of transportation. But it wasn’t too many years prior that photo would have been a street full of buggies.



The automobile was a huge mechanical advancement for the average American at that time. Such changes they were witnessing to go from the horse and buggy to a self propelled vehicle. The Wright’s had flown their airplane. What a marvel. Are we in the midst of similar times? It certainly seems that way. There are many difficult transitions taking place today much like the challenges that faced manufacturers at this time. But it lead to a better life for most families. Some my argue that but most agree for American’s easy travel meant easy street.



So work on the Portland Door Cutter continues. After the new body panels were in place everything was trimmed and fitted. The new door openings needed to be cut to fit the existing doors which is really kind of touchy. There are a number of compound angles and curves going on so it can be a challenge to get a good fit.



The body was then primed in our urethane sanding primer. After priming the body goes through a sanding with 220 before heading back to the booth for the final coats of primer.



This photo shows the body after the final sanding ready for paint. The body has been wet sanded with 320 then 600 grit papers. The body is now very smooth, level and ready for a fresh coat of black paint.



The doors are ready for paint as well.



The runners and the springs were painted today. The original sleigh was painted deep maroon on the runners with black paint on the body. All striping was fine line gold so we are matching all the original details. By the next time you see this sleigh the body will be in paint and we will be ready to begin striping.

Have a great Weekend!

Ciao!
T

Summer Sleigh Ride

Can you believe we are a month past the longest day of the year? As usual summer is going really fast. We have been very busy working in the shop on a number of different fronts. It’s great to be busy but that always tends to make the summer fly by.



Been finding some cool Columbus postcards lately. This one titled Fishing is Good at Columbus, Wis. is a great image. This photo has to be real. It was long before Photoshop. Some nice walleyes being pulled from the Mighty Craw. I’m guessing it’s been a few years since walleyes of that stature have been landed at the local watering hole.



We are well on our way through this project. It is a very attractive Portland Door Cutter that is in need of some serious attention. This sleigh is a Wisconsin family heirloom. I think that is the coolest thing. Family carriages or in this case a sleigh still around to pass through the generations.



We have really ripped into this sleigh over the month of July. If you look closely in the first photo the runners were completely rotted along the bottom in need of replacement. So everything comes apart, blasted replaced and primed in first coat as we see here. All the metal parts, springs and the whole shebang is hanging in the booth.



Don't ask me why this picture is yellow. I'm not sure what's up with that but the camera was not digging the lighting. The body was a bit worse for the wear as well. The dash and back panels were split and delaminating. The side panels were cracked and warped. We took the body down to the main frame and started from scratch. The original area for the doors had warped and the doors no longer fit the openings. It was like the body swelled leaving the door openings larger than the doors and way out of whack. We reshaped the side frame pieces and rough cut new sides.



The back panel was split and delaminating so we replaced that as well. That was the starting point. Back panel was installed and the sides were then made to fit. The openings for the doors were rough cut then finish cut after the installation of the doors.



Last but not least came the dash. Today Bob installed a new one. We normally cut the pieces oversized and square as shown here. A rough pattern of the finish dash is drawn on as a guide and then all glued up and fastened. In the morning Bob will remove the screws and cut the dash to the final shape.

I had a friend ask me to blog about the Independence Day carriage accident in Iowa. In case you have not heard there was a runaway horse and carriage in a July 4th parade in Bellview IA. One passenger in the vehicle was thrown from the carriage and died from her injuries. Multiple injuries along the route. This accident made big news. There was actually another fatality in Iowa over the 4th with another parade accident. That one didn’t make so much news. To be honest I’m not sure what I think of it. Horses are never 100% predictable. Sometimes shit happens. Sorry to be so nonchalant about that but it might just be an accident and nothing more. Without being there to witness any of this I would tend to believe that to be the case. Interacting with large animals can be dangerous at times. Most things in life worth enjoying involve a certain amount of risk and I guess sitting watching a parade does too. That being said I do hear from a lot of drivers that refuse to drive parades. When you think about the possibilities of a runaway and picture that happening on a street lined with people it is really scary. Can’t say as I blame them.

Have a great Wednesday!

Ciao!
T

Political Pressure

So I’m taking some heat from several of my constituents to get back to work blogging. Writing a blog is really quite fun but for some reason my ADHD gets in the way. I can’t remember a report card as a kid that didn’t say “Todd struggles to pay attention”. I get way too many ideas rattling around in this noggin of mine and I’m always compelled to act on all of them. So what have I been up to you ask?



Well I started running again. Here is a shot of yours truly ready to run his first 5K in a few years. I’ll have you know that I’ve been told that I look like Superman in running shorts in this photo. So with that I am inspired to run my next 5K in leotards, a Superman shirt, and of course a red cape. See if you can spot me in the lineup.



Remember the Trap Sleigh project that we started on in the last blog? Well it’s done. Damned if I can find the pictures of it but it’s done. So the placeholder above is waiting for me to locate those shots. It came together very quickly and turned out beautifully. As you may recall I had a very tight deadline so we really didn’t have a good chance for a nice photo shoot. I’ll track them down and get back at you on that one.



The Columbus Carriage Classic was this past weekend. That is always a big event for Columbus. We were busy as usual over the course of the weekend although this year I took a huge step back in my obligations to the show. The last eleven years have been a blast but sometimes a person needs a breather. We hosted a party on Saturday evening which was very well attended. Even until the wee hours of the morning. The photo above is by my buddy Rod taken at the 2009 Columbus Carriage Classic.



A big project that rolled out the door since my last blog was this Brewster Park Drag restoration. A spectacular vehicle that we are so proud to have restored. Projects like this are interesting but one thing about them is they seem to go on forever. Details, details, details. Whew.



We’ve spent the last few weeks working on a shop renovation. We were in pretty dire straights for some additional workspace in all areas. Adding on wasn’t in the cards right now so we chose to reorganize and make the most of what we have. Some of you may recall our former showroom at our farm. That building has been very underutilized since our move downtown. We’ve made much better use of that building by creating a new final assembly area there which allowed us to gain a little more metal shop shown above.



So last on the list has to be The Great American Time Machine Experiment. My friends are pretty aware of the GATME project but there are a whole bunch of you out there that are not. Well, I must say it’s the best idea I’ve had yet. We are going to move forward on that project this year with the GATME festival happening in 2011 in Columbus. Now that I’ve given you enough information to think I’m completely over the edge I think I’ll leave it at that. Maybe tomorrow I’ll expand on this thought to start the momentum.

Have a great Tuesday!

Ciao!
T