Bucket List

After the squirrels so kindly chewed the zipper out of the bag I had on the front of my bike, I started looking for ideas on what I could use to carry stuff by bike.  I found several ideas online including DIY bike panniers and bike buckets which were the two I liked the most.  The panniers were made by taking two grocery totes and sewing the handles together to drape over a rear bike rack.  The design was fairly easy and by adding a couple of pieces of masonite the stiffen the sides, they would hold up their shape decently it looked like.  I especially liked how light weight they were and compact for storage.  On the flip side, they didn't look that sturdy and I had a feeling they wouldn't last long exposed to the elements.  They also didn't provide any protection for items I might want to keep dry.

The other idea that I liked was the bike bucket.  One of my friends is also a big proponent of the bucket and I'd seen him use his on many occasions when we would meet up at locations all over PDX.  The bucket design was also very sturdy, provided protection from the rain (very important around here), and best of all gave new life to cat litter buckets that would otherwise just be recycled.  The downside to the buckets is that they are heavier than the tote panniers and rather bulky so you have to have somewhere to store them when you don't want to use them.  Luckily, I have space in the shed to put them so storage wasn't a big deal but I can see that an apartment dweller may want something a bit more compact.  The design itself was pretty simple with just a little bit of work drilling holes and cutting sections out of the plastic side ridges.  The hardware list was also pretty minimal consisting of two cargo hooks, half a rubber bungee with hook, and associated nuts, bolts, and washers.  Total for all of that was about $7 per bucket.

I finally decided on the buckets for the extra durability (must protect the beer!) and for the fact that I wouldn't have to sew anything.  What can I say, it's not my strong suit.  My mother-in-law tracked down one bucket for me to experiment with and soon a couple of others arrived from another friend.  Unfortunately, Tidy Cat did not have street style in mind when they decided to make their buckets bright yellow with turquoise lids.  This would obviously not do.  Since I had quite a bit of primer left from my last effort of working on the pickup, I primed the first bucket with a dark gray and then we headed to the hardware store to find a good color for the buckets.  While there, I noticed chalkboard paint and decided it would be much more fun to make a surface that you could change on a whim and something that my son could help decorate with ease.  I coated the sides of the bucket with the chalkboard paint and added a semi-gloss black for the top.  The result turned out very well and the only problem I've noticed is that the paint chips off easily which is probably due to the underlying surface being too smooth.  For the second bucket and I roughed up the plastic surface with 60 grit sandpaper before applying the primer.  It's still drying between coats so I'll let you know how that works.

For a great compilation of all types of panniers and buckets try: http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Panniers/

The buckets I made were basically from this design: http://www.commutebybike.com/2009/12/09/how-to-make-bike-buckets/

Happy biking!

Hooked

One of the neatest gifts my wife and I received for Christmas was from my in-laws in Montana.  They found a coat hook made by a local artist out of scraps of wood from around his studio.  We loved the design so much, we wanted to put it up right away but we couldn't seem to find a spot for it.  The only place we could really use a coat hook like this was in the mud room but we already had three well used hooks there.  So, instead of just one, I decided we need two more to replace the older ones.

I still had piles of scraps from the pallet chair project (see last post) and a lot in small sizes that would work perfectly for this.  I cut several small pieces in varying widths and took advantage of an old iron hook we hadn't used yet from Mint Tea.  I also had an old square nail that we found in our basement upon moving in and hadn't appropriated for something else.  For the outside border, I took some slats off of scrap lattice I had leftover from the front porch and they worked perfectly.

To finish, I sanded down the outside edges but left most of the rough-saw surfaces on the inner pieces rough to match the character of the original.  Since I was using pallet scraps that did not differ much in color, I used three different stains and a clear coat to simulate the variety of woods the original artist used and it didn't turn out too shabby.  With some counter-sunk holes and some drywall anchors, the hooks work great.

I wish I could say this was an original idea but the credit is due to Nick Mask of Six Fingers Studio who created the original piece and my wonderful in-laws who frequent Tart Gallery in Bozeman, MT.  Check out Nick's page for some more glimpses of the wonderful creations happening in the studio and check out Tart for an entire bounty of cool, local made art.  These aren't the type of things you'll find in the big box stores or, if you do, you can bet they were probably made on an assembly line somewhere with virgin materials and outsourced labor.  I strongly encourage you all to find your local Tarts and Six Finger Studios and support the local arts and crafts.