Fixin'

It's nice to have a wrench in my hand again, and it's even better to put it in the hands of others. Check of these photos of me and Krishna, one of the three interns at the shop. Check out the one where I'm struggling with the freewheel tool, turning it the wrong way. We're putting a new website online soon (thanks Jess), and then I'll start trying to find other mechanics to come help out.

Down to work

Diwakar and I are starting work at the shop tomorrow. Looks like the shop schedule will be M-F 1-5 pm, possibly with work on Saturday too. Diwakar is one of three interns I've collected, but the nature of this project is that people will probably drop in and out of the program. For the most part, the kids I'll be working with have never really had an incentive to stick with anything. Hopefully I can provide a positive result for their work here, but it's possible that they'll feel like this is also a waste of time. I think this is a hurdle inherent to working with people whom you're 'helping'-- making a program that matches your largely self-serving adgenda and their individual needs and wants. So we'll see. Their attitudes should be a god litmus test for the sucess of the program.

Here's where our budget stands:

Rent: Only NRs. 1,500/month, lower than my projected cost. That means the the amount of money I've set aside ($250) will last 10 1/2 months. We pay on the 7th; February is paid.
(-1,500)

Tools: I got non-specific tools (see below) for 6,700. I started buying bike-specific tools, and have a workbench full of the most common ones for a total of 4,500. They're fine tools, Chineese made, and didn't cost a fortune because I didn't have to go to Bangkok to get them, a shop here sold them to me. I also got a truing stand for 1,000 from another shop, where one of the mechanics has volunteered to come work with us.
(-12,200)

Parts: I bought...

28" Tires x 6 (190 ea)
26" Tires x 6 (190 ea)
28" Tubes x 17 (100 ea)
26" Tubes x 17 (110 ea)
100 pack tube patches x 3 (60 ea)
28" spokes x 144 (200 total)
26" spokes x 144 (200 total)
Hub cones, 1 pack (250)
1/4" bearings, 12 boxes (30 ea)
1/8" bearings, 12 boxes (25 ea)
5/32" bearings, 12 boxes (25 ea)
Rod-style break pad, 3 sets (10 ea)
MTB brake shoe, 3 set (10 ea)
Caliper brake shoe, 3 set (10 ea)
Brake cable and housing sets, 3 (50 ea)
Brake cable sets, 3 (50 ea)
Grease (My own donation, I forget how much I paid)

... which cost 8,060-- the cables were thrown in.

Shop costs: Work benches, stools, tool boards, 5,200 total.

So that's 25,460 for tools, benches and parts and 1,500 for rent, so far ($404.13, $23.81).

The Friends of Nepal donated $750, with a $500 tools/$250 rent breakdown. That means:

$95.87 remains for tools
$226.19 (9.5 months) remains for rent

EXCEPT that the parts will be sold again at cost, so figure that 8,060 (plus some for the free parts) back in, means we have an extra $128 in tools.

This is all at NRs. 63 to the dollar. I tried to open a bank account here today, but the bank is closed because it's Democracy Day, whatever that is.

Budget concerns aside, here are the tools I originally requested funding for, marked with an 'X' if I got it, or an equivalent.


AV-1 Axle Vise
BBT-5 Bottom Bracket/ Cassette Lockring Tool for Campagnolo
BBT-9 Bottom Bracket for 16 notch external bearing crankset systems X
BBT-18 Chainring Lockring/ Bottom Bracket Tool X
BBT-22 Cartridge Bottom Bracket Tool X
BT-2 Fourth Hand Brake Tool
CBW-1 8 and 10mm Open End Wrench X
CBW-4 9 and 11mm Open End Wrench X
CC-2 Chain Checker Chain Wear Indicator
CCP-2 Crank Puller (square spindle type) X
CCP-4 Crank Puller (ISIS Drive® and Shimano® Octalink type
CCW-5 Crank Wrench 14mm socket / 8mm hex
CNW-2 Chainring Nut Wrench
CT-3 Professional Screw Type Chain Tool X
FR-5 Cassette Lockring Tool for Shimano® and similar brands X
HCW-4 36mm Box-End and Bottom Bracket Pin Spanner X
HCW-5 Double-Sided Bottom Bracket Lockring Tool
HCW-15 32 and 36mm Laser Cut Headset Wrenches (two) X
PH-1 P-Handled Hex Wrench Set w/ Holder (7 Piece Set) X
SBC-1 Spoke, Bearing, and Cotter Gauge
SCW-SET 13mm through 19mm Professional Shop Cone Wrench Set X
SR-2 Professional Sprocket Remover X
SW-0 Professional Spoke Wrench X
SW-1 Professional Spoke Wrench X
SW-2 Professional Spoke Wrench X
TL-1 Tire Levers X
Improvised truing stand X (Actually I got a real one)
Box wrenches, Indian X
Table stand, improvised X (Yet to be assembled, but I have something)

So, the remaining $250 or so has to get us an Axle vise, a fourth hand, a chain checker, a crank wrench, a chainring nut wrench, real bottom bracket wrenches, a spoke/bearing ruler, real cone wrenches (ours are just 2 double sided ones, good enough for the moment) and Campy or Octalink stuff, although that's not a priority. We're not doing bad. All of this stuff will probably come over with visitors/volunteers.

Woods Valves

Apparently every bike here that doesn't come from America/Europe has a woods valve. I'd never seen one in real life before today.

The kids come in next week to start training. The paint hasn't dried on the toolboards yet, I'm starting to think it won't.

No tables.

The workbenches, stools and tool boards I ordered aren't ready yet, they should be done tomorrow.

Day One

This past week as been incredibly successful for WN. It's hard to know exactly where to start in explaining it. I suppose first of all, thanks are due for the Friends of Nepal (www.friendsofnepal.com/) for funding the project. The grant came through this morning and will allow us to buy a full shop set of branded tools, something that only a few places in this country have. This is what will really give our 'interns,' as I've taken to calling them, the advantage, I hope. The grant will also allow us not to worry about rent for more than long enough to become self-sustaining, as we set up shop here:



I'm the tall(er) white guy. The short ones are my new best friends. The smiley one rode around on the back of my bike for about an hour as we looked for paint and a place that built work benches. There will be two built-like-a-tank work benches and two stools there on Tuesday at 5 pm. I think I'll have to put off painting until then, because I need something to stand on to paint. The woodworkers are also delivering plywood for the tool boards, which will be mounted on the walls.


It's 123 Bhat Batini Marga, Bhat Batini, on the little street with the temple, for those of you who want to stop in.

Thanks to Jess as well for our new logo (below) which will end up on tee shirts and cycling caps once I figure out how to do that. It will be on the new, less-compuserv website as well, once we get that up (thanks again to Jess for volunteering to do that.)

I got tools, too. It was actually really easy finding good, cheap tools here in KTM, down in Bhotibal, near Patan. It's motorcycle city, so things like box wrenches are easy to come by. We now have:

- Combination (Box/Open) Wrenches, 6mm-22mm, 2 sets
- Allen Keys, 2 sets
- Hack Saw
- Needle Nose pliers, 2
- Cutting Pliers, 2
- Vice grip
- Channel Lock
- 12" Adjustable
- Mechanic's Hammer
- Rubber Mallet
- Measuring Tape
- Oil Can
- Pipe cutter
- Caliper
- Screw Drivers, 4 pc, 2 sets
- 4" Table Vice

That's 2 mechanic's benches full of non-specific tools. The specific tools will be harder to get, they come from Bangkok.

I visited a town called Seku where PA Nepal (google it, they're really cool) houses their older kids. These kids have been removed from prisons where they lived with their parents and put in a foster home. I asked if anyone wanted to come be a cycle mechanic, and everyone's hand shot up. In another week, I hope the shop will be in good enough shape to start work.

APC Nepal has promised to show me around their vocational training motorbike shop, which I'm psyched on. I'll take photos.

Anyhow, stay tuned, there's a lot more to come.