Bench press

Despite being completely clueless (is that in-general, or just about scooter repair? Yes...), we know that nothing constructive can be done unless we have a decent workspace to use during this restoration. Fortunately, I have a mostly-empty, 2-car garage and a forgiving wife willing to let us scatter bike parts all over it. However, for some unknown reason, it appears this garage was previously used to actually keep cars in it, so is not particularly well setup for maintaining order in our potentially chaotic project. Sure, there are a couple of shelves/cabinets and a tool wall (with very few tools), but no defined workspace.

So, armed with a step-by-step guide found on the Interweb, we set about building a sturdy workbench on which we could tinker with our parts, so to speak. I set off to Home Depot early on Saturday to fetch the lumbar (some 2x4's, a couple of 4x4's, and a sheet of particle board) and got them to cut the various lengths required. Jason, meanwhile, provided our morning fuel in the shape of McDonald's bacon & egg biscuits. I feel that may have to become a tradition!

A few deck screws in appropriate places and we had the main frame put together:

Then it was just a case of securing the particle board to that frame (although my 1/2" miscalculation on the required width of the board made that a little trickier than it should have been! Darn "nominal vs. actual" lumbar sizes!):

Finally, we heaved it into position ready to use (and it can hold a LOT more than me!):


Now the project really starts!