Pay Backs, The Dick Gambino Story

[Matt Smith]

Originally Posted by La Dolce

The bike you mention is in the early stages of getting a proper seat made and he would like to know more history behind that IH if you get any

I will ask dick miles about that bike next time I see him. Hopefully soon, though he is going to the west coast for a month so I gotta try to hook up before he leaves.

Matt

[Matt Smith]

Ok, I have a ton of info on that Harley one lunger. It's been all over Europe, been to the Isle of Man in 83, built by my friend and neighbor Dr John Wittner, who was an engineer for Moto Guzzi for a number of years. Dick gave me so much info that I need to research, and I need to talk to John as well, but I have a huge amount of info, photos and press clips on that bike which I will be gathering sometime in February when Dick gets back from California. Dick said he owned that bike on two occasions and last sold it in the 80's but lost track of where it went. He was thrilled to hear about it and I have a lot more info for those of you who are interested. I love when this type of thing all comes together. Very cool.

Matt

[LivingCanvas]

^^^ awesome

[whacknut]

Looks like more fun stories on the way shortly!

[tsubahog]

Whilst La Dolce is ensconced in an undisclosed location penning Chapter 73 of "The Great American Novel", life at Dick's shop has been moving ahead in its usual eclectic fashion. When La Dolce came up for air (or more likely for a beer) this week, Dick was able to obtain approval, albeit temporary, for us to highjack this thread to keep everyone current with goings-on at Ye Olde Blacksmith's Shop.

The 1956 Watsonian sidecar is proceeding well - the wooden frame is complete and coated with marine shellack ready for its new skin. To ensure that this was a true restoration, over 50% of the original wood has been retained and the wood that needed replacement due to acute rot was gathered from a couple of places - the spruce was harvested from the wing of Dick's friend EC's crashed home-made airplane and the mahogany was recovered from a pew in an abandoned church where Dick sang in the choir as a small boy.

[rockett]

That's awesome! (the wood) I love re-purposing stuff.

Could you introduce yourself? You don't have to, I'm just curious.

[La Dolce]

Originally Posted by rockett

That's awesome! (the wood) I love re-purposing stuff.

Could you introduce yourself? You don't have to, I'm just curious.

http://jockeyjournal.com/forum/showt...996#post803996

I am comment-less.

[Indiana Kid]

its really cool to see these kind of places and commeradery still exsist. cool thread.

[tsubahog]

The Corvette showed up at the shop for Dick to work his magic and replace the rotted windshield frame. There is no glass in it but Dick can't wait to test drive it. He said "there is no law in New Jersey that says you have to have a windshield and anyway, I prefer to wear my motorcycle goggles".

[rockett]

Originally Posted by La Dolce

http://jockeyjournal.com/forum/showt...996#post803996

I am comment-less.

That was posted after my reply. =) Thanks for the intro, tsubahog. I enjoyed reading it.

Looking forward to seeing progress on the vette. I really like older vettes.

[tsubahog]

A new arrival at the shop is the "Tommy Table", a birthday gift for Dick from Tommy#1. Here it is ready for Day One of re-skinning the sidecar. Notice Dicks metal working tools on the top shelf - his planishing hammer (a 19th century chair leg) and his dolly (Grandma Gambino's flat iron).



The right side of the sidecar started with 7 feet of 22 gauge steel.


The steel is cut to size leaving a small overhang all around


With the delicacy and speed of a hummingbird's wing, Dick's planishing arm is a blur


The Master has completed the initial fitting.

[mud]

Originally Posted by tsubahog

.

****

his planishing hammer (a 19th century chair leg)

and his dolly (Grandma Gambino's flat iron).

.
.
.
don't get no better than that - granny's iron and a chair leg

appreciate the pix etc

the tommy table is cool too but the hip level corners are too sharp - go 45 on em
.
.
.

[La Dolce]

Oh my gosh. I did expect my table to end up here! I whipped it up as a joke out of whatever size scrap wood was near. Hahahaaa, just so yall know. It's a tool catcher, not a work bench. Love the pic's English Dave.

[La Dolce]

Just so you all are up to speed. Dick spent close to a month beating the original side car sheet metal back to straight. But in the end the cancer left the metal too thin and brittle.. Time for fresh skins.

[rooster]

Amazing stuff!

[Murphit]

Thanks for documenting all this, La Dolce. I've just finished reading this fascinating thread right from the beginning.

I think that Mr Gambino's story would make a great television documentary series. A really long series actually, as you'd have trouble fitting a fraction of this into one season.

[Ffej]

Awesome story! THanks for sharing. My old man is a precision machinist and am constantly amazed at what he can fab with minimum effort!

[tin top tiny]

great story thanks for sharing

[rockett]

Man. I'd love to see video of him doing that.

[Gambino8.34]

Hey Brother Dick looks like you lost some weight