Moved!

Thompson Custom Bicycles has a new home.  The old shop was always too small, but it had lots of positive attributes like affordability and convenience.  Working out of a ten foot by twelve foot space was difficult, but I did it for a long time.

Here I am hard at work, somewhere around 2012.  The photo shows most of the shop!

On a chilly day in late November, this is all that remained.

The new shop has around four times the square footage.  It’s in an older warehouse building near the Olympia airport.  If it’s a nice day, I can see Mount Rainier from the lobby or the parking lot.  The other side of the building, the one with the roll up door that will be open whenever the weather is warm enough, affords an excellent view of the sunset.

Mount Rainier!

Sunset!

Midway through the move, I got a call from my powdercoat shop telling me I had a frame to pick up.  I managed to find enough tools to assemble the new tandem shown below.  In the background, you can see the fabrication area and my new big steel workbench, as well as my personal tandem.  The surface plate is now on the other side of the central post.

Tandems!

Assembly, repair, and wheel building area.

There is lots left to do, but the space becomes more workable every day.  I’ve been doing small projects which help me to decide what tools should be kept where, find the things that are missing, and get a general feel for how work will best flow through the space.

I couldn’t have done the move without the generous help of lots of friends and the patience of my wonderful customers.  If you’re reading this and that sounds like you, thank you!!!