IT’S A THINKING AND TINKERING SANCTUARY
When Calgary’s Kelsall is out in his shop, ‘I’m oblivious to the worries of the world’
It took Jim Kelsall’s father 12 years to complete a Jaguar XK150/120 race car. As a youngster, Kelsall couldn’t understand why the project took so long.
“I understand now,” Kelsall says with a laugh. “I’ve since accumulated a lifetime of projects and realize I have a slowly diminishing opportunity to finish them, so I’ve stopped acquiring them to focus on what I have.”
Born and raised in southeast England, Kelsall’s youth is filled with memories of playing in wrecked Jaguars in the back garden and attending auto jumbles — or swap meets — with his father.
“I’ve always appreciated old iron and, in particular, vintage cars and tools,” Kelsall says.
The Calgarian has tinkered with everything from Lister stationary engines to Messerschmitt and Morris Minor and Land Cruiser vehicles to Sunbeam and Puch motorcycles. After leaving home, attending school and living in Germany for 12 years, Kelsall and his wife arrived in Calgary in 2001. In 2002, they bought a suburban home with a front drive and attached double garage.
“It was a dream to put a shop together and have my own space to work,” Kelsall says. “It took me about 10 years to finish it out the way I wanted it. I did the electrical work and added plenty of sockets and lights, extra insulation and drywalled it all.
“My wife laments about twice a year that we’re unable to park in the garage, but it’s my sanctuary.”
Kelsall says in a good year he’ll spend almost 400 hours in his shop. Depending on how busy he is with other commitments, in other years it could be half that amount of time.
“The garage is a place where I can go and forget the trials and tribulations of daily life,” he says. “Once I’m in there, I’m oblivious to the worries of the world.”
Here’s what we learned about Kelsall and his passion for tools and tinkering.
Q What tools are in your collection and where did they come from?
A I have a smattering of tools from my father and my grandfather. Others I collected from Canadian Tire, KMS Tools and Princess Auto — and I always bought them on sale. Even my air compressor was a Costco special at half price.
I have a collection of machine tools that really came about because of the desire to make my own replacement parts. I happened across the Myford lathe via a friend through the Calgary Board of Education. My lathe, the shaper, the mill and Beverly shear all came through CBE auctions — and sadly that all came through the demise of shop classes. I’m concerned about the loss to our civilization about simple things such as shop class, but I’m excited about the “maker age” encouraging people to do things with their hands.
My interest in sheet-metal forming came about due to the Land Cruisers. The hammers came from Detroit, cast-iron English wheel came from England. Fascinates me you can create complex curves out of flat sheet metal — I tinker with that. I tend to do things in excess. I started with a TIG welding course in 2005 at SAIT. I got a Millermatic 175 MIG and then an oxy/acetylene torch set and picked up a used Lincoln TIG welder. I’m reasonably well set and moderately proficient — there’s always room to learn.
Q Which tool or tools do you use most often?
A A pencil and notebook or a whiteboard. I spend a lot of time thinking before I do anything. There’s not really one tool I use more than another but my head, a pencil and a piece of paper.
Q How did you learn to use the tools? Did you go to school, did someone teach you or do you watch Youtube videos?
A For tools and how to use them, I’d have to credit my dad for the interest. I had some help, but a lot of it was self-taught.
I do watch more than my fair share of Youtube channels and they’re all creative. The information age has been a real boon to some skills — sheet-metal forming, for example, and casting.
I’d really like to do some casting and I’ve got some of the pieces of that equipment to start with soft metals, aluminum, brass or bronze to make parts that are no longer available.
Q What’s the most important project in the garage right now? A I have my 1966 Puch 250 SGS motorcycle, rescued from a barn in Alberta. I’m slowly converting that into a lightweight race bike with a vision of converting another one into a land speed racer. The bikes were sold as a Sears Allstate 250 and are also known as twingles (thanks to the split single-cylinder, two-stroke engine).
I’ve been working on that
Puch with modifications every year for about six years. I am gaining on that and this year I’m hand-building a methanol tank (to gain some additional cooling) and some megaphone pipes, hoping to gain some speed. This is my Rocky Mountain Motogiro hill-climb bike (an event that happens annually in Nakusp, B.C. the second weekend after Labour Day). Last year, I think I knocked 45 seconds off my previous best in 2017.
Q Is there anyone else in the house or in your life interested in working in the garage?
A My wife has an interest in old iron; she misses the classic lines of vehicles of yesteryear. But as far as crafting and working in the garage, that’s where I go and she knows where to find me. I enjoy tinkering almost more than I do riding or being out and about. The tinkering is the fascinating part. If you have a workspace filled with tools, projects or memories and are willing to share, let me know; I’d be pleased to write it up. Email me at gregwilliams@shaw.ca. Driving.ca