My response was something like, "Hell yeah, I'd like to tour Ron Finch's shop!" A text or two later to the boss and my mid-day field trip was approved. I gotta make up the time, but so what. Ron Finch's shop.
I used to work for a family-owned Tool and Die shop back in Livonia, 18 years ago, called R&M Machine and Mold. One of my many responsibilities as the kid in the shop was driving the shop truck, shipping finished fabrications around town. One of our main clients was A.B.B. Robotic, on Brown Rd. off of Joslyn in Pontiac; right down the street was Finch's shop. I used to drive by the ornate, glass and steel gates and wanted to stop in but never quite had the time. Woulda. Coulda. Shoulda. Fast forward 18 years.
Interestingly enough, there are four different streets with the same name as Finch's, ending in Ave, St., Drive, etc... Now running late, I panicked as I cussed out my GPS. A phone call to the shop yielded Finch's wife Ruth giving me directions. I was immediately put at ease and thought "...this must be Ron Finch's wife. And she's cool as hell! This is gonna be fun."
I get to the shop 5 minutes late, the car club guys are thankfully still rolling in, and as I get out of my truck, Finch must have seen my Speedcult Detroit shop jacket, and cracks a grin as I walk up, producing a Speedcult Detroit beer can cozy from his back pocket and shakes my hand. Any anxiety I had about being late immediately vaporized. I hung back while the guys from the car club talked with Finch about African road rallies past in a 67 Mustang, and gear ratios in tractor transmissions.
Ron's wife comes out and introduces herself, and cues Ron to start the tour. We follow him in through the kitchen and into the back of his home away from home, the studio. We start on the second level.
Ron tells us how he got started. Before he got started pin striping, painting and customizing bikes, he had a job driving factory modified muscle cars to storage lots. He dug the job, when no one was looking he was burning rubber and shiftin' gears to the tune of 100 mph+. "Most of the older guys didn't like the bumpity-bump-bump of a 427, they thought they were too loud, so they'd give 'em to me to drive."
Ron tells us how he got started. Before he got started pin striping, painting and customizing bikes, he had a job driving factory modified muscle cars to storage lots. He dug the job, when no one was looking he was burning rubber and shiftin' gears to the tune of 100 mph+. "Most of the older guys didn't like the bumpity-bump-bump of a 427, they thought they were too loud, so they'd give 'em to me to drive."
This all came to an end one day, when union goons "approached" Finch to become part of the union. His boss was none other than Jimmy Hoffa. What they were after were conformist dweeb types that would enjoy getting intimidated and sucked into a 40 hour+ factory box. Thankfully for us, being told what to do didn't sit well with Finch. He said the money was good, but one day he went in to work and just couldn't do it anymore. He quit, and with minimal tools and little money rented a small shop that became home, where he slept on his bench for 3 years and starved to make it. He says he has no regrets.
Finch shows us "Double-Cross" The bike that won the Discovery Channel Biker Build-off. He was pitted against Jesse Rooke. (Previously I had written it was Detroit Bros. out of Ferndale, MI. A blunder on my part, as I have 10-15 years of not really watching much television or owning a functional TV to thank. I finally had some time and watched the episode on youtube.)
Finch's Triumph Trident powered "Trilogy" trike. The "3" theme follows throughout the construction. Ron says the trike is loads of fun to drive, it's just that the gawker effect makes it scary, as people drive up next to him to check out the trike, and stare so hard, they start to veer in towards him.
Backside of Trilogy, featuring 3 gas tanks and 3 exhaust pipes for the Triumph Trident engine.
A sculpture crafted by Finch, called, "The Hopper." Sculpture as a free form art are Finch's medium of choice these days, he says feels he has more freedom to create. I can't argue with his logic. He's been there and done that in the custom motorcycle business, and dealt with the headaches that come along with employees, overhead, and everything else. His sculptured and hand airbrushed and striped metal art pieces are way cool.
Finch's collection of metal bits for art work. This shop is starting to look like another shop I know... I dig the similarities, and the hoarder aspect of metal artists. I feel at home.
The lower level shop crapper. Actually, it is a replica of Finch's old shop throne room from the Joslyn and Brown Rd. shop, with actual features from there. Among them: The Honorable Robert L. Shipper District Judge placard, and Ron's hamburger collection.
Finch's welding table. This table is an oldie but a goodie. Finch has built many custom motorcycles here. This is the original table he built way back in the day when he got started. I really dig this welding table for a couple of reasons: I asked Finch about a story shared with me by some guy who claimed he knew him back in the day about how he used to build custom motorcycles. The story I heard was that he used railroad timbers with a channel milled in them to set the steel tube and build his frames. Myth busted. Total bullshit story. Second, it reminds me of Len's table at Speedcult Detroit. I'm sure the beer can is helping with that, but it was cool to see a commonality, in this case a utilitarian one. Notes to self about my future welding table build.
Like every artist I've ever met, we all seem to have multiple projects going on in various states of completion. Finch gives us a rundown of some current themes he likes to work into his art.
Below, a look around Finch's shop. Now, ask yourself, how cool would it be to work in these surroundings?
This is the inside lower floor main shop, just a few feet away from Finch's welding table, it opens into a two-story turret that travels through each floor, separated only by an ornately decorated steel floor.
The beautifully translucent blue "stones" that make up the turret are actually chunks of blue-green glass, from a glass foundry outside of Pittsburgh. I believe they are discards from the glass making process.
Next up, a side-car bike named "Outsider."
I dig the beer, I mean, the "beverage" holder in the sidecar. The "bottle-cap" V-twin Harley based engine is pretty badass as well. I want one.
Next up came a tour of the grounds. This is the view from Finch's balcony, outside his paint spray booth, where he works his airbrush magic.
This is the view of the full balcony from the ground. You can see the turret peeking out on the side, as well.
Pretty cool, no?
The glass turret. Magnificent. And even better in person. I want one at my future compound.
There is art everywhere. If anyone needed evidence that an artist resides here, they'd have to be blind to not recognize it.
Everywhere.
Art and Artifacts in the floors...
Doors...
The garden paths... This door is from one of the boilers from the old Jacobson's Department Store in downtown Birmingham, MI.
A wooden wheel from Henry Ford's Wife's wheelchair...
Even the beaver is creative at Finch's studio. This beaver dam actually controls the stream running through the property.
Finch shows us his gigantic chopper sculpture. He has two of these and features them in local parades and charity events.
The engine cases are built from spare aircraft engine parts that were given to Finch by a vintage aircraft museum that didn't know what to do with a room of vintage spare parts.
Ron Finch and myself. I hope you enjoyed the reading about the tour and the pics as much as I enjoyed being there. I've always admired Ron's work and his story, and I was honored to meet him and be an invited guest at his studio. Helluva way to cap a great weekend, even though it was a Monday.
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