The Kneeslider

Doers Builders and Positive People

Gunnar Sorensen Master Builder

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Gunnar Sorensen master builder from Denmark
Gunnar Sorensen master builder from Denmark

Gunnar Sorensen builds motorcycles, … and cars, and boats, and 1/4 scale engines and … most anything he really wants to. Gunnar has an amazing skill set, his work speaks for itself. He, like many who are entranced by the technical world, is not limited to one segment, but instead works his magic on a wide variety of vehicles and machines.

1000cc Great Dane with home built V-Twin
1000cc Great Dane with home built V-Twin

The Great Dane is a 3 year project, building the engine from, it seems, two singles. The cases were cast from wooden molds.

TriBSA built by Gunnar Sorensen
TriBSA built by Gunnar Sorensen

This TriBSA has an A10 frame, Ceriani forks, Norton Commando tank, Jawa forged steel connecting rods and much more.

Fiat 500 restored and modified by Gunnar Sorensen
Fiat 500 restored and modified by Gunnar Sorensen

Besides many motorcycles, he works his magic on cars, too, like this Fiat 500. Restored and modified with disc brakes, 5 speeds and just a wonderful appearance.

Merlin V12 built in 1/4 scale
Merlin V12 built in 1/4 scale

Perhaps you like the big aero engines, something like a Merlin V12 built in 1/4 scale.

The images on Gunnar’s website were a little small so they don’t do the work justice, but you can get a taste of what type of work this man does.

Relying on a translation of the Danish site, I can give you the basic idea of his work but you really need to check it out for yourself. Very, very impressive work.

A very big Thank You to Griebel, one of Gunnar’s fellow Danes, who sent me this link!

Link: Gunnar Sorensen

Link: Gunnar Sorensen – translated

Comments

  3. “Am I the only one who wanted to see the v12 in the Fiat?”

    Personally, I’d rather see it in a motorcycle. 🙂

    Christ, I wish I had this kind of skill!

  5. Holy Cow!
    The guys a national treasure.
    I’ll never complain again about the 4 years its taken me to put a Moto Guzzi Lemans together!

  6. Skills like this are almost magical! They outta be making reality shows about these real craftsman. True works of art! I make some pretty intricate stuff…… and all I can say is wow……check out rexreeb.com (as close as i can come to this guy…….and Im not worthy!)

  11. How do I compare to this dude? Well, I can dress myself, tie my own shoes, and generally feed myself without getting too much in my lap. I agree with ZREXER. If only those who do TV programming would put this guy in his own program. I would watch and record each program.

  12. Gunnar has a combination of engineering skills, technical knowledge and know how, unique creativity, and passion. That is the type of person you can classify as an innovator.

  13. Great engineer ! Its fantastic to see his creations in finished metal rather than the cyberspace computer mockups that never see the light of day.

  15. What a marvelous craftsman. If you have done this type of work I am sure like me you were humbled. I wonder when he sleeps?

  16. Too many people saying ‘I wish I had the skill…’ Anyone can acquire skill. You just have to do. And if it’s not quite right, do again.

    There are numerous references to his methods, like he estimated the weight for the crank and only had to grind a little to balance. This speaks to a mindset of not over-thinking the engineering part. There are drawings evident but I get the impression he would rather go out in the shop and just do something rather than spend hours trying to calculate every detail to the micromilligramameter.

  17. skill is only part of the equation. Many of us could probably do the same things if we just spent 10 hours every day in a shop full of machine tools…

    -todd

  18. @todd: “skill is only part of the equation. Many of us could probably do the same things if we just spent 10 hours every day in a shop full of machine tools…”

    And we could all be Rembrandt if someone just gave us some paint.

    Yes, there’s more than skill involved, things like work, learning, commitment, perseverance, it’s that positive “doer” attitude I write about. It even takes the right attitude to get the skill in the first place. Many people placed in that shop for months on end would produce nothing at all.

  19. Notice that he produced spare cylinder heads for the 18 piston engine in case he messed up one. That way he wouldn’t need to set up the head milling operations a second time just for a mistake later in the process.

    I wish he had more pictures of stuff, especially that Fiat, I want one of those.

  20. @kneeslider well said. I see no evidence of multi axis CNC machines in the limited photos and just setting up the machines and going from one operation to the next, let alone having a good finish part, would certainly be an eye opener for nearly all. Some of these operations would certainly take days of planning and many hours of setup before hours of machine time. There are a lot of people who have spent 10hr days in similar shops for years and would not have learned how to do this level of craft.

  21. I didn’t say everyone, just “many”. I think 75% of what this guy is doing is based on skill, not talent. Skill is what you get from years and years of dedicated practice, education, or guidance, and the right tools. Skill is readily available to be achieved by anyone with the right mindset (as you note). Talent is something you are born with. Talent would be a steady hand, the ability to spend hour after hour focused on a turning lathe, or really keen eye sight.

    Maybe it’s more like 50 / 50 but it bothers me when people think they naturally can’t do much of anything and promptly give up trying. I tell them to keep working at it and with enough “skill” and a little talent they can do whatever the hell they want.

    I’m sure Rembrandt practiced a little more at painting than anyone who just picks up a brush to paint the dining room. We don’t often see protege Rembrandts and DaVincis this day and age because we are trained to forsake those skills and focus on something like an MBA or PhD; something that pays while you’re still living.

    -todd

  22. @Todd you are correct like painting this level of manual machining is very much front loaded many decades of learning and practice to be brilliant later. I may have been melancholy looking at his work because I know the Gunnars are fewer and farther between these days. I did not mean to make it sound like there aren’t thousands of rewarding moments no matter what your level of ability ends up being. There certainly is an attitude these days of instant gratification that stops people from putting in the time and effort to making visions come true

  23. Gunnar is a true tradesman and a dinosaur (I say this in a very respectful way). Most of the latter generation think that if it can’t be done on a CNC machine, it can’t be done. I have been blessed to work with people of Gunnar’s skill and talent, and to truly appreciate his dedication, one must first understand that true precision in the machine trades isn’t in the machines, but the person cranking the handles. That seems to be all to forgotten by the people that have feel the machine trades can be done by any monkey. Major Kudos to Gunnar!

  25. Further thoughts on Mr. Sorenson. While it is true that practise can (may?) improve ones skills/abilities, some aspects are not learned but are inborn. For instance, while one might practise with the violin, unless you are a Menuhin, how far you can go with the instrument is limited. Likewise, we can sketch, tinker and propose until you know where freezes over, but unless our name is da Vinci, we will not rise to this level. My younger brother (rest in peace) was taking things apart and putting them back together while still in diapers. He exceeded my skills by a wide margin. He could look at a diagram or schematic and know how it worked and how it went together. I should have been so fortunate.

  26. I believe that you get what you put in to whatever you do. The more you dedicate to your passion the more rewarding it gets for you, whatever that reward may be. Just because you clone Hitler, doesn’t mean his clone will be anything like him, intelligence, dexterity, understanding, patience, imagination, memory, identity, and personality-wise, etc. Of course, not everyone is going to or ever amount to someone of the likes of da Vinci, but that doesn’t mean you’ll never amount to anything. That also doesn’t make whatever you pursue the less worthwhile.

  27. I’ve met Gunnar.. I’ve seen him work and I’ve seen some of the results live… Chris Robson is right. He is a dinosauer……. Nobody today wants to put the time and the effort in a job like him and people like him. Today things is good enough if they are okay, but good enough is not good enough Gunna..
    Willy P. How on earth you could get the idear that impression he would rather go out in the shop and just do something rather than spend hours trying to calculate every detail to the micromilligramameter I don’t get.. You can’t build the things he build without the drawings and the calculations…. Think that those alone is about 2-300 pages for the spitfire engine.. By the way…. Everything works… It’s not just for show….

  28. I have noticed that there is a lot of disagreement between the designer types and the builder types lately… This is nothing new, Go to any job shop and you will hear the same thing, Those stupid engineers have no idea how to make something, Or from the Engineers, those machinists can screw up the best design. Nice to see that some things never change, and never will!! The thing is the Schools are churning out Engineers like hot cakes, and Machinists are getting a bit rare. This will be something to watch in the future.

  29. Awesome! I have a buddy who’s restored a Bianchini, a Triumph and several other motorcycles. He doesn’t do it anymore, but he was just like Gunnar!
    Dudes like this are phenomenal, I’ve got a Husqvarna in my motorcycle rental shop in Los Angeles right now, that I don’t even know how to begin to rebuild.
    If anyone has any ideas on how to start, hit me! ish@jupitersnyc.com

  30. Wow this guy is talented. But what would you do with a 1/4 Merlin engine? A 1/4 Spitfire to put around it would be nice.

  32. Hi..we are now updating Gunnar Sorensens webside with detailed information how its made..
    If you woul like to see the inside of the engine and the detailed process in building the engines
    Click on “GS Triks og tips”, and you might learn a few things..from the old master…