Is "best gear this project to you" a proper saying?

Question

In an email today I had included the following:

So that I can best gear this project to your expertise, can you tell me how much experience you have with list of technical skills?

I asked someone to review this email before I sent it and they didn't understand/had not heard of this usage of "best gear."
Since I've picked up some interesting sayings, some of them due to mishearing (like 'nip it in the butt' instead of 'nip it in the bud'), and searching for various usages of "best gear" is pulling up nothing of value, is this proper English or a known saying?
The meaning I'm hoping to convey is:

I want to define, or setup, or prepare, this project so that it aligns with your (technical) expertise.

Thank you.

chasly - supports Monica · Accepted Answer

So that I can best gear this project to your expertise, can you tell
me how much experience you have with list of technical skills?

The problem is that "best gear" looks either like a noun or a compound verb.
John wore his best gear to the match.  (his best clothes - BrE)
John best-geared his new car. (??? he replaced his gearbox with the best on the market???)
You are using "gear" to mean "suit" or "tailor". In other words you are using it as a verb. Because this usage is not common, especially with this word-order, it is easy to misunderstand.
Summary
What you intend
So that I can gear this project best to your expertise ...
What people may read
So that I can "best-gear" this project to your expertise ...
For someone fluent in English, they will soon realise what you mean. However I must admit, when I first saw the title of your question, I was puzzled by it. Someone who is not so fluent will soon be on this website asking what on Earth you meant!

Andrew Leach · Answer

I don't have a problem with "gear X to Y" where Y is something like "your expertise" (rather than "you").
It appears OED doesn't, either:

a. To put (machinery) into gear (see gear n. 7); to connect by gearing. Also figurative, to adjust, correct or co-ordinate; spec. to adjust or adapt (something) to a particular system, situation, etc.; to bring into dependence, conformity or harmony; frequently in passive.

You're using it in this sense: adapting the project to suit the skills your correspondent has. OED's earliest citation for that usage is from 1945, so it's not very old, but hardly novel.

LPH · Answer

The main problem with this type of construction is the inherent illogicality relative to the notion of purpose on which it is hinged. It is shorter than  a logically consistent enunciation but the overall effect of its "compacted" structure feels awkward. It is nevertheless met with quite often and therefore the stricter and longer construction can be ignored safely enough; I will, anyway,  make this point of view as clear as I can in the following.
purpose : gear project (X)
purpose fulfilling element : knowledge of how important is the experience (Y)
Schematized:   Y necessary so that  X possible .
Instead of  this coding we have 'Is Y available? so that  X possible'.
So, on a first adjustment, this is what would result (or something similar).

So that I can best gear this project to your expertise, I must know how much experience you have with list of technical skills; can you provide this information to me?

As "to gear sth to/towards sth" is usually used in the passive, the sentence might not sound too natural; as this phrasal verb means "to prepare" (OALD), it can be replaced conveniently by this latter verb.

So that I can prepare this project [in keeping with/along the line of/in harmony with/…] your (technical) expertise, I must know how much experience you have with list of technical skills; can you provide this information to me?

Is "best gear this project to you" a proper saying?

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