Just a little randomness...

This post is going to be all over the place.
I finally got the front triangle of the frame done!! It's been mocked-up, tacked, and all fitted together for what seems like years, but I finished it a couple weeks ago. There's a combination of bent, cut, rolled, mitered, and capped steel, that has all been joined by traditional oxy-acetylene welding and brazed joints. The following are some pics of the final stages:

This is me welding upside-down to uphill. My wife Deb was taking pics... it took me a little while to realize what the "flashing" was coming from...

Once that joint was welded, I covered it in bronze because I love the look of a nice, smooth fillet between tubes. This next shot is what the joint looked like after the bronze was laid down. The white/clear/glass-like stuff all around the joint is the flux. Once it cools, it literally forms into a glass-like substance. You can chip it off, but that takes too much time. I prefer to soak the joint in warm water, or for this instance where the joint is in the middle of a tube, I soaked some rags and wrapped them around the joint. Like magic, in about 20 minutes it's clean.

From there the bronze gets shaped with files and sand paper until the joint flows from one tube to the other.

Ready for the official unveiling????

hello frame,

I intentionally cut my head off this pic due to the goofy expression I had on my face...

So this is where I change directions...
I worked so long on the front part of the frame, and somewhat neglected the final details of the rear triangle/axle plates, etc. So, it was back to the drawing board for me.
I had everything in it's place drawing-wise, I just wasn't sure about the final details such as making each piece aesthetically pleasing, finalizing up the thicknesses and type of metal for each part, and making sure my drawing will work in the real, 3-dimensional world.

This is what I'm thinking for the rear axle plates/axle blocks, fine adjusters, and bike stand lifters:

It may look a little confusing because it's the "wire-frame" view, but for my engineering friend Dave, he'll know what I'm doing here... The axle plate itself, and the axle block guides will be water-jet cut out of .375" steel. I have the axle blocks already and they're a slick cnc machined aluminum piece that has been anodized black. The "C" shaped thing hanging off the back is the lifter that the bike stand will hook into to lift the rear wheel off the ground. This will also be water-jet cut, but out of .25" aluminum. And lastly, the long horizontal screw is the axle fine adjuster... This will be brass.

I'm 99% set on this design. I've ordered my chain and will finalize the distance between the 2 axle plates once I can get an exact measurement of the chain width. I don't want my frame tubes to be too close to a moving chain!

Until the chain comes, I've put my lathe to work and designed the top "studs" that the rear frame tubes will connect to. These are the upper studs (right under where the seat will go).

As you can see, the bolt head is recessed into the stud. It has also been turned on the lathe to get the bolt markings off. You can't see it, but on the other end of the bolt, the nut (which is also recessed) has been turned on the lathe, AND the bolt length ends at exactly the outside face of the nut. (!)
This is the kind of crap you do when you have WAY more time than money! I think I have a disease...

And lastly, the stock bike had this nifty little rotary switch sticking out of the left-side engine case that would inform you of what gear you were in. There was a whole cluster of lights on the "dash" and the one that corresponded with what gear you were in would light up. I guess that kind of thing has it's place, but not on this bike. So, rather than just leaving the switch mounted to the engine and cutting the wire off, I removed the whole thing, machined an aluminum plug complete with o-ring seal on the inside, and an aluminum bar to hold it in tight. The safety wire is functional... it prevents the screws from backing out... but more than that, I think it looks cool.
Again, drilling .0625" holes in stainless cap bolts just to run twisted wire through... Yep, lots of time on my hands.

I see there's still some greasy, old dirt in the crevices of the engine cases. Camera flashes really point everything out don't they? Hopefully the soda blasting (in the future) will get the dirt and the old stained clear coat off the cases.

Thanks for watching this blog. Hopefully next time I'll have some new rear frame parts to put together!

Ciao!