one more 40's Colson to add to the fleet.

darts part 2

here's more pics, including some finished shots:

(on the close up of the frame, the dark spots under the paint are from the imperfections in the steel. i kinda like it. makes it look mean...)

trussrods

ok, so now that you're looking at the last picture and you're like, "dude! where'd ya get those trussrods for the forks!?..."

i made a bracket for the fork tube out of some 1/4" scrap aluminum. 1/8" woulda been easier, but the metal store's closed on the weekend, and thicker looks tougher.

first i drew out the shape i wanted. you need a big hole to slip over the steer tube on the fork, and two holes for the rods.

cut out a rough shape with a portable band saw, drilled the holes, using a holesaw for the steertube hole, and then cleaned it up on a bench grinder. i know, i know, you're not supposed to grind aluminum on a bench grinder, but i don't care. i was absent that day at metal shop...

after the grinder, i used a 3M finishing wheel to smooth and polish it. somehow, lost the individual picture of it, so you get one where it's already on the bike.

in that picture, notice the aluminum rods and the hammer on the ground...

i've got some aluminum rods that are, uh, i dunno what size, same size as normal strut rods.

take your big hammer (BFH) and beat the crap out of the ends. i use the flat part on a vice as an anvil. keep flipping them over and beating on them till they're about 1/8" thick.

you'll notice that the last side you were smashing will end up offset a bit, so it lays flat on the bike.

go back to the bench grinder that you already ruined and clean them up. (the picture shows before i polished them.) you don't have to get them perfect, because your axle nuts and washers will hide any deformities.

one thing you do have to make sure of, is that the axle mount part is flat. if it's angled at all, your axle nuts will tweak out on an angle, and that's just not good.

punch and drill holes in the ends for the axle. i go one drill bit size bigger than the 3/8's axle, otherwise they're really tight. forgot the size. 25/64ths or something.

then set them on the ends of your axle, have a smoke and figure out how you want them to look.

mark where you want to bend them and then, well, bend them. i use the wooden 2x6 railing in my backyard. they're aluminum, so you just hold one side flat, and push the other side down. MAKE SURE you're bending them along the same line as the axle mounting ends, or you'll get them all crooked, try to bend them back, and never get them straight. also, as i mentioned earlier, one side where it mounts to the axle will be flatter from when you last beat on it. when you're bending, make sure you bend one the opposite as the other, so you have a left and a right.

i bend one first, check it back on the bike, then bend the other one to match.

make all the bends you need then mark where the trussrod bracket is and cut them off. cut them as clean as possible, or else they'll end up a little shorter (or one will) and you'll have to do some re-bending and they'll be crooked.

once you have a clean cut, drill into the center, using pilot bits and progressing up to the size of the tap you're gonna use. do this slowly, carefully, and straight-ly. remember, it's soft aluminum, and if you drill crooked, then you just wasted all that time hammering and bending.

with these rods, i've tapped them for M6 bolts, the same size as most of your engine bolts. i've done them with 1/4-20's, too. that's about the biggest you can go.

once they're tapped, clean them up and install them. you might have to do a little "adjustments" to your bends.

i think that's it. here's the pics:

next time, on "this old bike," we'll show you how to make some cool pedals.

here's a coupla glam shots of the bike, and a sneak peek of my Tomasseli Super Pratic B 1/4 turn throttle.

(i think i've got the front coaster brake figured out [again] but i'm tired of messing with it for now.)

i dunno if i'm gonna sell it. i really like this bike

thanks Barely. i'm waiting on a case so i can rebuild my old motor. the one on my 24", where the chain broke and cracked the case. then that one'll go back on the 24 and the new-ish one that's on there now will go on this bike.

for now though, i've got the coolest beach cruiser in town. and with the weather as nice as it is, and being a 10 minute pedal away from Newport Beach, it's an awesome bar-hopping, girl-watching, boardwalk cruising bicycle...

true, adam. for the right price, it could be yours

thanks SB. it literally is "Backyard Engineering." my workshed is in the backyard, but it's too hot to work in on a nice sunny day, so i just use the whole backyard. the only problem is the whole yard is a wooden deck, and there's a gap of 1/4" between every board, so i keep losing nuts and bolts to the "dark side."

there are so many things you can make without spending millions on tools or hiring a machine shop, it just takes more time, effort and A-team skills. i think most people these days grew up with a video controller instead of a hammer in their hands, so it's pretty intimidating for them to tackle a project like a fuel tank or a motor mount.

i'm trying to show how easy it really is, or at least that it can be done ('cause it ain't always easy.)

as far as false starts and wrong turns go, i have a truss rod from yesterday with a broken drill bit embedded into it, i have a copper fuel tank from the last bike that i smashed and stomped on like it was a beer can, just because it looked like crap (and i was drinking with my roomates while trying to build it. not a good idea...)

so there's gonna be mistakes, but the successes totally make up for it.

there's nothing like the feeling you get when someone says, "that's cool, where'dya get it?" and you can tell them you made it yourself.

you can always buy custom, but then you're just a customer.

i dunno. after i sell a few bikes and buy a truck so i can get out there...

well, tried one last thing before giving up on the front coaster brake.

made a cable stop to mount to the forks, made a pulley to mount to the sprocket so the cable wraps around, giving it more leverage, and uh, that's all i made besides a monogrammed cable end. (http://motorbicycling.com/f13/how-make-simple-cable-end-mold-21321.html)

it slows the bike down and it looks cool, but unless i could get a finer threaded worm gear on the sprocket and clutch cone, it won't work for speeds above pedaling, unless i made some kinda Rube Goldberg-type linkage system.

i'm gonna leave it on the bicycle, since i probably won't be putting the motor on for awhile (since i need a cool pedal cruiser for the beach) and order two front drum wheels from Worksman. that way i won't have to mess with un-lacing and re-lacing the wheel.

here's some pics of how cool this useless thing looks...