The fork legs were bought incomplete, meaning the work needed to make them usable hadn’t been done. The had been cut, bent and the ends pressed, but that was it. Then they sat around for years so had a good bit of corrosion on the raw metal.
First things first, I had to drill in some holes to mount an axle.
Which fits.
The length of the “feet” were uneven, but I’ll get to that. I put a bolt through the holes to check the bend and the length. The bend matched, which is good. But the length one one was slightly off.
So…
I don’t have an original to compare, but I didn’t like the corners of the pressed “feet”. So…
After some cutting and shaping…
I cleaned and shaped the top ends of the legs, then sanded the corrosion to make the legs smooth for plating.
The plates had need cut, but the edges were very rough.
So i belt-sanded them smooth so they’ll look better after plating.
One part I wasn’t able to get was a steer tube. Luckily I had a rusted fork that had some deep putting on the legs, so was sketchy. So…
Now it’s time to put the pieces together.
First things first, I had to drill in some holes to mount an axle.
![E9E6E488-BDAE-4752-ACAE-0C5AC46C92BC.jpeg E9E6E488-BDAE-4752-ACAE-0C5AC46C92BC.jpeg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/ratrodbikes/data/attach/257/257717-E9E6E488-BDAE-4752-ACAE-0C5AC46C92BC.jpeg)
![D95C3586-8F0F-4817-8129-99822E9031B5.jpeg D95C3586-8F0F-4817-8129-99822E9031B5.jpeg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/ratrodbikes/data/attach/257/257718-D95C3586-8F0F-4817-8129-99822E9031B5.jpeg)
Which fits.
![81871F73-E753-49A6-9B6C-2EB4A860980B.jpeg 81871F73-E753-49A6-9B6C-2EB4A860980B.jpeg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/ratrodbikes/data/attach/257/257729-81871F73-E753-49A6-9B6C-2EB4A860980B.jpeg)
The length of the “feet” were uneven, but I’ll get to that. I put a bolt through the holes to check the bend and the length. The bend matched, which is good. But the length one one was slightly off.
![A7434685-1FE0-474F-8988-5E173E59E09D.jpeg A7434685-1FE0-474F-8988-5E173E59E09D.jpeg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/ratrodbikes/data/attach/257/257719-A7434685-1FE0-474F-8988-5E173E59E09D.jpeg)
![03A8F9F6-43CA-499A-A23D-3113151472BD.jpeg 03A8F9F6-43CA-499A-A23D-3113151472BD.jpeg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/ratrodbikes/data/attach/257/257720-03A8F9F6-43CA-499A-A23D-3113151472BD.jpeg)
So…
![9ACBF173-80FF-4808-8404-794650CB6CF3.jpeg 9ACBF173-80FF-4808-8404-794650CB6CF3.jpeg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/ratrodbikes/data/attach/257/257721-9ACBF173-80FF-4808-8404-794650CB6CF3.jpeg)
I don’t have an original to compare, but I didn’t like the corners of the pressed “feet”. So…
![AF37E254-ECBC-452E-87A2-4FD82C0F3937.jpeg AF37E254-ECBC-452E-87A2-4FD82C0F3937.jpeg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/ratrodbikes/data/attach/257/257722-AF37E254-ECBC-452E-87A2-4FD82C0F3937.jpeg)
After some cutting and shaping…
![201590B2-D477-4CD0-8158-9786BBCA1BA0.jpeg 201590B2-D477-4CD0-8158-9786BBCA1BA0.jpeg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/ratrodbikes/data/attach/257/257723-201590B2-D477-4CD0-8158-9786BBCA1BA0.jpeg)
I cleaned and shaped the top ends of the legs, then sanded the corrosion to make the legs smooth for plating.
![3A084A94-64A3-4C33-BEA7-31E409776A12.jpeg 3A084A94-64A3-4C33-BEA7-31E409776A12.jpeg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/ratrodbikes/data/attach/257/257724-3A084A94-64A3-4C33-BEA7-31E409776A12.jpeg)
![F3E063DA-0E15-481A-9685-15E17137028A.jpeg F3E063DA-0E15-481A-9685-15E17137028A.jpeg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/ratrodbikes/data/attach/257/257725-F3E063DA-0E15-481A-9685-15E17137028A.jpeg)
![EF2A9BEC-A8D3-4E17-9746-27056405315E.jpeg EF2A9BEC-A8D3-4E17-9746-27056405315E.jpeg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/ratrodbikes/data/attach/257/257726-EF2A9BEC-A8D3-4E17-9746-27056405315E.jpeg)
The plates had need cut, but the edges were very rough.
![695A6A66-33DE-4300-A119-FD4E82CA8726.jpeg 695A6A66-33DE-4300-A119-FD4E82CA8726.jpeg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/ratrodbikes/data/attach/257/257727-695A6A66-33DE-4300-A119-FD4E82CA8726.jpeg)
So i belt-sanded them smooth so they’ll look better after plating.
![BD3AA349-C63B-45C6-ABD4-FC85A3974ECC.jpeg BD3AA349-C63B-45C6-ABD4-FC85A3974ECC.jpeg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/ratrodbikes/data/attach/257/257728-BD3AA349-C63B-45C6-ABD4-FC85A3974ECC.jpeg)
One part I wasn’t able to get was a steer tube. Luckily I had a rusted fork that had some deep putting on the legs, so was sketchy. So…
![18529173-A241-42CB-A439-B8BC9DAB5EAC.jpeg 18529173-A241-42CB-A439-B8BC9DAB5EAC.jpeg](https://cdn.imagearchive.com/ratrodbikes/data/attach/257/257730-18529173-A241-42CB-A439-B8BC9DAB5EAC.jpeg)
Now it’s time to put the pieces together.