*The 76er* (I. Think. I'm. Done. update: 7/29)

[yoothgeye]

I see you've been killin' LED's, they normally need dropping resistors to limit the current. Bike's lookin' good, I hope that chainguard works out for you, and use caution when riding with lace-up shoes!

Murrays Rule!

I had plenty of LEDs to work with, and not having the specs on them I just ran them at different voltages to see what range they they, then I ran them in series to attain the correct voltage each, I don't like running resistors with batteries.

Speaking of the chainguard, I went home for lunch and gave the crank a spin and...


(sorry, camera was inside, world's worst camera phone)

Maybe 1/8th of an inch clearance, maybe, but with no play in the crank or chainguard I should be good. I should install a flint on the end of the star and rough up the inside of the crank arm and it will spark on every rotation.

[kingfish254]

Maybe 1/8th of an inch clearance, maybe, but with no play in the crank or chainguard I should be good. I should install a flint on the end of the star and rough up the inside of the crank arm and it will spark on every rotation.

You may be joking, but that would seriously be cool as h***, as long as you don't catch your pants leg on fire.

[yoothgeye]

Maybe 1/8th of an inch clearance, maybe, but with no play in the crank or chainguard I should be good. I should install a flint on the end of the star and rough up the inside of the crank arm and it will spark on every rotation.

You may be joking, but that would seriously be cool as h***, as long as you don't catch your pants leg on fire.

It's an idea I'm throwing out there for someone else. You could use the top portion of a throw away lighter and remove the button and shield, then then the crank hit the roller it would spin and spark, you could just use a piece of rubber on the crank arm to turn the wheel when it hit it. That would be a really simple way to do it so that the flint wouldn't actually have to contact the crank arm.

But you are right, it would look cool, and it would be more controllable than a sparker on the wheel or something, you could pedal a little to make it happen, then as people watch for it to happen again, just coast and leave them wondering what happened.

[yoothgeye]

Day 84 (is that even right?)

Alright, took off last night because I needed sleep, but back at it tonight. Cody came over to help and he thought we could finish tonight. That would've been nice, but I got details to attend to.

First off, I finished grinding down the tail light lense to fit inside my stainless steel thermos tail light:


Notice the back is open and light will reflect from the lense for a light red forward glow:


I didn't think the light was done, so I got my snips and cut some stainless steel from the body of the thermos to make a little hood:


Installed it with 2 pop rivets:

Totally overbuilt (I could've just bought something, gasp!), but I like it, and not another one like it exists anywhere.

When I started the build the fork steer tube was too short, so I cut the top and bottom of the head tube, now it's too long! So I threaded a nut on it and cut the top off, then you just remove the nut and it cleans the threads. I always cut using a cutting disk for clean cuts. This was just before the cut:


Then I cut a piece of brass and "machined" it down with a drill, file, and bench grinder to fit under the top nut:


So that it will hold my headlight switch:


Then I added the toggle top:


At this point Cody was working hard on getting the rack just right while I worked on a dual function brake lever strap. Then I installed the bars and we worked together to put the chain on (hard with that chainguard). The bike is rideable now. Things left to do: install tank, mount tail light, build and install battery tube, mount license plate, finish rack, and...

Anyway, here are some progress shots:

Notice the shotgun shells:


Dual purpose:


Ring ring... ring ring!


In 1976 the Viking landed on Mars and sent back photos, wonder if their final photos came within the set dealine?

[Dr. Tankenstein]

Man, this thing is cool end-to-end, top-to-bottom.


Cheers,
Dr. T

[yoothgeye]

Man, this thing is cool end-to-end, top-to-bottom.

Thanks, but I haven't shown it end-to-end, top-to-bottom yet!

[Dr. Tankenstein]

I cut-n-pasted all the pics together in my mind already....

I may have eaten some of the paste...................................................................

[kingfish254]

Cool hidey hole for your switch.
I also like the BEER bottle opener on the brake.
Cheers!

[yoothgeye]

I cut-n-pasted all the pics together in my mind already....

I may have eaten some of the paste...................................................................

It's non toxic, so you're good, oh and, stop picturing my bike in your head!

Cool hidey hole for your switch.
I also like the BEER bottle opener on the brake.
Cheers!

Thanks, I could've wired the switch into a hole in the headlight, but I just like the idea of it on the bike instead. It's a 2 way switch, but I wired it center off, forward or back on.

[Fahrrad]

Just got one word for you: SWEET!!!!!!

[erichitscar]

Great build! Love your imagination!

[pick]

Just got one word for you: SWEET!!!!!!

+1

[yoothgeye]

Day 85ish

Got some more work done tonight, really concentrated on the rack and I need your help on how to dress it.

First I started off by cleaning the surface rust off the rack we just made:


Once it was clean I had a nervous chihuahua put some stripes on it:


Then, you know the drill, antique and clear:


Now, I've been planning a wood top all along, and I had this old liquor crate that I found in a ditch lined up to build the top, but when I tried taking it apart it broke... alot. So I grabbed this old laundry hamper lid (we actually used it as our trash can for about 9 years):


Then I sanded it and scribbled on it:


Next I used my dremel to trace my freehand:


Next I used a big torch to bring out the grain in the wood and a little torch to trace my freshly carved lettering:


Then I took it over the table saw (which I found in the alley during the build-off):


Now that I've done all the work, I'm not sure whether to keep the wood or throw it out (I don't have a problem throwing it away if it needs to go). So please look at these last photos and let me know: attach and keep or throw away and just keep rails.




Possible placement of license plate, I prefer a side mount, but just not sure:


Thanks for the help.

On this date in history, July 28th 1976, Eldon Joersz and Geo Morgan set world air speed record of 3,530 kph, I imagine it looked like a bolt in the sky... like a Skybolt!

[rrednek]

I think it looks good. If you keep the rack boards, you may want to consider torching the ends (cuts) to match the face. Bike is looking great and filled with neat ideas.

Signed,

Local Guy with 3 votes!

[kingfish254]

I like teh rack, but I can't believe you are covering that wicked cool flame end to your fender.