RRB BUILD OFF #5 DISCUSSION

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fenderhole said:
................. because we do not own a welder, in fact i don't even know anyone that does. ..............
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This is part of the quote and I hate to dismantle it but this was the part that upsets me the most. I'm not trying to get you mad or anything like that but the reason you don't have a welder is because you didn't know how to make one for free. Here is a couple of sites. http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-a-Microwave-Transformer-Homemade-Welder/ and http://www.geocities.com/aaawelder/ .

I have plugged things into the wall since 2nd grade where I got a good jolt ( this explains alot about me ) and I never gave up. I made 5 of these units and tweaked them around till this one works well with tubing.
MyWelder.jpeg

I gave one away to a kid so he could learn to weld. I've been doing it for about four years nothing great but a sturdy weld just the same. There are guys out there that will swear that the wire feed is the way to go. Maybe if you got the money but here I try to spend little as possible. If you lived closer I would help you out with this lack of welder problem.

Gold Street Customs wrote:
I think what gets lost in all of this , if your having night sweats worring about your build ...walk away, this is supposed to be FUN!!!!!.

Start your build and finish it on time and be proud of what you did and what you learned. Then do it again on another making it even better. You already won a prize, you get to keep a cool bike that I don't have.

GL
 
Before I could weld I had the urge to learn. I went to a community college at night after work to learn how to weld for about $30.00 a class. I took four welding classes over the course of two years before I got pretty good. My own opinion. I found an old stick welder at a yard sale for $60.00 with a bunch of rod, helmut and gloves. I pick up old scrap steel including bicycles from junk piles. I'm 54 and nobody ever gave me squat. I had to work a little extra if I wanted something. All my builds are from junk and scrap that was either free or cheap. And I did save and sold fixed up bikes to get a nice wirefeed. My tools are basic hand tools, a cheap Harbor Freight 4 1/2" grinder with cut off wheels and my welder. Low budget to say the least. So those of you who don't weld for this build off, get cracking and learn for the next one. These are lifetime skills. No excuses! And yeah, I wish I had a lathe and a mill but I don't. I just use what I have at hand. We all have the best tools of all, our drive and brains!!!!!
 
Hey bighit, Is that going to be your first project after welding class? I would really like to see that one. Just the fact that you dreamed that up means you are going places and a step ahead of most. Good luck with your class.
 
Rat Rod Welder Build Off? You mean build a homemade rat rod welder like Gray Lock?
 
While I would love to take a prize in this build off, I probably won't. This site has a lot of very talented people. But I still will come out of this build off as a winner because I am having fun, I am getting ideas from the other builds for my future projects, and I will have a bike unlike any other in the world. Built with my own blood, sweat and tears.
 
Kuttnhack said:
Before I could weld I had the urge to learn. I went to a community college at night after work to learn how to weld for about $30.00 a class. I took four welding classes over the course of two years before I got pretty good. My own opinion. I found an old stick welder at a yard sale for $60.00 with a bunch of rod, helmut and gloves. I pick up old scrap steel including bicycles from junk piles. I'm 54 and nobody ever gave me squat. I had to work a little extra if I wanted something. All my builds are from junk and scrap that was either free or cheap. And I did save and sold fixed up bikes to get a nice wirefeed. My tools are basic hand tools, a cheap Harbor Freight 4 1/2" grinder with cut off wheels and my welder. Low budget to say the least. So those of your who don't weld for this build off, get cracking and learn for the next one. These are lifetime skills. No excuses! And yeah, I wish I had a lathe and a mill but I don't. I just use what I have at hand. We all have the best tools of all, our drive and brains!!!!!
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Amen brother

GL
 
Kuttnhack said:
Before I could weld I had the urge to learn. I went to a community college at night after work to learn how to weld for about $30.00 a class. I took four welding classes over the course of two years before I got pretty good. My own opinion. I found an old stick welder at a yard sale for $60.00 with a bunch of rod, helmut and gloves. I pick up old scrap steel including bicycles from junk piles. I'm 54 and nobody ever gave me squat. I had to work a little extra if I wanted something. All my builds are from junk and scrap that was either free or cheap. And I did save and sold fixed up bikes to get a nice wirefeed. My tools are basic hand tools, a cheap Harbor Freight 4 1/2" grinder with cut off wheels and my welder. Low budget to say the least. So those of your who don't weld for this build off, get cracking and learn for the next one. These are lifetime skills. No excuses! And yeah, I wish I had a lathe and a mill but I don't. I just use what I have at hand. We all have the best tools of all, our drive and brains!!!!!
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very well said. i am amazed by the bikes this dude makes heck mine look stock sitting next to his. i will say this when i decided to buy a welder and learn how it was because i felt that i had taken what i wanted to do as far as i could with out being able to weld and fab my own stuff. thats why some builders dont use stock frames and use only their own that they create. this site above all to be is about progression. take a look back at the past winners for the first two years neither one had a welded item (well that is not totally true i had to braze together the rear light mount on the ratty truck because the first one snapped. for those wondering if rules have been broken i have looked at all the bikes i think and none seem to break the rules to me at all. you can weld stuff to the frame nuff said. you just cant cut the original frame structure which is why this is a very hard comp to build in. do i think a bike with nothing fabricated one of can win? it would be hard but why not and to take out the welding part of this competition i think would stifle the progression that it has enjoyed over the years. think about it like this what would car shows be like if you had rules stating that no welding or lead work can be done to a car? this is a stiff competition and to win (if you want to) is very hard and it is stressful, fun but stressful. i hate to toss in my 1/2 cents again but i still think there should be two classes for the build off maybe a more bolt on class then the traditional one where welding is permitted. anyways try not to get too worked up over it i have in the past and it is not worth it. in the end win or loose you end up with a sick new bike sitting in your garage for you to ride and everyone in town to drool over. so have fun turn up the music and BUILD!!!!!!!!!
 
The real challenge is trying to capture the Rat Rod/Hot Rod vibe in bicycle form.

It seems like either you get that vibe or you don't.
 
spoken quite well when i did pay it back i loved that bike but it just did not have the dirty ratty vibe thats why i turned around and did the hooligan last year and went full dirt. in fact i went out and stuck my head in the gutter for a full week no kidding :lol:
 
karfer67 said:
very well said. i am amazed by the bikes this dude makes heck mine look stock sitting next to his. i will say this when i decided to buy a welder and learn how it was because i felt that i had taken what i wanted to do as far as i could with out being able to weld and fab my own stuff. thats why some builders dont use stock frames and use only their own that they create. this site above all to be is about progression. take a look back at the past winners for the first two years neither one had a welded item (well that is not totally true i had to braze together the rear light mount on the ratty truck because the first one snapped. for those wondering if rules have been broken i have looked at all the bikes i think and none seem to break the rules to me at all. you can weld stuff to the frame nuff said. you just cant cut the original frame structure which is why this is a very hard comp to build in. do i think a bike with nothing fabricated one of can win? it would be hard but why not and to take out the welding part of this competition i think would stifle the progression that it has enjoyed over the years. think about it like this what would car shows be like if you had rules stating that no welding or lead work can be done to a car? this is a stiff competition and to win (if you want to) is very hard and it is stressful, fun but stressful. i hate to toss in my 1/2 cents again but i still think there should be two classes for the build off maybe a more bolt on class then the traditional one where welding is permitted. anyways try not to get too worked up over it i have in the past and it is not worth it. in the end win or loose you end up with a sick new bike sitting in your garage for you to ride and everyone in town to drool over. so have fun turn up the music and BUILD!!!!!!!!!
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you make a valid point karfer and i respect that but i have to disagree with 'no welding would stifle progression'. in fact i think it would spur progression in a new direction, uncharted territory if you will. but as it stands the rules are what they are and i can accept that with no problem.

oh well, that's all i'm gonna say about it as we seem to be getting too much into politics and too far from the fun...
 
all i have to say about a bike taking a top place without custom built/bought stuff welded on or not is this....
look at last years....karfer and kram went head to head and it was a toss up the whole time....

food for though











hehehe..i posted in this so itd die!! :lol: :lol: :lol:
 
I have been around from the start member number 25 :) and have seen 1000s of bikes built on here probably built 100 myself lol so its really hard to build something different near impossible, am I in it to win it? nope am I in it to build myself a cool bike that I want? YESSIR!
its all about the bike not the contest :) lots of people have built cooler bikes than me and lots more will! I am still constant blown away with the way this place has grown! as a moderator I cannot possible read all of the posts anymore let alone comment on some of them. I go in spurts with the bikes I will walk away from them for a few months then buy them by the truckloads lol. speaking of which.... gotta go unload the truck again!
 
Hooch said:
I have been around from the start member number 25 :) and have seen 1000s of bikes built on here probably built 100 myself lol so its really hard to build something different near impossible, am I in it to win it? nope am I in it to build myself a cool bike that I want? YESSIR!
its all about the bike not the contest :) lots of people have built cooler bikes than me and lots more will! I am still constant blown away with the way this place has grown! as a moderator I cannot possible read all of the posts anymore let alone comment on some of them. I go in spurts with the bikes I will walk away from them for a few months then buy them by the truckloads lol. speaking of which.... gotta go unload the truck again!
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I'm glad I'm not the only up at this hour :) you do make a good point, how about we all JUST BUILD lol :)


Sam
 
OK, here's my 2 cents.

I guess the rules that some people seem to be concerned with are:

3. Must use factory frame....no altering of original frame structure.

8. Parts can be attached any way you wish (includes welding).


I haven't seen any bikes yet that are outside these rules (I dunno, maybe I'm not looking close enough?).

Before entering a competition such as this, builders should look closely at the rules, then check out the previous RRBBO's to see what has been done. If you do this you will see that a lot of bikes entered have had things chopped off, stuff welded/bolted on, and fabricated parts such as forks, rear end extensions, sidecars etc fitted. I believe that this is all part of the annual RRBBO and shouldn't be changed....... there are enough other build offs through the year (or the normal build section) to cater for people who don't want to stick to the annual RRBBO rules.
Basically, my view is, check out the rules first, and decide if you want to enter. Don't enter, then want the rules changed to suit you.
As previously stated by sensor, look at how many votes kram's bike received last year! So, a bike with heaps of fabrication and "stuff" hanging off it isn't neccessarily going to win........maybe members will be looking for something different this year ?

And ultimately, whether your bike gets votes or not, who cares? You will come out of this build off with a cool bike. That's what we're all here for isn't it?
 

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