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Hello everyone!
In June i was coming to Amsterdam for a few days for a graduation show of my former school, and to ride around i bought a light silver Electra Delivery for just 40 euro. The bike was ridable, but the condition was sad, many original parts missing, spray-paint, whole usual set of problems.
I had a nice idea for it and here is a quick photoshop mock-up for that build.
Grh.jpg

I have already bought the matte paint for it and taken it apart.
Today i have started with actual work for it by making the wooden parts and starting to create a home-brew springer forks.
I plan to try to save and refresh the original wheels, since the hubs seem to work fine. For the rest i have few parts lying around, like 346 saddle and matching grips, and for some parts i wish to keep a surprise for you guys :)
The pictures of the fork are coming (probably tomorrow, now it is late where i am), and the pictures of the wooden plates on the tank and rack are yet to be taken.
 
Is the spring on the front fork the mount for the fender? Pretty cool
Not really. The spring is because the fork i am building is the springer fork :) I have two forks intended for motorcycle solo seat lying around after one of my previous builds. They ended up to be too hard for the saddle, but i believe they will be just good for the fork. I am planning to add the bridge between the legs and integrate fender mounts there. Because the bridge is needed anyway, to synchronize the legs travel, otherwise there will be too much unnecessary torque and tension on the wheel axle.
 
So, while preparing the frame for painting at the garage and making wooden panels (forgot the pictures again), i have started to work on the fork.

First of all i found a piece of profile that seems right to become a crown for my new fork. Marked it and drilled with normal drill first and then with step-drill to match the main tube.
IMG_4520.JPG

Here are the donor parts i am going to use. No functional fork got harmed in this experiment. All were broken/bent/damaged.
IMG_4521.JPG


Making the rocking parts of the legs out of 22mm tube. Had to be a bit modified to accommodate the bearings.
IMG_4523.JPG


Here bearings are sitting inside already. Now, after this pics were taken, i have switched to two bearings per leg, to have more contacting surface and less load on each bearing.
IMG_4524.JPG


Using a welding table to position the elements. The fork must clear 80mm fenders.
IMG_4525.JPG


Legs are shortened and rocking axle tubes are welded in place.
IMG_4528.JPG


The crown parts to accommodate the axles are made. You can also see the springs intended for that fork on this picture.
IMG_4530.JPG


Coming steps are: drilling axle holes, bending legs dropouts to be straight (now bent inwards, some racing bike geometry thing i guess), checking the fork geometry, cutting polycarbonate stubs for the legs to take all the friction between legs and crown, making spring mounts and some kind of safety-mechanisms to prevent a crash in case one or both of springs brake (i've been told since those springs are not intended for that purpose they could) and creating a bridge between the legs.
 
and creating a bridge between the legs
Will there be a piece, besides the axle and the general tightness of parts, that will prevent the right and left legs & springs from moving in opposite directions, a la “death forks”?
 
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Will there be a piece, besides the axle and the general tightness of parts, that will prevent the right and left legs & springs from moving in opposite directions, a la “death forks”?
They basically will be one moving part, welded together. Kind of like the bridge on your seat stays, where the fender mounting hole is.
 
Ok, so, some progress with the fork.
The hinges are done.
IMG_4560.JPG


But when assembling and test-fitting it, i found out, that it appears to be too short.
IMG_4561.JPG


It would be ok if i won't have to put the bridge and the fender mount. So now i have to extend the legs.
IMG_4562.JPG


Luckily i have another donor fork to extend the tubes. And i have already started making the plastic washers to put to the hinges, to avoid the rubbing and scratching between the legs and the crown. Those are my next steps for the build.
 
Maybe try to find some Oilite Bronze bushings instead of plastic. I’ve found many on eBay for a custom fork I’m designing


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Why not plastic?
From what i know, it is quite durable and does not have a lot of friction. Then it is very easy to cut it on lathe. And possibly it is also won't hurt the paint, what i am unsure of in case of bronze.
I already have my soft nylon rod and a sketchy version of the bushing, so i unlikely am going to abandon this material, but still i am very interested, in what aspects bronze is superior over nylon in that case? Apart from aesthetic issue and plastics being bad (i don't disagree here and enjoy metal over plastics too).
 
In that case, give the plastic a go, it may be an easier and equally as good a solution.
I agree it is much easier to fabricate with plastic/nylon as well.

Looking forward to seeing your solution!

Cheers!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
My workshop is still closed due to the quarantine, but who said i can't keep working on this bike?
I have taken it from the powder coater and yesterday started to assemble it using another fork i had lying around.
IMG_5212.JPG


The color looks great, even though i have expected it to be a bit darker. Original wheels are trued and put on the place. So i have also put re-coated original cranks, some BMX stem i had lying around and Electra saddle. This brown have matched the best of all i have. I had some difficulties with the fork since the steerer tube was just a bit too short. I have cut a piece of an old 1" handlebar and press-fitted it in :) For now it works, but i want to put the long bolt through the whole fork rather then the star nut just to make sure the insert stays in place.
IMG_5213.JPG


Another problem is that i don't have a lot of fender brackets i need, and i still have to address this issue somehow. I have few ideas but don't know what i am going to use yet.
Then my eye fell on the repro Schwinn light i have recently acquired...
IMG_5214.JPG


Man, i think its a perfect fit. Even though it's plastic, i think i am going to use it for this build.
IMG_5215.JPG


For the handlebars, i kind of like how 346 Indian Moon bar looks here. Even though this was not an initial plan, since i went from threaded to threadless fork and the whole bar now sits lower i think it fits here better.
IMG_5216.JPG
 
Finally found some time to come back to this project!
Started by extending the fork head tube. I think my TIG skills are getting better!
IMG_5881.JPG

IMG_5882.JPG


Then i have mounted the fender with some threaded rivets so it can travel together with the fork. Originally the there are threads in the first fork half, but the hole for the fender mounting is in the second, so the fender would move and shake while riding.
I have also mounted the Schwinn light on.
IMG_5884.JPG

IMG_5883.JPG


As you see i have used the seat here for another project (my Good Old Days cruiser), so i am now searching for a good replacement that would match by color.
 
You need those fender braces that attach to the axle. This is the trick with these forks. They cost 4 Euros a piece and come in black or chrome.

https://classic-cycle.com/fender-an...fender-parts/2367/fender-stays-26-inch.-blackhttps://classic-cycle.com/fender-an...ender-parts/2366/fender-stays-26-inch.-chrome
As you see i have fixed the problem even without using that ones. I have the kind that you posted too, but i just did not want to use them on this build. I somehow like the more slim ones with the rest of the bike. Thanks for offering a working solution though :)
 
In the mean time, i have finished working on this project :)
I did not document it too well though, sorry. But in short, i have made new tank and rack plate using a CNC mill at work out of plywood. Then i have used some oil and colored wax to achieve a dark and smooth finish. Took me about 5 days with drying time of each layer. Here are the examples of how it looked like on different stages. Top ones are made by hand, bottom ones are CNC machined. Dark one is the secoind try of coating.
IMG_6495.JPG


Then i've taken out some old 1 shot enamel can and a lettering brush.
IMG_6459.JPG


Not too bad, but once i've put it on a bike i've figured out the white stands out too much. I was afraid that taking it off with white spirit would also affect the wax layer, but luckily it didn't.
IMG_6462.JPG


Then the second try with the finer brush looks better in my opinion.
IMG_6469.JPG


So the left side is done too.
IMG_6468.JPG


And the chain guard.
IMG_6465.JPG


Looks better on the bike.
IMG_6463.JPG


Then it was only a question of little details like cable guiding and rear light for the bike to be finished.
IMG_6464.JPG
 

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