P-40 Warhawk "Tex" Hill...maybe Next Year

Shop deals on ebay
Bike Wall
Advertise with us
shop deals on amazon
Rat Rod Bikes Bicycle Forum

Help Support Rat Rod Bikes Bicycle Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Crankset Leather

Crankset Leather

Joined
Oct 4, 2012
Messages
47
Reaction score
0
Location
North Milwaukee
Was gonna sell this frame but decided to enter this contest today instead. The bicycle will sell faster if it's rideable anyway and this gives me an excuse to complete this build I had lost interest in.
CAllin this frame a late 1938 or early 1940 due to the front fender truss bracket. If ayone can give me a positive ID on this frame that would be great. It was badged as a Cadet for D.P. Harris and is an original Snyder built frame. The bicycle frame was built during the time the Curtiss P-40 Warhawk U.S. Army was in service (1938-1942) and i'll be building a tribute bicycle to American Volunteer Group Double Ace, David Lee "Tex" Hill.
I have an airbrush background and will be doing some leather tooling to set it apart.
Now to figure out how to upload current pictures of parts I have to start with..
 
Re: P-40 Warhawk

Thanks Renaissance Man, I'm at work today and that domain is blocked on this pc so I have to set up the photo account tomarrow and upload picks.
My frame is stamped Z 41609, original paint was cobalt blue with white pinstripe. Rear dog ear drop stand frame tabs. Don't think it was an original tank frame but could be wrong.
 
Re: P-40 Warhawk

Sweet frame.
Welcome to the fun
 
Re: P-40 Warhawk


Okay, it worked.
Here is what I worked on last night. I'm new to leather work and I remember my grandfather's old mold making ways. So I carved my tank mold out of hardwood that I had laying around. I used 7/8" thick solid maple for the tank and after about an hour I had the left side of the tank shaped out. Don't have an actual metal tank to go by ,just web photos. I'm happy with the wood shaping results but need better wood for the outer mold as the 3/4" pine wood cracked in the pressing process. This will be my first leather mold shaping and looks like it will work. Just need to see what the results are when I get home to remove the 8-9 oz. veg tan leather from the mold. I remember my grandfather leaving the leather in the wood molds for 24-36 hours till the veg tan leatehr was bone dry. Cant wait to start tooling the Disney style AVG Flying Tiger logo into this tank.
 
Re: P-40 Warhawk

here is a pic of the Maple wooden left side tank form/mold I carved out. Still need to carve out the right side form as the leather tank im building willl be a two part tank like the original steel tanks.
 
Re: P-40 Warhawk

The Renaissance Man said:
Looks good!
Maybe some 3/4" MDF would hold up better?
Click to expand...
gonna look into getting a sheet of 1/2" or 3/8" PVC as it needs to be water proof and will last longer for repeat use. I feel this leather tank will turn out nice and could also double as nice wall hanger art.
 
Re: P-40 Warhawk

So, will the final tank be leather covered wood. or just leather?
 
Re: P-40 Warhawk

kingfish254 said:
So, will the final tank be leather covered wood. or just leather?
Click to expand...
The final tank will be just leather, about two quarters stacked thick, or 1/8" thick veg tan saddle making leather. The wooden form is just that, to form or stretch leather and give its shape.
After all exess trim has been removed, design tooling, leather dye, gluing and final stitching, it will get a water proof coating to keep the outer and hollow inside dry. It's like constructing a large formed leather knife or gun holster that retains its shape even after multiple use.
 
Re: P-40 Warhawk

That's what I love about the build off. You really get to see so many skillsets displayed! From machining, to leatherwork, to painting, to woodwork, to good old backyard engineering.
This is gonna be awesome!!!!!
 

Latest posts

Back
Top