(WBO) Thorn... OK, really now, it's done PICS!

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Montreal weekend was a blast, framed by good days of skiing at Owls Head on Friday and Orono on Monday. Both days we had fresh snow. Unfortunately hunting for cool old bike parts was a bust. Still waiting on getting my frame back from the shop, might work on some other stuff for the meantime. thanks for tuning in.
 
Not much progress, frame is still not fixed yet, hopefully I'll get it back soon. There is still a lot to do to the frame. I did strip down the swayback Trek. I figured out the wiring, there was plenty of extra stuffed in the down tube. The wire had a snap together connector at the front hub enabling it to be removed from the frame. Front hub felt really tight, I was able to get some of it out but the dynamo mechanism sure does make some resistance. Hard to believe there are finished bikes already and this is where I am at! I still have no fork, no solid plan for the front cranks/sprocket and a vague idea for a creative seat set up. Lots to do...




 
That frame should inspire you. One of my all time favorite rides was a Silver King that I finally broke. It was set up with an old Schwinn springer and fat, high pressure 26" wheelset on a nice sturmey 3-coaster. It was long and lean and clean and fast when it was rolling. I miss it so...
 
Believe it or not, I have not forgotten I have a bike to build. I have secured the use of a paint booth for tonight to do something about the wheels. Still on the fence about which fork to use, cant really make up my mind till I get the frame back, which will hopefully be soon!
 
well, several hours of work last night, wont know the results till later on this AM when I can get back in the booth. Hopefully I'll have good results and something to post for you all to look at.
 
Resin was still not quite cured as of lunchtime today so I'm not quite ready to claim success yet. Paint room was still pretty cool so I'll check in on the stuff tomorrow and hopefully things will have hardened up.
 
Well, I'm OK with the results for a first time working with fiberglass resin. I might hit up a friend with more experience for some pointers when I tackle the other sides.

First I mounted up the wheels on a board, supported the rim on some blocks and secured the wheels.


Next I stapled marine shrink wrapping over the wheels, cutting out for the axle, shrank the wrapping with a heat gun. I was able to get most all of the wrinkles out. I had better results when I hit the sides first and worked toward the middle.


Stretched over some spandex and stapled it to the wood base


Painted them up with resin and left them to dry for a couple of days.


They are now in my basement and ready for trimming. I figure some double stick tape should hold them to the rims..
 
Great idea, those wheel covers will be cool.
 
Thanks for all the kudos. Its possible I may not end up using them, the resin is not fully curing. I was careful with my ratio's but maybe the room was too cold or something. I had them in the basement overnight and it just stunk up the house. I may do something less awesome for the build off and experiment with some other materials when the weather warms up and I can work outdoors. I think I have a workable method, just need a more controlled workspace and practice, practice, practice....
 
been filing down the welds and doing some polishing on the frame. will post up some pics later on tonight. Also received some tires in the mail today so will be test fitting them as well as fitting the fork.
 
Here are some photos of where the frame is at. Quite a lot of filing... As I sand the frame with 220 grit it's obvious this thing was beat on for a long time. Lots of scratches and nicks all over the place. I don't expect to get rid of them all.


Inner tube was there to protect the frame if I overshot with the file. This was one of the trickier spots to file down. Only enough room for maybe a 2" file stroke.


Good enuf!


The top tube/seat tube junction wasn't easy either.

I removed the wheel covers from the rims tonight, they held their shape but they did not separate from the marine shrinkwrap as I had hoped. They aren't rigid but I might be able to use them. This means I need to make another set and only 1 month to go! So much to do on this bike and so little time.

The tires fit the frame and fork, but the steerer tube on the fork is too short so there's another project. Once the fork is in I can set to work on the truss rods.
 
Cool idea on the wheel covers. Frame looks happy also. Can't wait to see the frame/fork/wheels mocked up.
 
Walker, your frame work looks nice, especially compared to where this thing started. It looked like a blind man beat on the frame and pins!
 

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