THE BUDDHA BUILD

BOXKARS
Shop deals on ebay
Bike Wall
Advertise with us
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.
Riverbend Bicycles

Riverbend Bicycles

Joined
May 26, 2008
Messages
123
Reaction score
20
Location
Worland, Wyoming
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I've decided to try a new design on an old method. I'm calling it the buddha because of it's fat, belly like shape.
This is the basic design using my proprietary CAD ( cardboard aided drawing) software.
IMGP3238.jpg


These are the rolled and formed 20 gauge sheetmetal pieces welded together.
IMGP3239.jpg

IMGP3240.jpg

I'll hopefully have more to post tomorrow. This bike will be more rat rod looking than my others. I've got some whitewall Thick Bricks and a few other ideas.
 
There's a bike at the Bicycle Museum of America that uses a spoke frame like that. I wish I could find a pic of it, may give you some ideas. I'll post it if I ever find it.
 
the line about CAD is great. very nice design and i like the idea of using that squared off metal. thinking outside the ol' box i like it
 
I decided that I wanted louvers somewhere on the bike. The problem is that nobody in my town does this. After watching some youtube videos I chose to try and make my own. I now realize that if there's somebody close by that can do it, let them. I spent close to a day making 10 louvers. That time includes making the louver die for my press and then making a mess out of a lot of sheet metal. The problem is the materials I used for the die. The first five went perfect, but then the die started to dull and the second five took four tries to get it right.

Here's a picture of the louver die.
IMGP3241.jpg

IMGP3242.jpg


Here's the finished side panels.
IMGP3247.jpg


I also was able to get my wheels laced up and the tires mounted.
IMGP3250.jpg
 
amazing! love the homebrew louver press, its pretty sweet. i bet if you hardened the cutting side, itd probably stay sharp longer. you know where you heat it to red cherry hot, then let it cool completely in used motor oil, id say 12 hours?
 
Riverbend Bicycles said:
The problem is the materials I used for the die. The first five went perfect, but then the die started to dull and the second five took four tries to get it right.
Riverbend Bicycles said:
Did you cut the straight edges before stamping? if you drill the corners of the louver opening then cut between them you shouldn't need a sharp die and it will prevent stress cracks in the corners as well. I've seen this method used with only a lower die and a nice hammer.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
I was able to get some work done yesterday and today. I got the back end pieced together. I also got my least favorite job of aligning everything and tacking it all in place. The headtube, bottom bracket shell and back end are spotted and ready to be welded. No matter how many times I measure, level, remeasure, and relevel, there's always one little thing that I'll overlook. But it turned out pretty good and I'll leave it alone. I'm hoping to get the side panels on before the end of the week and I'll post some pictures of that.

The start of the back end pieces.
IMGP3248.jpg


Here's some pictures after everything was aligned and tacked in place.
IMGP3266.jpg

IMGP3267.jpg
 
Why was I given the gift of Culinary Arts... When all I ever wanted to do was make cool stuff like this!!!!!!
I am glued to this thread. You really have inspired me to try and put some of my crazy ideas in my head into metal...
 

Latest posts

Back
Top