Cappy.

[Blackwell]

Hey — some of you might have seen the bottle cap headbadge I created for my rust bike (http://www.ratrodbikes.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=16090):

I flattened a handful of caps before deciding on the Guinness; as I was flattening them, I was thinking it would be cool to cover an entire frame in overlapping caps, kinda like fish scales. Then I thought that would be an insane amount of work, so I said forget it. And then a couple months later I decided to do it anyway! So I bought a craigslist Huffy for 35 bucks (I don't have before photos, but it was a rideable bike with just a little surface rust and in need of some lube on the chain and bearings. It came with fenders and a chainguard that says "Savannah," but the images of Savannahs I googled don't look like this frame, so I'm not really sure what it is.)
Anyway, I took it apart, primered the frame, and started flattening a LOT of caps. I'm almost halfway through attaching them to the frame: here's how it's looking so far:

Once all the caps are attached, I'll give it a nice glossy clear coat. I really want the frame to stand out, so everything else (all the chrome, fenders, chainguard, welds, etc.) will be black. Except maybe the rims; I think all black may be too much, so.... red rims? Not sure yet. I'll have to see what color jumps out at me once the frame is done, and paint the rims a complimentary color.
If anyone has a cool idea for grips, I'm open for suggestions. Caps on the bar ends is sort of an obvious answer; I'm hoping to think of something else. I could do the chain grips I did on my rust bike, but I'm trying to think of something new.
The New Belgium Tour de Fat is coming to So. Cal. in October, so I'm hoping to have it done by then. I'll post more photos as I get closer. I still have about 150 caps to flatten... :shock:

 

[tulsacruiser]

Man i love this idea! I'm jealous I didnt think of it first, haha. What is your method for flatting the caps? Hammer? This great!

 

[Dman]

Yeah, that is too cool! Gonna look awesome, especially with a clear over it. Any ideas on how much weight it'll add to the frame?

 

[DonQui]

it seems to me this might be time consuming. but its a great idea, unique, i wanna see the finished product.

i think i might b at TDF so i t b nice if i saw your bike there...

 

[herr_rudolf]

Always nice to come across ideas that haven't been done before. (or at least seen by me ;-)
8)

 

[Blackwell]

Thanks for the comments guys; I appreciate it!

tulsacruiser — I'm using a rubber mallet and a regular steel hammer, and flattening them on an anvil vice. I have some pics that I'll post, in case someone else wants to make themselves a bottle cap headbadge (or cover their frame in caps...)

Dman — the caps are surprisingly light; even with all those caps and glue (I'm using Gorilla Glue, which expands so I only have to use a little), it's not adding much weight. I'll throw it on the scale when I'm done.

Don Qui — "time consuming" is an understatement! I've gotten the flattening down pretty quick now, but it still takes about 1.5 to 2 minutes per cap, and I figure there will be about 400 on this thing. And the gluing process takes even longer.

herr_rudolph — thank you, sir! I actually did a search for "bottle cap bike" before I started, and didn't see anything like it out there, so I'm hoping it's an original.

 

[yoothgeye]

Posting so that I can keep up with this, should be very cool. I'd catch heck for something like this being a southern baptist minister and all (we only drink when nobody is looking and then judge others for doing the same), but it would be cool to do a N/A version, just harder to get a good variety of soda bottle caps.

 

[Blackwell]

OK, here's a quick how-to on the caps, in case anyone wants to make headbadges, handlebar cappers, pasties, whatever:

Rubber mallet/anvil corner combo works great. Any solid metal slab with a good corner would do, though. Just keep turning the cap and flattening out the crimps until you get a nice concave shape. (I use the rubber mallet so it doesn't scratch up the face of the cap too much, but a regular hammer works too.) Then lay it face up on the anvil surface, cover it with a shop towel, and really just smack the snot out of it, all over. This'll flatten it and loosen up the liner, which you can peel off. Some peel easier than others. Flip it over, and using a regular hammer you can smooth it all out. If there are still stubborn bits of liner stuck to it, just smack 'em real good at this point and you should be able to get the rest of it off. There ya go! Now go drink a couple more beers so you have more to work with...

 

[kingsting]

Very cool idea! 8)

I've been a bottle cap collector for 38 years! Why didn't I think of this??? :roll:

 

[tulsacruiser]

Hows this coming?

 

[Blackwell]

tc — it's coming along, but slowly. I spent the last couple weeks moving, so I didn't have a lot of time to spend on it, but I did stomp another couple handfuls of caps, and I have it all set up now in the new garage. I hope to have at least the fork completely covered and clearcoated soon; I'll post pics when I do.

kingsting — If I had caps I'd been collecting for 38 years, I don't think I'd want to ruin them by gluing them to a cheapo bike! :lol: (But I guess it is a good way to display them...)

yoothgeye — a soda version would be cool, too; there are a couple of soda caps on this thing, but 99% are beer caps. The owner and bartenders at the beer bar I hang out at did me a favor and collected caps for me (big thanks to Selma's Tap Room in Rancho Santa Margarita!) If you have a place like BevMo in your area that also sells lots of varieties of sodas, you could probably get a bunch of caps from them. Or just use beer caps anyway and call it your "Vice Bike"!

 

[yoothgeye]

Or just use beer caps anyway and call it your "Vice Bike"!

haha, in that case I'll have to cover my bike with vienna sausage cans.

 

[nelvolks]

Very cool and mad props for originality.....

 

[tulsacruiser]

haha, in that case I'll have to cover my bike with vienna sausage cans.[/quote]

Nasty! I used to eat those when I was younger but then I tried them again recently and I couldnt do it.

 

[pvwacko]

You definitly need to take this to a Tour De Fat when it's done!!!

 

[kingsting]

kingsting — If I had caps I'd been collecting for 38 years, I don't think I'd want to ruin them by gluing them to a cheapo bike! :lol: (But I guess it is a good way to display them...)

I have three huge underbed style containers (they hold about 10,000 caps each) that are filled with common trade stock from the 70's, 80's and 90's. Most of it is worthless, even to collectors. They would be perfect for a project like yours.

I showed your pictures to Mrs. Kingsting and she thinks it's a cool idea. Mind if we copy it? 8) 8) 8)

 

[Blackwell]

I have three huge underbed style containers (they hold about 10,000 caps each) that are filled with common trade stock from the 70's, 80's and 90's. Most of it is worthless, even to collectors. They would be perfect for a project like yours.

I showed your pictures to Mrs. Kingsting and she thinks it's a cool idea. Mind if we copy it? 8) 8) 8)

Do it! There's another forum member who might be doing one, too — it'd be cool to see a fleet of these! And it sounds like you have enough caps...
I'll warn you though, it's a lot of tedious work. Flattening, shaping and gluing the caps is really time-consuming. I'll post some shots soon of how I'm clamping these things to the frame while the glue sets.
I was working on some other parts over the weekend (sanding, priming and painting the wheels and fenders.) Not too exciting, but here are some of the random bits in various stages of completion:

While I was sanding the bars, this little guy fluttered into the garage and landed on them. He probably sat there 5 minutes - long enough for me to yell into my wife to have her bring the camera. I've never seen a mantis around here before; maybe it's an omen. Who knows, maybe the rims and other accents on the bike will end up a pale green like him:

 

[Blackwell]

Stick a fork in it...

Finally some progress. The fork is done; I wish the frame was close. We've had some rain here, so I didn't get all the painting done that I wanted, but I did get a few more caps glued to the frame. The forecast looks clear and sunny for the next week, so I'm gonna make a big push to get as much done as possible. Here's a shot of the fork; this really doesn't do it justice. It's really shiny - reminds me of a fishing lure, with all the flashing colors when you look at it in full light. My wife called it "obnoxious." Haha -- perfect:

And here's a shot of my high-tech clamping technique; fishing line wrapped tightly around the glued caps, which is then weighted down with a heavy tool. I can only do a few at a time, since they get a little squirrely and slip around, but at least on the frame I can do multiple tubes at once. And, with the thinner tubes, it only takes 2 caps to wrap around them, and once they're bent to shape, they snap onto the tube. That lets me do about 8 or 10 at a time on a single thin tube:

 

[pickle]

any updates??

 

[Blackwell]

Re: Cappy. Finished-ish.

Updates! I do have updates...
I've been meaning to post for a while; I pulled an all-nighter on Oct. 22, the night before New Belgium's Tour de Fat in Los Angeles. I was able to get almost all the caps glued to the frame at that time, and I put most of it back together so it was at least rideable. Since then, I've finished all the gluing, but I still haven't finished the fenders, or replaced the seat and handlebars like I wanted to. Eventually I'll find a nice vintage black leather saddle, and I'll either cut and bend the existing bars, or find some older bars that I like (I'm not digging these wide, 80s-style bars.)
So anyway, the bike got some attention at the Tour de Fat; people seemed to really like it. And I can't recommend the TdF highly enough! My wife and I had a blast. If it rolls into a city near you next year, you should definitely check it out.
I'll take some more pics once I have it totally done, with the fenders, saddle and bars, but here's a shot I took as it looks now: