Custom Hawthorne

[Craiggo]

Well, its terribly muggy out there so I was only out for a little while . what i did find was one of my bikes that had EXACTLY what I need! too bad it has sentimental value AND retail value. It woud be a shame to see this emutilated

Here is a parts bike and I was wondering if I could convert it so it had a brake system?

Otherwise i'll just but one of these new 3 speed sturmeys... that reminds me does anyone have one laying around?

 

[Craiggo]

Is there any other sort of gear changer/ brake hub that i could use? (besides bendix) I was hoping to put a shifter on it... thaks

 

[Craiggo]

Update!!! I got the bike alot further along so i took some photos. all that seems to be left is to pinstripe where the red meets white due to a rough edge, buy two tires, I am in the process of wheeling and dealing a rear hub and spokes, assemble crank, assemble headpost bearing set and maybe decide if i want to paint a little something on the frame. the chainguard is finished, it is just a surprise...

I still need to decide whether i want white or black walled tires....

 

[erichitscar]

Looks great! I just finished my Hawthorne for the build off! Can't wait to see this one finished!

 

[ozzmonaut]

You could find a coaster brake 3-speed, but they are somewhat hard to come by, unless money is easy to come by for you. I've almost made the mistake of planning out rim brakes, then painting the rims. I like the color combo as well. Oh, and if you haven't found out yet, a "kickback", is a 2 speed coaster brake wheel that you kick back on the pedal slightly to change gears. @erichitscar: is the name a boyhitscar reference? awesome group, and my name is eric so I dig it even more

 

[Craiggo]

You could find a coaster brake 3-speed, but they are somewhat hard to come by, unless money is easy to come by for you. I've almost made the mistake of planning out rim brakes, then painting the rims. I like the color combo as well. Oh, and if you haven't found out yet, a "kickback", is a 2 speed coaster brake wheel that you kick back on the pedal slightly to change gears. @erichitscar: is the name a boyhitscar reference? awesome group, and my name is eric so I dig it even more

OOOH yeah i know what those are, I have never heard them called that i have one but i always call it just a blue band. I am working on purchasing a sears 3 speed brake hub from someone on the forum so that will be all set soon to come...

 

[Craiggo]

Im REALLY exited by the glimpse i got of this thing when i Whipped that old tire on, not the actual tire im going to use. but I am really exited now, the only thing is, I want to wet sand it some and clear it so that will take some time. I still need to get some 2000 grit sandpaper though . Other than that, I am pumped. there is a guy that I am going to buy a sears 3 speed brake hub from and I will tell him that tonight hopefully so he can get it on its way also he is gonna give me 35 spokes and i will supply the last one (luckily I saved some from the rear hub). Oh and I might bend a bar for the seatpost and put it right under the seat and through the seat frame, that will make it really low which is what I wanted but that plan might fall through all together and just keep it normal. who knows... I also found some screws and nuts to replace the ones that held on the fender bracket and chainguard.
Enough of me, Just have a look.

Perhaps you can see the rough line...

Does anyone know how to shorten these lines? otherwise ill just try and place it further back

Either put the shifter lever up here...

...or maybe down here if there isnt room on the stem.

Can you imagine where the seat post would go? I would like it to be there but that would require cutting out some of the seat support

 

[Craiggo]

I rigged up an adjustable cable for the soon to be three speed. Thats right, the three speed hub is somewhere between wisconsin and ohio! I still dont have sandpaper to wet sand the paint... so assembly hasnt started yet, just a little mock-up. I do have two cans of clear coat. so thats ready, I dont think im gonna bother with the seatpost right now, but i am planning on converting the generator headlight to battery power. speaking of which, are there any websites or threads you could point me to in order to do so? I will check on Instructables later. Here is my proud doing.

 

[MplsCoaster]

Hey Craiggo,

Nice job on the styling color scheme and laying it down so right 8)

I'm jealous of your wheel building skills.

Looking forward to seeing more

 

[Craiggo]

Thankyou^
here is the recent situation, I bought a sears 3 speed with a modern brake arm bolted on it, and the seller said it was a brake hub. I bought it for $25, and got it yesterday. The whole thing didn't seem like it worked right but I was convinced that it was a brake hub. I started to lace it and then I came to my senses and finally told myself that it was indeed not what I wanted. Well I took all the spokes back off tonight and quickly decided to disassemble the ralleigh with the brake hub that I wanted on my Hawthorne. I was about 3/4 of the way through the laces and only had a few left to unthread an then I took a second and I realized that I didn't count how many spokes I was working with, I just expected that it was 36. I quick counted in fear and passed 36... 37... 38... 39... 40! That's when I just closed shop and headed inside. I was so frustrated. Now I am still looking for a 36 spoke brake hub. I am done with Internet searching for now so this project may be at a stand still for awhile besides when I get it wet sanded... I still need to figure that out. If you read this whole tragic story, thanks Craig

 

[Three-Wire]

Like the bike so far! Good choices on colors and style... I like the ingenuity of your adjustable shifter cable, too! Nice work. 8)

Don't give up on the 3-speed coaster hub - it'll be worth it when you get your hands on one. I have a Shimano 3CC that I really like, and my wife has a SA 3-sp coaster on her Schwinn that we both like... Keep searching! When I tackled my uncompleted build-off bike I ended up in the same spoke-mismatch situation you're in right now - 40 hole rear, 32 hole front. Had to get another donor bike just for wheels.

Can you post a picture of the hub you got?

 

[ozzmonaut]

If you haven't gotten to clearcoating yet, you might want to get some blue vinyl painters tape. It has a cleaner edge. It is a pain to go back over something, but many times it is worth it to take the extra step rather than wait until a month after you are finished and decide to touch things up. Don't get me wrong, the paint looks good, and the color scheme is awesome. But the longer you have it and look at it, you might start telling yourself that you wish you'd cleaned up the lines. You can spend 20 minutes taping and painting now, or hours on disassembly, getting bearing grease everywhere, taping, painting, drying, reassembly. Just friendly ideas.

 

[Wolf's Den Garage]

Build is looking great! If you run white tires on that thing...watch out! It'll be ridiculously sick!

 

[Craiggo]

If you haven't gotten to clearcoating yet, you might want to get some blue vinyl painters tape. It has a cleaner edge. It is a pain to go back over something, but many times it is worth it to take the extra step rather than wait until a month after you are finished and decide to touch things up. Don't get me wrong, the paint looks good, and the color scheme is awesome. But the longer you have it and look at it, you might start telling yourself that you wish you'd cleaned up the lines. You can spend 20 minutes taping and painting now, or hours on disassembly, getting bearing grease everywhere, taping, painting, drying, reassembly. Just friendly ideas.

I totally agree actually. I dont think I did a good job on the paint. I used the wrong painters tape thanks for the advice. I havent started on assembly yet and it has been sitting there in pieces for a loong time now... we will see, but I will strongly consider that

Build is looking great! If you run white tires on that thing...watch out! It'll be ridiculously sick!

hmm... that sounds interesting :wink: now its either white or black... wont white get dirty really quick though?

 

[Wolf's Den Garage]

Yup. They do. But like everyone else, just called it "patina!" Ha!

 

[ozzmonaut]

Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying you did a bad job on the paint. Everyone will see it and really like it. The only one who will notice the flaws will be you. But you're the one whose opinion matters about it. I have a bike I spent hours taping and painting with good tape. It has clean lines and people usually have good things to say about the bike. But over the past couple of years I notice all of the little things, and now it's on my list to completely redo.

 

[mainejeeps]

i have several 3 speed coster brake sturmy archer hubs. what spoke count are you looking for ?

 

[Craiggo]

I have done a few changes in design today. I have been swamped with some other bikes in the way but I somehow found time for this one. I found how to get the seat position I want.
I will use a cheater bar and a heating torch to get this bar in the right angle. This should drop it a little and improve the looks a bit more.

I also have a hub that I am considering using. The only thing is, I dont know how it shifts, that obviously isnt the right part on the end of that axle.

This shifter should be easier to add a cool attachment on to.

 

[SCHWINNRAY69]

Sweet build!

 

[Craiggo]

I was at a swap meet, and picked up this tank for my neglected bike.

here is the whole mis-mash of parts for this bike, kinda sad.

I really wish I wouldve taken advantage of the heat to paint it again but now it is cold and Im trying to get a good opprotunity to repaint it but I may just wet sand what I have and see how that goes also, what do people usually do about the lens being shattered, besides buying new, is there anything to replace it with?

Here is a Firestone similar to my hawthorne at the swap meet that the guy wouldnt go any under $85 for. hahaha

needless to say, it never sold