Cut, chop, shuffle, let's see what happens!

[auditech10]

I have been a member on this site for a while, but have decided to join my first build off. I spent some time thinking of a direction to go, and an ultimate goal. That has proved to be troublesome. Instead, I'm going to make it up as I go. I know I am going to use the Porsche GT3 wheel pictured. The rest will be using the pile of frames in the corner. My sawzall will be my guide. I am looking forward to the many challenges I am sure to encounter. More so, I am looking forward to see all the other build off bikes that come together. Good luck, and happy building!

 

[G-Matt]

May the sparks be with you [emoji95]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[squirreldh]

Glad you decided to do your first build off! My first was this past winter and now I am addicted... good luck! Off topic, but what is that rigid orange Specialized in the background? Looks bmx-ey, Fatboy?

keep the rubber side down!

 

[KOTA]

I have been a member on this site for a while, but have decided to join my first build off. I spent some time thinking of a direction to go, and an ultimate goal. That has proved to be troublesome. Instead, I'm going to make it up as I go.

Heck! In all the build offs I've ever been in....I've never had a plan. This build off will be no exception. My philosophy was always: If ya got a plan, something will change or go wrong anyway. No plan, EVERYTHING'S a surprise!....Good Luck!

 

[Funkme]

Welcome to the build-off.Always great having fresh builders in the mix.

 

[LukeTheJoker]

Looking forward to seeing that wheel on a bike!

 

[OddJob]

Welcome to the build off fun!

 

[auditech10]

squirreldh, that is indeed a Specialized Fatboy. I think it may be safe from the saw blade, the lines don't really flow the way I like.

 

[wheels]

Cool Man! We are kindred spirits This is my first entry in the B.O. too and I'm also throwing a car wheel on the back! (though not as cool as yours) That's going to be awesome!

 

[auditech10]

Almost a month later, and I am back to post my progress. I am a very quiet person, I tend to keep to myself. It appears that I am just as quiet on forums. Ill start with some pics of the rear wheel. The bearing and axle for the rear wheel is what I thought would be the most trouble, so I focused on that first. Being a center lug wheel, I needed to find centering cones to eliminate radial runout. A cheap bearing driver set from amazon did the trick.

For lateral runout, I made a 1/4" thick plate to but up against the back of the wheel. Instead of trying to put a bearing in the center of the wheel, I made a solid axle mounted to the wheel, with out board bearings. Black pipe with all thread inside protruding about 2" on each side to mount through a flange bearing on each side. The black pipe is threaded 6" so as to clamp the centering cone, plate, and wheel into one solid assembly. The folks at Lowes looked at me funny when I asked to thread the pipe 6". 4 pipes welded to the plate and pipe will stabilize the plate and axle.

A small sprocket will be welded to the black pipe to later be connected to the internal geared hub/jackshaft. And finally a pic of the business end of the wheel.

 

[auditech10]

My computer is not liking long posts, so I have to break it down into little bits. Maybe I should start posting as I make progress. In my defense, this post all took place today. After chopping up a few of the frames I had in the corner, I found I had no usable parts, and just made it easier to place in the scrap bin. I've decided to build a full frame. An order to speedymetals and I was ready to go. I started by mocking up a design for the main frame

I set up my new tubing bender and got to work. I am building quiet a fabrication setup in my garage, and becoming very good friends with the employees at Harbor Freight. I am very pleased with how the tubes turned out. No kinks, and the bender worked fantastic.

Next up is miters and tacking. I need to remember to be patient, and take my time. The more time spent in preparation, is less time spent in clean up.

 

[LukeTheJoker]

Loving it!

 

[auditech10]

Mitering of the bottom tube is complete! After attempting to setup several devices to notch the tubes, for about 2 hours, I decided to go at it with a half-round file. It took me less than an hour. Sometimes by hand is still the easiest and fastest way.

I couldn't resist another mock up. This time with rear stays in a ball park location, as well as a reference point for a seat. I think I'm going to join the 2 top tubes into one, because they flow so well together. A bracket for the seat at the joint, and a seat, will help to make it look like one complete tube. I'm still tossing around the idea of building a springer front fork, but I'm afraid it will make the build look too "busy".

 

[auditech10]

started welding up the main frame this evening. a little twist in the frame, not too bad. going to let it hang out on some bricks and see if it gets its act together. Just in case anyone is wondering, these are calibrated bricks, precision instruments.

 

[kingfish254]

That wheel is sick and I'm liking the lines of you frame layout so far.

 

[auditech10]

Thanks kingfish254, I'm digging the line so far as well. My wife has officially named the bike, "Fat Bottomed Girl". I am making good progress, but its working out to one joint mitered per evening. Not as fast as I was hoping, but not too bad.
This is one side of the "seat stay" ready for welding.

 

[Indyjps]

Well, well, you are not messing around, scratch built frame, Porsche parts. Patiently waiting to see some more.

 

[auditech10]

More progress! The seat tubes are mitered, and welded to the frame. The curve of the tubes and the way they are mitered made them meet directly beside each other. I have included a picture of my terrible welds for your enjoyment!

Next up are the chain stays. Everything is coming together well so far.

 

[auditech10]

Chain stays are bent, and mocked up. This evening will hopefully see the rear tacked, and a support for the seat stays bent and mitered. It looks like the only items I'll be using from my first post will be the wheels and fork. I heard something this morning that pretty much sums up this entire build. I will try my best to get it right. "If you listen to someone else, you end up building it for them. You start with a clean spot on the floor, if it works, it's yours, if not you have no one to blame but yourself"

 

[auditech10]

Last evening saw a decent amount of progress. The chain stays are welded in place. I never had much practice welding, but this build has really helped me progress. Just in the time from my last post to know, it has improved quite a bit, if I do say so myself.

I cut off the excess tubing at the bottom of the frame, and started shaping caps to cover the openings. I am extending the caps about 8 inches to act as a gusset for the bottom junctions.