SWB0 E=mc2 (relatively finished)

[The Renaissance Man]

I've finished the paintwork on the RMS and am now waiting to schedule time with a professional pinstriper next. So this weekend I'm planning to get some work done on the Higgins.
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The only part that I'm missing is the trusses for the fork. I don't think I'll find what I need (anytime soon) so I decided to make them. I've got a couple of other JC Higgins bikes with trusses to use as a guide.

To get the radius bends smooth and correctly shaped, I made a die for my compact metal bender. The die was made by sandwiching the desired radius between two slightly larger discs to create a channel. After bending my first test piece, I quickly realized that I didn't allow for the spring back of the metal. So the first attempt was a failure.

The initial die wasn't a complete waste though. The first test piece was used to calculate how much smaller to make a second die and it worked perfectly.
Here's the correct die in the bender and the successful test part. You can see the first die in the background.

Now that the tooling is done, I'll start working on the actual pieces tomorrow.

 

[BDC]

And we *know* what happens with the foil afterwards.

 

[The Renaissance Man]

Today is fabrication day! So far this bike has just been an exercise in cleaning and servicing but this is the fun stuff.

Luckily I have an original Higgins that I restored a few years ago to use the truss from as a pattern. The only problem is that it is a 24" bike so I'll have to make some adjustments to the overall length.

I was able to find a set of trusses in my stash (not sure what they came from) to use. The main thing that I wanted was decent chrome and the flanges for the axles. Neither of which I would want to do myself.

The first thing was to straighten them so that I would have a clean starting point to work with.

Ready to start!

 

[The Renaissance Man]

And we *know* what happens with the foil afterwards.


View attachment 259406

That's awesome! I just noticed the screen!

 

[The Renaissance Man]

This picture shows several elements of the process. At the top, you can see the rusty test piece. Below that are the trusses from the 24" bike. Next (wrapped in white tape) is the first truss after the bend. At the bottom (in the metal bender) is the second truss positioned to mirror the first one.

A closer look shows some guidelines on the white tape. These lines were critical for ensuring that the rod was positioned in the bending die at the correct location. The flat area at the axle hole had to be rotated a few degrees off center so that the bends would angle in toward the stem. It was also critical that the bend started and stopped at an exact location (marked with green tape) so that the distance between the axle and the stem bracket was correct.

I quadruple-checked all of these reference points before the first bend and I was still nervous about whether or not I had everything positioned correctly! After bending the first one and checking it against the doner I was confident enough to bend the second piece.

The first stage of bending was done.

 

[The Renaissance Man]

The second step was to make the near 90° bends at the top to be joined together for the top of the loop.

Again, a lot of time was taken to know exactly where to make the bend and to determine the correct direction of the bend. This was done in the vise using a cheater bar slid over the rod.

Up until now, everything was checked against the doner truss. At this point I was finally able to check the work on the bicycle and much to my relief, it lined up like it should!

The mirror image bend was made on the second piece and here are the two parts joined at the top with tape.

 

[The Renaissance Man]

Time to make it one piece.

First I traced the profile from the original.

Made a final check to confirm that the bends were right on each side.

Next, I measured and marked the center of the pattern.

Everything was then loaded up and taken to my cousin's shop.

The cardboard center mark was transferred to each half and the excess was cut away. Next I set everything up and welded the two halves together.

I think grinders were invented for people who weld like I do.

Done!

 

[The Renaissance Man]

The truss rods are on and the new headlight is now old.

Sorry about the crappy picture. Better pics coming soon.

All that is left is to get a D-cell battery and this one is done!

 

[The Renaissance Man]

I've saved one big surprise (relatively speaking) for the end. As soon as the 'Finished Thread' is open I'll post the big reveal!

(Okay, it's actually a small reveal but I'm still going to wait.)BTW, there are clues in some previous posts.

 

[Captain Awesome]

As soon as the 'Finished Thread' is open

 

[The Renaissance Man]

I thought it was locked.

 

[Captain Awesome]

I thought it was locked.

I unlocked it just for you

 

[The Renaissance Man]

OK, I'll be posting in the finished thread sooner than expected then. Maybe tomorrow if time allows.

 

[The Renaissance Man]

"We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them." -Albert Einstein

I had a problem to solve. There was only one way that I could think of to make 1.5" tires look reasonable on a balloon tire bike.

 

[The Renaissance Man]

It is finished.

 

[The Renaissance Man]

The only part that I'm missing is the trusses for the fork. I don't think I'll find what I need (anytime soon) so I decided to make them.

It should make more sense now why I needed to make the trusses. The odds of finding an original set for such a rare bike as this are very slim!

 

[68z27]

Craftsmanship.

Time to make it one piece.

First I traced the profile from the original.

View attachment 259487

Made a final check to confirm that the bends were right on each side.

View attachment 259488
View attachment 259489

Next, I measured and marked the center of the pattern.

View attachment 259490

Everything was then loaded up and taken to my cousin's shop.

The cardboard center mark was transferred to each half and the excess was cut away. Next I set everything up and welded the two halves together.

View attachment 259491

I think grinders were invented for people who weld like I do.

Done!

View attachment 259492

 

[OddJob]

Just passing through.... how wide are the tires? Looks like pretty regular cruiser width rims, curious how narrow a tire you were able to get to fit.

 

[The Renaissance Man]

Just passing through.... how wide are the tires? Looks like pretty regular cruiser width rims, curious how narrow a tire you were able to get to fit.

20x1.5

 

[The Renaissance Man]

Now that the build-off is behind us, it's safe to try some illegal 2.125 sized tires!

They look HUGE!