The Renaissance Man
__CERTIFIED DIVER__ (Open Water & Open Dumpster)
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So, I got this Shockmaster fork from uneasy rider a couple of weeks ago and have been trying to get it ready to install on Old Glory sense then. With a lot of help from Terry66, I've got it to the point of fitting it up today.
There were a lot of issues to resolve before I got to this point. First of all, it had to undergo a ... change operation. You can see it here if you're interested:http://www.ratrodbikes.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=68182. I also had to straighten the base of the steer tube before the surgery.
Today I fabricated the upper truss rods and bracket. Lowe's wanted about $7 for a 3' piece of 3/8" rod. I went instead to a local steel-distributor and bought a 20' stick for $11.50. Of course I only used about 30" so now I have a surplus for down the road. I won't even start on nuts and bolts from Fastenal vs. Lowe's. I digress.
Anyway, I didn't have a bracket and didn't want to wait to try and find one, so I took an old ten speed stem mounted shifter and repurposed it. After removing the shifters, I cut, bent and drilled it to meet my needs. I heated the metal so that it wouldn't break in order to bend the tabs from down to up. It's not like the original, but would fool an untrained eye.
To make a pattern for the rods, I stumbled on to a neat trick. I was looking around the shop for something to use and saw a section of rubber hose that I use for bleeding brakes that was close to 3/8" O.D.. It was about at that moment that Gumby flashed into my mind! :idea: So I cut a piece of hanger wire and slid it in the tube and could then bend it into the shape that I wanted to simulate the eventual steel rod. I ended up putting a second wire in it to make it stiffer (the Bionic Gumby!). I would insert a picture here, but it wouldn't be near as interesting as your imagination could make it.
I still have more to do, like finishing to 'new old' paint and replacing the pivot bolts with pins and aging the new nuts and washers and on and on bla bla bla.
I'll update with a better picture as soon as it's rolling again.
There were a lot of issues to resolve before I got to this point. First of all, it had to undergo a ... change operation. You can see it here if you're interested:http://www.ratrodbikes.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=68182. I also had to straighten the base of the steer tube before the surgery.
Today I fabricated the upper truss rods and bracket. Lowe's wanted about $7 for a 3' piece of 3/8" rod. I went instead to a local steel-distributor and bought a 20' stick for $11.50. Of course I only used about 30" so now I have a surplus for down the road. I won't even start on nuts and bolts from Fastenal vs. Lowe's. I digress.
Anyway, I didn't have a bracket and didn't want to wait to try and find one, so I took an old ten speed stem mounted shifter and repurposed it. After removing the shifters, I cut, bent and drilled it to meet my needs. I heated the metal so that it wouldn't break in order to bend the tabs from down to up. It's not like the original, but would fool an untrained eye.
To make a pattern for the rods, I stumbled on to a neat trick. I was looking around the shop for something to use and saw a section of rubber hose that I use for bleeding brakes that was close to 3/8" O.D.. It was about at that moment that Gumby flashed into my mind! :idea: So I cut a piece of hanger wire and slid it in the tube and could then bend it into the shape that I wanted to simulate the eventual steel rod. I ended up putting a second wire in it to make it stiffer (the Bionic Gumby!). I would insert a picture here, but it wouldn't be near as interesting as your imagination could make it.
I still have more to do, like finishing to 'new old' paint and replacing the pivot bolts with pins and aging the new nuts and washers and on and on bla bla bla.
I'll update with a better picture as soon as it's rolling again.
