Red Rocket Bomber (almost done 11*18*08)

[ponytailmike]

Re: Red Rocket Bomber(new photos and a video 10*15*08)

So I’ve been riding Red for a week…
And the brakes were working out great…
But the side pull brakes had a lot of flex in the arms and thought
For a Klunker… That will be hitting the trails as well the pavement…
I needed a brake set up that would not get ripped off the frame…
So…
I cut off some brake studs from a donor and added them to the front fork…
Used a piece of metal strap that had holes in it for my jig…
This jig setup worked really well… I know I’ll use it again…
Juggernaut was silver soldered…
I am using brass braze this time… Silver solder is a little pricey…

I would of taken more progress photos but it was getting dark…
Day pictures are just so much better…
With the front fork done…
I shelved the dual side pull brakes for an up grade…
I added some more brake studs to the frame…

I’ll be using a modified gyro cable splitter to operate the back brakes…
The handle bars, stem, brake handles,
and shift levers were also up graded…

It’s starting to get cold here in Kansas City…
I still need to get the frame and fork cleaned up and painted…
I think I need two warm 65-degree days…
Got my fingers crossed…

I’m loving all the builds guys…
Keep Up The Good Work All…

ponytailmike
mike

 

[thatismytruck]

Re: Red Rocket Bomber (new brakes 10*22*08)

Wow. This thing is great. I love the brazing you are doing. How are you going to pull the second rear brake? For the front, I wonder if you could drill a hole in the upper truss support and feed the single brake cable through it. (did that make sense? :roll: ) This would give you more power to your front brake right?


mind if I borrow the brake line idea?

 

[blink]

Re: Red Rocket Bomber (new brakes 10*22*08)

that thing is looking really cool....

i am using the same saddle on my Klunker Build.

 

[ponytailmike]

Re: Red Rocket Bomber (paint 10*26*08)

Hope everyone is happy and well…
Got most of the bugs worked out… At least for now…
The wind was blowing a nice constant 5mph with 15mph gust…
Certainly not a good day to paint… It is in the lower 60’s…
Why not… Red Rocket needed paint…
I used rust-oleum paint this time… Primer, paint, and clear…
The directions on the can of primer stated…
“Apply a second coat or top coat within 1 hour or after 48 hours”
The sunrise red stated…
“Apply a second coat or clear coat within 1 hour or after 48 hours”
She got the full treatment...
Painted her in about an hour and a half…

If this paint method works out, I may use more rust-oleum paint…
Time will tell…

ponytailmike
mike

 

[elvis51]

Re: Red Rocket Bomber (paint 10*26*08)

mike the red turned out really nice man!!! this bike will definately be in the top runnings imo.

Easy E

 

[ifitsfreeitsforme]

Re: Red Rocket Bomber (paint 10*26*08)

this is still my fave

i chuckled about your painting technique. i'm the same way. i'm the most impatient painter ever. i usually assemble the bike while tacky too.

 

[Rustinkerer]

Re: Red Rocket Bomber (paint 10*26*08)

That's gonna be one sweet ride! Btw, that's a Columbia/Westfield frame. The giveaway are the rear dropouts. Monark had similar frames, but their prewar frames had ears for dropstands. ~Adam

 

[ponytailmike]

Re: Red Rocket Bomber (just an update 10*31*08)

Happy Halloween… BOO… :shock:

This is my rear brake cable…
It’s a modified gyro SST front brake cable…
That’s a 1/8 inch locking collar I picked at the hardware store…
The original cable used an alloy plug molded to the cable…
The locking collar fit perfectly in the SST barrel…

This is my unfinished head badge…
It started as a piece of 7/8 refrigeration soft copper tubing…
I plan to use some steal stamps for the lettering…
And of course… Polish… Polish… Polish…

Well… gotta go…
Hope to have another update after the weekend…

ponytailmike
mike

Oh and by the way…
Thank you rustinkerer for the frame ID…
It helped a lot…

 

[ponytailmike]

Re: Red Rocket Bomber (more paint 11*02*08)

It was a beautiful weekend…
70 degrees both Saturday and Sunday…
Red got all hung up in some masking tape I had laying around…
Looks like she struggled for a bit…
I decided I would kool her off a bit and grabbed the wrong rattle can…

I just could not help myself Sunday afternoon…
I assembled the front fork on to the frame…
And then the tires…

Still undecided about the drivetrain…
The old front freewheel is a kool setup but…
I’m still looking around at different combinations…
I may put an old Suntour set up on her…
By the way… here’s the rat tool box build photos…

Got the nice old heavy tool box at a thrift store for 5 dollars…
The wagon parts were given to me…
All of a sudden… One day… About a month ago…
I thought that box has just been sitting… Let’s put on some wheels…
Sorry got a little off track there…
But hope you enjoyed the photos…

ponytailmike
mike

 

[Markm]

Re: Red Rocket Bomber (more paint 11*02*08)

WOW!!!!

 

[user 135]

Re: Red Rocket Bomber (more paint 11*02*08)

this is the koolest post all day. The pictures of the masking job are helpful. The tool box rocks.

 

[aka_locojoe]

Re: Red Rocket Bomber (more paint 11*02*08)

Nice job on the paint. Looks good.

 

[elvis51]

Re: Red Rocket Bomber (more paint 11*02*08)

mike this paint looks ridiculously awesome. im super jealous that this bike will be in your table and not mine!!!

Easy E

 

[ponytailmike]

Re: Red Rocket Bomber (fork darts 11*05*08)

This stencil trick worked out really well…
I started with a piece of foam insulation board…
Then laid three pieces of masking tape one on top of the other…
I folded back a corner on the tape this time…
Used an x-acto knife to cut out a pattern…

Using the folded corners to help separate the tape…
I then pealed the top two layers of tape off…
The first layer is stuck to the foam board…
Applied my two new stencils to the fork tube…
Masked off the surroundings area and shot some black…

Waited about 20 minutes…
Then pealed off the stencil…
I’ve found that removing the stencil early will soften the edges of the paint…
Got to be very careful though…
The paint is still real wet…

This last photo is Red with a couple of old Murray trikes…
I found both yesterday at two different thrift stores…
The red one almost literally had a wheel road off…
Back wheel is all wallowed out…
If they could only tell the stories of their youth…

I hope to start reassembling the Red Rocket Bomber in the next couple of days…
Can’t wait to make her rider again…

ponytailmike
mike

 

[ifitsfreeitsforme]

Re: Red Rocket Bomber (fork darts 11*05*08)

oh this bike is shweet. where do i vote??

 

[Bicyclerick]

Re: Red Rocket Bomber (fork darts 11*05*08)

Very nice Mike.

 

[ponytailmike]

Hello all…
It’s been so cold here…
I have not been able to make it outside to work on Red…
But finally… A warm day here in the mid-west…
Had a Spokesmen Club meeting Sunday at 2:00 pm…
I was up and working on Red at 8:00 am…
34 deg when I started and 56 deg when I had to get ready to go…
I can only wish for more warm days…
Red has been made a rider again…
Got my brakes reassembled… All three sets…
Installed an American three piece bmx bottom bracket…
Suntour triple chainring…
Robed a Suntour 14-30 freewheel…
And a Suntour 7 GT rear derailler…

At the meeting last month… Red got to meet a friend…
But she was not all prettied up and a little shy…
She introduced herself Sunday and had some photos taken…

This is KC Lancers bike… It’s a pre war bike of unknown make
He has recently installed a Sturmey Archer front drum brake…
And a Sturmey Archer three speed drum rear brake…
They’re laced to 700c… Such a pretty bike…

I’m down to the wire… But Red should be finished by the deadline…
Still need a to get a front derailler installed and hooked up…
I’m still undecided about the front chainring…
I like this triple…
But can’t use the matching Suntour 7 GT front derailler…
The cage is to short… Could go with a double chainring…
I don’t know… We’ll see what happens…
She is almost all done… Happy Klunking

ponytailmike
mike

 

[Rodland]

Great job. 8) bike.

 

[ifitsfreeitsforme]

man that bike could stop on a dime and have change left over! great bike.

 

[chimichanga]

That came out looking awesome.