Shoestring (DONE!)

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Not sure if this helps, it’s all I could find in my pile of stuff. A few years back someone on here posted tutorials on how to work on some of the coaster brake hubs, I don’t remember if they did the Komet or not, if you’re better at searching than I am you may be able to find it…
 
View attachment 200203Not sure if this helps, it’s all I could find in my pile of stuff. A few years back someone on here posted tutorials on how to work on some of the coaster brake hubs, I don’t remember if they did the Komet or not, if you’re better at searching than I am you may be able to find it…
Aren't the Komet hubs copies of the Sachs hubs? Or do I mix up stuff now?
 
View attachment 200203Not sure if this helps, it’s all I could find in my pile of stuff. A few years back someone on here posted tutorials on how to work on some of the coaster brake hubs, I don’t remember if they did the Komet or not, if you’re better at searching than I am you may be able to find it…
Hey, every bit of info helps! One thing I'm already seeing is that these Komet hubs apparently used a specialized spanner to take them apart. I would figure I could just use regular tools to take these apart, but I have not had that kind of luck, not even with a vice.

I'll definitely want to do a more thorough search on the forums and YouTube here in a bit. Thanks for the help though!
 
Made a little more progress this past week.

I finally got the coaster brake apart this morning, and while the internal bits seem mostly okay, the hub itself is not.
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These little chrome plating flakes fell out of the drive-side of the hub. From the looks of it, there's more that's about to flake out.
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The other side doesn't look as bad, but it looks like this hub isn't usable as it is right now. And since I don't want to spent time or money lacing in a new hub and truing the wheel, that means I need to use a different rear wheel. Fortunately, I have a couple to choose from!
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Backup option #1 looks alright. It's got good patina, it has a Bendix hub, odds are it might work as long as the hub's not messed up.
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Backup option #2 would be another good option, especially with the chrome that's flaking off the wheel itself. Even better, this wheel came off the same bike that I got the front wheel from, so it's a good match. The only issue is that it has a Komet Super coaster brake hub, and so far, I have not been able to take one of these hubs apart, despite my best efforts. I need a good tutorial on how to service these to really know what I'm doing.
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I also have these two loose Bendix coaster brake hubs, which if I wanted to, might be good for lacing into the current wheel I've been using. For now though, both are probably best for spare parts, especially since the one on the right is coming apart.
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I also have a 3rd wheel I could use, but I don't the patina (or lack thereof) it has. For now, I'm soaking the hubs in some PB Blaster to help loosen up everything.

I also made some more progress on my stickers last week. I was able to add some additional text to my Shoestring sticker to make it feel more like an authentic souvenir sticker. Instead of saying "I got my SHOESTRING at Pay Nothing Shoesource" like I had originally planned, I instead put "I got my SHOESTRING on Route 66." I feel this still works, since I technically bought this bike at a swap meet in Kellyville, Oklahoma, right off Route 66. It also would fit in with my "Dust Bowl" sticker I'm working on, since a lot of people travelled from places like Oklahoma to California on Route 66 during the Great Depression/Dust Bowl. I also changed the color of the sticker to brown, to simulate the black ink fading on the sticker, and a light gradient to simulate even more time baking in the sun. I even added a texture overlay from one of my photographs to simulate dirt and debris, in case my tea leaves/coffee grounds trick doesn't work like I want it to.
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I also worked on the custom head badge sticker, which I feel turned out very nicely.
I still haven't aged it, as I don't quite know how I want to go about it just yet.
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I'm hoping I can take these coaster brake hubs apart soon, so I can start cleaning up all the parts in my ultrasonic cleaner. In the meantime, I'm going to try and tackle the remaining work on the stickers, and all the other cosmetic stuff, like the tank insert and the headlight. I should also rinse out the frame, as there's a ton of rust dust built up inside of it. If I stuck the frame inside a kiddy pool full of water and just rinsed and dried it out to the best of my ability, do you think that'd work? I'm not planning on removing the exterior rust, but I wouldn't mind spraying the inside of the frame with a little rust preventative before reassembling everything.
The headbadge is FANTASTIC. That font is a great match. Now you have me thinking about what to do with this part of MY build-off bike...
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The headbadge is FANTASTIC. That font is a great match. Now you have me thinking about what to do with this part of MY build-off bike...
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Thanks man! I tried to get the font as close as possible to the original Murray font.

That's a good place to add your own signature to your bike! Built by Murray, rebuilt by ParkRNDL! Plus it's got a cool shape that could be really fun to fill in!
 
Lots of cool work going on. I like the dirty dancing you're doing with the tire. Shoe polish can help with that as well.
Killer graphics and decal design. Kepp up to good work!
 
Lots of cool work going on. I like the dirty dancing you're doing with the tire. Shoe polish can help with that as well.
Killer graphics and decal design. Kepp up to good work!
Thanks Kingfish! Yeah, Dad said something about that. What I'm thinking about doing is brushing a light layer of grease around the tire, but I might just try the shoe polish trick too. I've also thought about trying paint, but I'd like to be able to wash it off in case I change my mind later.
Thank you! Will do!
 
Alright! I just finished the 3rd sticker design for Shoestring! All that's left to do now is artificially age both this sticker and the last one I created, lay out all 3 sticker designs on a single page, and take them to the library to print them all out!
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Just to elaborate on this sticker and the reason behind it: The sticker is a spoof of Football logos for the Super/Rose Bowl, and even some racing stickers from the 1950s/1960s. It's a big reference to The Dust Bowl and The Great Depression of the 1930s, a time when a lot of folks didn't have a lot of money and had to make do with what little they had. Fitting, since this sticker's going on a bike that's all about making do with what I have without spending a bunch of money. This sticker references a particular phenomenon of the time where the dust, dirt and wind were so bad, that families would place their bowls upside-down on the table to keep the dirt out of them, and only flip them right-side-up when it was time to eat. So this sticker design shows an upside-down bowl on a table covered in halftone "dust," with the year when the Dust Bowl began, 1930, underneath the table in Roman numerals. I also covered the table in a red and white checkerboard tablecloth to add a little color, and suggest a hint of racing, like how the "Okies" raced to California to escape the dust and find a better way of life back in the day.
 
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck was a tremendous novel portraying the struggles of an Oklahoma family on their trip to the west. The struggles and heartbreak and disappointment in a dream that doesn't pan out provide perspective on current issues.
 
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck was a tremendous novel portraying the struggles of an Oklahoma family on their trip to the west. The struggles and heartbreak and disappointment in a dream that doesn't pan out provide perspective on current issues.

Struggles...heartbreak...disappointment....dream that doesn't pan out. Yep sounds just like current issues here in the RRBO. So many hopes and dreams, but only a few will win.
 
Every builder who completes a bikes, wins a bike.
And honestly, that's the best reward anyone can get for participating in these Build Offs. Sure, prizes and trophies are nice, but I enter these competitions to get my bike projects done. No better motivation than a friendly competition with a deadline!
 
I need to read that book sometime.
It’s a heart wrenching story, and it is guaranteed to depress you a little.

I have lived 47 years among those same massive orchards and vineyards in central Cal, where this trouble occurred in real life.

There were, and are, huge ancient oak trees here in many places, which is why there were the “Oakies.”

They came from all over the east, not just Oklahoma.

The locals called them that, because the immigrants slept out under the oaks at night.

It was another word for a homeless person or a tramp.
 

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