Thanks!
The Copper Chopper!
- Thread starter expjawa
- Start date
Help Support Rat Rod Bikes Bicycle Forum:
I'm in the dirty mind club haha. But yes the fins help
Sent from my PG86100 using Tapatalk
Sent from my PG86100 using Tapatalk
LOL. Well, one more thing of note from yesterday - I filed a bevel around the back side edge of the lens (including over the screw bosses). The picture is poor, sorry:
But with that, it fits nicely just below flush inside the cone, like it was supposed to be there.
I'll make a couple of small angle brackets that I can rivet to the inside of the cone to allow me to use the screw holes. I still have to figure out the actual lighting of it, but that's almost secondary...
But with that, it fits nicely just below flush inside the cone, like it was supposed to be there.
I'll make a couple of small angle brackets that I can rivet to the inside of the cone to allow me to use the screw holes. I still have to figure out the actual lighting of it, but that's almost secondary...
So, I learned something important while in the shop last night: don't spray paint stuff when wearing sandals:
Fortunately, it cleaned up with some scrubbing... But on to other things. The crankset, painted "hammertone" copper:
I think it'll need another coat to be hammerytonier. I found that the headset cups were loose in the frame, and came out in my hands. They seemed to measure a little undersize. Same goes for the crown race. I had a new Schwinn-sized headset, so I installed that. The bottom bracket cups that I installed also were on the loose side. I was able to push them in with my hands up to the last .030" or so, and seated them with the press. I would think they ought to have a tighter press fit than that, or, at least things like that do in automotive applications. On the topic of the headlight, I cut out a chunk of foam to fit inside the cone, with a hole in the center to support a bike headlight:
I'll make up some mounting tabs for the lens and maybe use some Velcro to attach it. That would let me remove the lens easily to turn the light on and off, and does away with the need for external wiring, batteries and switches. And I have a blink mode. The light installed and on:
More to come, stay tuned!
Fortunately, it cleaned up with some scrubbing... But on to other things. The crankset, painted "hammertone" copper:
I think it'll need another coat to be hammerytonier. I found that the headset cups were loose in the frame, and came out in my hands. They seemed to measure a little undersize. Same goes for the crown race. I had a new Schwinn-sized headset, so I installed that. The bottom bracket cups that I installed also were on the loose side. I was able to push them in with my hands up to the last .030" or so, and seated them with the press. I would think they ought to have a tighter press fit than that, or, at least things like that do in automotive applications. On the topic of the headlight, I cut out a chunk of foam to fit inside the cone, with a hole in the center to support a bike headlight:
I'll make up some mounting tabs for the lens and maybe use some Velcro to attach it. That would let me remove the lens easily to turn the light on and off, and does away with the need for external wiring, batteries and switches. And I have a blink mode. The light installed and on:
More to come, stay tuned!
Cool light!
I installed the new headset on the frame and fork, letting me actually install the fork, pick out a stem, and put the bars on. So it starts to take some shape.
The steer tube seems to be oddly offset to the front of the fork crown, which makes the fork legs look shifted back slightly on the frame. I'm not sure why, but it does appear to be manufactured that way. Maybe the fork crown was machined out of tolerance by Schwinn originally. Either way, it is what it is. I put another coat of hammertone copper on the crankset, and painted the fender stays at the same time:
I ought to be able to put the crank in tonight, and tentatively put the wheels on. Of course, at this stage, the wheels will probably be on/off several times. Once I have the front wheel on, I can layout the truss rods and make those too...
The steer tube seems to be oddly offset to the front of the fork crown, which makes the fork legs look shifted back slightly on the frame. I'm not sure why, but it does appear to be manufactured that way. Maybe the fork crown was machined out of tolerance by Schwinn originally. Either way, it is what it is. I put another coat of hammertone copper on the crankset, and painted the fender stays at the same time:
I ought to be able to put the crank in tonight, and tentatively put the wheels on. Of course, at this stage, the wheels will probably be on/off several times. Once I have the front wheel on, I can layout the truss rods and make those too...
Love ape hangers! Are those wheel discs I spy there on the steps?
Luke.
Luke.
Um, yeah. Didn't I mention that before? I have a set of disc covers (plastic ones) that have been in a box behind my furnace for a couple of years. I decided this is the place to use them, unless I don't like how they look. I painted them satin black. Here's the front wheel:
Full (partial) disclosure: I have another potential trick up my sleeve here, but I'm not sure if it'll work. If it does, it'll be very cool. If not, well, nothing to see here...
I'll know more on that after the weekend.
Alright, do my tail lights look a little more appropriate if they look something like this?
I'm probably actually going to do two fins about 120 degrees apart, with the rocket itself being mounted to the top of a larger fin. The fin is made from a scrap of copper sheeting I had, though the color difference is harder to pick out in the photo.
Other than that, I went over all the old paint with polishing compound and found it shined up reasonably well were it wasn't scratched off. I drilled out the rivets for the fender stays. I'll paint the stays copper in the next day or so, the reattach with copper rivets. I have to borrow my father's rivet gun though. This also gives me a chance to more or less straighten the ends of the fender without the stays getting in the way.
The fins help. More of a Flesh Gordon look now.
LOL
OK, update time. After putting another coat on the crankset, I installed that last night.
You can sort of see the hammertoniness (I'm pretty sure that is the technical term) of the finish. Once nice thing is that it hides flaws fairly well. The bearings that came with the set were pretty filthy and plugged with dried grease gobs. I have new ones, so I didn't bother trying to clean out the old ones. But it assembled nice, spins smooth.
Here's a better picture of the wheels with the covers:
I think I'll paint the cog to match the chainring, that way it stands out against the cover. The covers do detract some from the impact of the copper ano on the rims, since it limits what you see of them. However, I think when I'm done, there will be more than enough copper to go around.
And now that the wheels and bars are on the bike, I added the grips, set the saddle and fender in place, and took the following crappy pictures:
I still have a bit to do with the rear fender before final attachment. I'm also in need of a suitable Schwinn-sized seat post, though I'm sure I've got one somewhere. My next task is, I think, making up the truss rods. Unless I resign myself to cleaning the shop before moving forward. But first, I need to go do something about the lawn...
OK, update time. After putting another coat on the crankset, I installed that last night.
You can sort of see the hammertoniness (I'm pretty sure that is the technical term) of the finish. Once nice thing is that it hides flaws fairly well. The bearings that came with the set were pretty filthy and plugged with dried grease gobs. I have new ones, so I didn't bother trying to clean out the old ones. But it assembled nice, spins smooth.
Here's a better picture of the wheels with the covers:
I think I'll paint the cog to match the chainring, that way it stands out against the cover. The covers do detract some from the impact of the copper ano on the rims, since it limits what you see of them. However, I think when I'm done, there will be more than enough copper to go around.
And now that the wheels and bars are on the bike, I added the grips, set the saddle and fender in place, and took the following crappy pictures:
I still have a bit to do with the rear fender before final attachment. I'm also in need of a suitable Schwinn-sized seat post, though I'm sure I've got one somewhere. My next task is, I think, making up the truss rods. Unless I resign myself to cleaning the shop before moving forward. But first, I need to go do something about the lawn...
OK, while I had dinner cooking on the grill, I took up my coil of 3/8" copper tubing, and pulled an Egon Spangler and straightened it out.
Little by little, my OCD side tweaked it as straight as I could make it.
Using a tubing cutter, I split it in two:
Both pieces are excessively long for what I needed, but I wound up scrapping a bit as I figured out how I wanted to shape them. But after an hour or so with a tubing bender, I wound up with this:
It was a little more complicated then basic trusses, the shape essentially forms a cradle for the headlight to sit in. The copper work-hardened faster than I would've guessed, so it limited how much I could work it back and forth. Some of my forming was a little ugly, but I think it cleaned up reasonably. With the lamp in place, it'll look much like I want it to.
Little by little, my OCD side tweaked it as straight as I could make it.
Using a tubing cutter, I split it in two:
Both pieces are excessively long for what I needed, but I wound up scrapping a bit as I figured out how I wanted to shape them. But after an hour or so with a tubing bender, I wound up with this:
It was a little more complicated then basic trusses, the shape essentially forms a cradle for the headlight to sit in. The copper work-hardened faster than I would've guessed, so it limited how much I could work it back and forth. Some of my forming was a little ugly, but I think it cleaned up reasonably. With the lamp in place, it'll look much like I want it to.
OK, a few shots of where things stand at the moment. The seat is on for real now, but the fender is still set in place. I dug up a Stewart-Warner speedometer and stuck it on, even though I have no drive cable for it. Maybe I'll find one soon. Anyway, here:
The fork legs and frame stays tend to disappear in front of the disc covers, and I'm not sure if that's good or bad. It is kind of odd seeing the copper-colored parts reaching the wheel hub, but nothing else. It might just be the lighting and photo quality. Obviously, the truss rods haven't been trimmed to final length yet. I'll do that once I pick up a pair of copper terminal lugs for OO-gauge wire. They should be near perfect end fittings for this. Otherwise, it doesn't need much more than a chain to be ridden. But I still have a couple additions to make.
The fork legs and frame stays tend to disappear in front of the disc covers, and I'm not sure if that's good or bad. It is kind of odd seeing the copper-colored parts reaching the wheel hub, but nothing else. It might just be the lighting and photo quality. Obviously, the truss rods haven't been trimmed to final length yet. I'll do that once I pick up a pair of copper terminal lugs for OO-gauge wire. They should be near perfect end fittings for this. Otherwise, it doesn't need much more than a chain to be ridden. But I still have a couple additions to make.
Post weekend update: with the band saw up and running again, I was able to cut out a number of trim and small parts that I plan to use. Some to formed (like the tail fins previously mentioned), some just flat, like this tank accent piece I cut from aluminum:
The bigger part of the project is something that I'm still not certain if I can pull off, but here's what it looks like:
It occured to me that the wooden tank halves are perfect bucks for (attempting to) hammer-forming a sheet metal tank. I acquired some soft sheet copper and set to work. What you see above is getting close, but I'm still having difficulty getting the metal flow and stretch/shrink around the complex curves, mainly at the ends. The copper work hardens pretty quickly, so I have to find a way to anneal it to continue working it. They might turn out a little uglier than I'd imagined, but it might work out yet...
The bigger part of the project is something that I'm still not certain if I can pull off, but here's what it looks like:
It occured to me that the wooden tank halves are perfect bucks for (attempting to) hammer-forming a sheet metal tank. I acquired some soft sheet copper and set to work. What you see above is getting close, but I'm still having difficulty getting the metal flow and stretch/shrink around the complex curves, mainly at the ends. The copper work hardens pretty quickly, so I have to find a way to anneal it to continue working it. They might turn out a little uglier than I'd imagined, but it might work out yet...
Wow! Hammerforming a copper tank, that is cool!
Luke.
Luke.
Well, it's what I'm attempting. I'm not sure if I can get the tight corners to form around cleanly, though. In retrospect, I probably should attempted a simpler form first. Anyway, I have enough copper sheet left to make a tank plate as a back-up plan. At this point, I think I'd rather use that if I have to than the wood tank - it'll be closer to the look that I'm going for.
In other news, while cleaning up some last night I came across a solar-powered LED light - the kind that's on a stake that you put along your sidewalk - that was broken after an encounter with a fat bike tire (I don't know how that could've happened). The lights I've got along my walkway are copper trimmed:
It occurred to me that the copper outer shell, which I assume is copper-plated steel, might be useful somehow. So I pried it apart, and took the shell off.
I found that it was real close to the diameter of the SW speedometer housing.
In fact, I could slide it up just under the lip of the clear lens where it wraps over the sides. If I pushed it in far enough, it wedges in and stays there, like that was what it was designed for.
Suddenly, the speedometer becomes a perfect accent piece for a copper-themed bike:
Its worth noting that the copper trim ring isn't as long as the speedometer housing is, so a little of the black plastic sticks out of the rear. But it doesn't look wrong, just that it is how it is. Anyway, its a happy little addition that ties into the whole, even if I don't have a drive cable for it yet...
That copper housing is a nice touch.
Luke.
Luke.
Thank you.
Working on the fins last night, which were cut out from aluminum sheet over the weekend. I'm not sure what's up with this image, but I think that the flourecent light was messing with the camera lens somehow. This is actually trimmed down from the original cutout, they were taller and a little more complex.
As a side note, I found a silver Sharpie to mark these out with, so the ink is less apparent on the aluminum. That makes it a little easier to clean up later. To mount the tail light rockets at the top, I wanted to create a cradle of sorts, so I used a suitable socket as a mandrel and formed the end of the fin over it:
Then mounted the partially formed fin back in the vice and put a 90 degree bend in at the base of the curve to give me this:
So, with a couple of holes to bolt the rocket on, and this part of the fin is done. Speaking of which, fin units were made up for the rockets out of copper sheet, with a different, two-fin design compared to what I showed earlier. I used similar techniques to form these:
At the same time, I made copper accent pieces for the main fins to dress them up a little. They'll be attached to the aluminum with aluminum rivets (so the rivets contrast the copper).
Here's roughly what the hole thing will look like together:
The next step is mounting them to the fender. I cut slots for the mounting tabs, using the fender's pin striping and a guide (after previously marking out the location). The tabs will pass through the slots and be bent over underneath the fender to secure in place, then will be attached with the same copper rivets that will be used for the fender stays.
Here's a couple with the fins set into the slots:
Working on the fins last night, which were cut out from aluminum sheet over the weekend. I'm not sure what's up with this image, but I think that the flourecent light was messing with the camera lens somehow. This is actually trimmed down from the original cutout, they were taller and a little more complex.
As a side note, I found a silver Sharpie to mark these out with, so the ink is less apparent on the aluminum. That makes it a little easier to clean up later. To mount the tail light rockets at the top, I wanted to create a cradle of sorts, so I used a suitable socket as a mandrel and formed the end of the fin over it:
Then mounted the partially formed fin back in the vice and put a 90 degree bend in at the base of the curve to give me this:
So, with a couple of holes to bolt the rocket on, and this part of the fin is done. Speaking of which, fin units were made up for the rockets out of copper sheet, with a different, two-fin design compared to what I showed earlier. I used similar techniques to form these:
At the same time, I made copper accent pieces for the main fins to dress them up a little. They'll be attached to the aluminum with aluminum rivets (so the rivets contrast the copper).
Here's roughly what the hole thing will look like together:
The next step is mounting them to the fender. I cut slots for the mounting tabs, using the fender's pin striping and a guide (after previously marking out the location). The tabs will pass through the slots and be bent over underneath the fender to secure in place, then will be attached with the same copper rivets that will be used for the fender stays.
Here's a couple with the fins set into the slots:
I am liking your thinking with this!
Luke.
Luke.
Hot bike. Looks like it's going to fly!
