~The Pepperbox Special~ Done.

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That looks really good, the matte clear pulls it all together. Nice!
Thanks, I was pretty pleased with the way it looked before, but the clear just makes all the colors pop, it's like the difference between Super 8 and Blu-ray, these ill lit cellphone pics really don't do it justice. I'm really excited to see how the finished product looks.
 
Everything is shot and curing. Today was my wife's birthday, so yeah, I knew better than to sneak out to the shop lest I sleep there. With any luck I'll get to putting this thing together tomorrow, I have to drop it off at the UNT art gallery next Wednesday, so I've got a week to get it together, make all the final adjustments and get pictures taken, oh andI think I'm switching wheels.
I was taking apart another 50's Columbia the other day and came across a really ratty, yet sound and true Perry wheelset, I'm thinking that by slapping some clear coat and whitewalls on them, I should have that final missing piece that pulls it all together, and if it doesn't look right, I put the Komet set back on, win/win.
 
I started putting everything back together today, and although I have some little adjustments to make here and there, some bolts to shorten, a chain and some pedals to put on, it's almost done, it's starting to look like a bike. By weeks end it'll be a rider.



I also decided the white walls kind of gave another dimension to it, so I think they're going to be the shoes worn. The black wall tires just had this look like, " here's some wheels and tires 'cause bikes don't work without them.". Disclaimer; that's my thought on this bike and in no way reflects my views on black tires in general.
 
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I agree with you. The WW's give a great look to this build.
 
Thought I'd post some pics of some of the details that often times get overlooked or just don't show up in some of the bigger pictures, so here's the trees you may have missed while checking out the forest, enjoy.



First off, the rack, this started out as a relatively plain prewar rack, I added some 100+ year old beadboard for the top, some old industrial shipping straps for the center strip, and the oft overlooked, 50's car ashtray flipped and gutted to make a functional glove box.


Next up, the tank plate. I wanted to do something different so with this one I let my Imagination run wild. I took some sheet metal I salvaged from an old shelf cut it to fit, and riveted more of the industrial shipping straps onto it using old nails for rivets, I then drilled out the front and rear patterns. I took some old chains I had saved that were beyond ever serving their intended purpose again, using a chainbreak sectioned them to length, and attached them using oxidized machine screws.
The mounting straps are two piece and consist of more steel strapping and patinized machine screws.



On to the light. Unfortunately time restraints will have this one being merely aesthetic, but sometimes, its okay for something to just look cool. This vintage 30's- 40's spotlight, is basically as found aside from a little clean up, the patina, color, everything matched this build so well I had to find a way to incorporate it. The mount started out life as a roller bracket for a 50's garage door, which I cut shaped and drilled. It's attached via the front bolt of the springer, and I gussied it up a bit by using an assortment of washers, including one of those cool star shaped grip washers on the outside, because, I've always thought they looked cool and you never get to see them when they're serving their intended purpose.

Of course there's the seat, a 50's Troxel double pan, reupholstered with pieces of an old jacket with some stitched details.


The rear fender embellishments. The reflector, which came off a girls Flightliner and was then paired with an old cassette gear, to create a pretty awesome, yet low key piece of artistic safety equipment. The mudflap is more of the same leather as I used on the seat, but sandwiching a flexible cutting board, to add rigidity, and held together with oxidized rivets.

Here's a close up of the beautiful patina on the wheelset, a recent addition/ change. It's a well weathered mid-50's Perry set that I cleaned up, but not too much, clear coated, and shod with white wall tires.

I think in the end the patina became the bonding theme and in a sense it's own entity, most of the metal on this build underwent a vast transformation, first being wire brushed to its barest form, and then repatinated using cooked down vinegar for the base and broad application, and then detail work being done using Stay Clean liquid flux, then a soap neutralizing rinse, and 4 coats of matte clear.


So now that the trees have been gazed upon, I figured I'd close with the forest, so in it's nearly completed form, The Pepperbox Special. Thanks.
 
It's finished, I dropped it off at the gallery last night, I'll get pics posted soon, but right now, I'm just relishing the feeling you get when you see your vision made flesh, or I guess in this case steel. :)
 
I need to build a bike with racks.. I have never done one. Your bike
came out beautifully.....
 

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