Unofficial March Shootout

[GuitarlCarl]

Straightened fork a bit. Could use some more brute force.View attachment 90643

I've straightened a fork by carefully positioning it under the front wheel of my truck and running over it. Screw the nut over the threads beforehand... just sayin'

Carl.

 

[RustySprockets]

Straightened fork a bit. Could use some more brute force.View attachment 90643

I keep a bare hub to straddle the fork blades after removing the wheel. Spin the fork so it faces backwards, then string a ratchet strap between the hub and the bottom bracket. (Walmart sells a cheap strap for under $4.00.)

The strap will allow you to apply consistent, measured force...a lot like cold setting dropouts. Professional shop tools work the same way--they just "push" instead of "pull."

 

[Yooperman]

I’m in.
Make it a rider again.
Carve wheel set from a girls mountain bike, remove the Centric decals, add fresh brakes, seat, grips, pedals and some bling.

 

[Yooperman]

I’m in.

Even us in the UP banana belt have some snow this March.

 

[metalchewy]

I spent some of today doing the yard work I missed out on yestersay.

Did some sanding on my A#1 build this afternoon. 90%of the clear is sanded off. A bit more sanding to go before spraying some paint.

 

[ParkRNDL]

Looks like I’m not the only one straightening forks…

Honestly, I’m so pleased with myself right now that if I didn’t get any farther on this build, I’d still be happy. I have had this bike in the basement for many years. As in more than 10. And part of why I never did anything with it is because the forks were bent. I kept reading online about ways to straighten them, and I kept saying I’d get around to trying one, but mostly I figured there was a decent chance I’d screw it up so I kept putting it off. Finally, this build challenge inspired me to try a method I actually saw somewhere here on RRB. And I’ll be danged… it seems to have worked.

The rig I made up consists of 4 parts:

The block to straddle the down tube and provide tension against the BB shell

The block to press against the dummy axle

The dummy axle itself

The jack

I’m pretty sure this is old hat for many of the guys here, and feel free to have a laugh at me for being so excited about what is essentially a pretty basic repair, but for anyone like me who hasn’t ventured into this type of repair yet, here’s a video I made of the process.

 

[GuitarlCarl]

I still like reading he ran it over with his truck...

Merle.

 

[us56456712]

The wheels are done. Polished the rims and put on semi knobby tires I found in my junk stash.

 

[us56456712]

I’m in.
Make it a rider again.
Carve wheel set from a girls mountain bike, remove the Centric decals, add fresh brakes, seat, grips, pedals and some bling.

Wow! is that Escanaba? If it is I've never seen that much snow in the U.P. Banana Belt. We are looking forward to the Mackinac Island Classic Bike Ride this fall. Are you planning on going?

 

[GuitarlCarl]

The wheels are done. Polished the rims and put on semi knobby tires I found in my junk stash.View attachment 90704

Those look good.
I'm mired in layers of turquoise paint. It's coming off but not as easy as I'd hoped. Plus there's some original black under it all. The brush on aircraft stripper doesn't like the cold, wire wheel works but is time consuming. I haven't tried the torch yet.

Sent from the edge of an alternate universe...

 

[RustySprockets]

First order of business, widen my dropouts and prep the wheels. They need work--oh dear. I've been focused on the "go"--not sure yet what I will do about the "stop." Might have to raid the co-op bins and get a little, ahem...creative.

 

[us56456712]

Those look good.
I'm mired in layers of turquoise paint. It's coming off but not as easy as I'd hoped. Plus there's some original black under it all. The brush on aircraft stripper doesn't like the cold, wire wheel works but is time consuming. I haven't tried the torch yet.

Sent from the edge of an alternate universe...

Use oven cleaner on steel, works better than aircraft stripper in the cold. I spray it in on the bike in the snow in the driveway so as not to kill grass. Works even when the oven cleaner is mixed with snow. Let it sit, hours, sometimes I bring it in my shop and put it on newspaper to sit overnight. Use a hand wire brush between coats, use 2 or 3 coats waiting at lest an hour between coats and brushing. Then aircraft stripper, then a rotary wire brush being careful to avoid gouging the brazing. Then bring it inside for final sanding and use a sharpened spoke to dig out the stubborn stuff. Fastest way in the cold I have found.

 

[us56456712]

Well, I put the wheels back on the bike. The rear SACHS wheel had never been on this bike. I don't remember where the SACH wheel came from, it just floated to the surface in my junk. Same with the semi Knobby tires. I had to use 4 junk tubes before I found 2 that didn't leak. I must have spread the dropouts for the 10 speed poor mans single speed I was using so that was a problem fitting the 110 mm SACHS. The wheels are a little potato chipped out, which I didn't' notice until they were mounted. The next step is truing the wheels, then adjusting the old school steel side pull brakes. The brakes have been cabled, but the cables are hanging out of the adjusters a mile so they need to be cut. For cable end trim I will use an old aluminum spoke nipple with the head cut off and pinch it with a crimper. Cheap is good. I put the coaster brake band on. All this took several trips to my shop attic as it is very cold, single digits predicted through Friday, I had to go warm up by the fire 4 times to get this little bit done. I'm excited about this build, great idea G. Carl. I think a lot of us will be inspired to do easy projects we have been avoiding. I'm also currently building a wood wheeled 1900 track bike and a 1938 road bike. Today I also started building up a 1938-41 Schwinn track bike. These other projects are taking all winter as parts are harder to find. I started the Schwinn today but I don't think I can finish it in a month. I spent the morning building wheels for the Schwinn. I used junk, but nice, 26 x 1 3/8 rims which I spoked to a 1930s front New Departure hub and for the rear I used a 1907-8 Musselman armless coaster brake that looks like a fixed gear hub. The wheels look awesome. The brakes are steel 1920s clamp on side pulls, skip tooth drive, NOS chain, nickel plated steel drop bars and a very old excellent shape Brooks saddle. This will be a gift. I'm posting a picture of the wheels I built today just in case I decide I have enough time. They are in my truck as I don't want to store them in my frozen shop or in my cabin. Photos are of the wheels I built this morning for my Schwinn.

 

[Yooperman]

Wow! is that Escanaba? If it is I've never seen that much snow in the U.P. Banana Belt. We are looking forward to the Mackinac Island Classic Bike Ride this fall. Are you planning on going?

We live in Menominee on the bay of Green Bay. We are looking forward to another Mackinac island ride this year too! Hope it’s not too cold for you and this build off.

 

[hammer mechanic]

About 5 minutes with a hydraulic press and my fork looks much better.

 

[us56456712]

-10F this morning but is now+13F so I went to my shop attic and trued the rear wheel. I just flipped the frame over and trued the wheel between the brake blocks. Much better now. A hammer and wood block took care of a rim dent. I had to quit as my fingers and toes couldn't take anymore. The weatherman is predicting -4F to single digits until Saturday. Then it's gong into the 30sF on Sunday. I should be able to finish truing the front wheel, putting on the chain, adjusting the brakes and trimming the cables soon with the warmer weather. Time is running out as I'm going on vacation to the warm March 18th. I think I'll finish if I don't run into something like a chain problem.

 

[metalchewy]

Colors...

Left to right background under the clears... gold, silver, copper, graphite, black pearl.

 

[metalchewy]

Oven cleaner for the rest. (FyiFYI doesn't penetrate ceramic clear)

 

[GuitarlCarl]

That's the biggest issue I'm having with stripping mine... A ton of DupliColor clear EFFEX. Great stuff, hardened very nicely and is resistant to the stripper as well. I guess after all the Ash Wednesday stuff is over (I'm helping a lot at church today) I'll be making a Walmart run... they're open all night.

Carl.

 

[metalchewy]

Table full of fun.

Makings of a seatpost .