Back to normal...

After a couple of days lost to fixing the shop back up and taking care of some office work, I moved back into a semblance of normalcy today.

I've been dragging on Steven's frame a bit as I've been waiting on a set of Hot Rods from Pa. Without them in hand, I made a phone call and got the skinny on all the specs today so I could continue to move forward with the rear end...really did not want to build it up and find out I have interference with the chain line for the triple after the fact.

So, armed with the appropriate numbers (thanks Big Willy), I soldiered on. I completed the finish work on the custom '30s dropouts, milling off the CNC tabs, chamfering the edges, and tapping in the derailleur hanger. They look spiffy and should flow nicely into the scalloped stays. Having already fabbed up the seat stays in a compound rolled/lateral bend configuration, I moved onto the chain stays. I wanted to keep with the old school spirit, but the frame we were using for inspiration was kinda bland in this particular area, simply running a straight constant diameter tube back from a socket in the bottom bracket. Kinda cheesy.

So, taking a cue from some other Klunker designs, I bent up some material with a nice tire clearance bend at the bottom bracket and then an upsweep bend 90 degrees around the tube to flow it up to the dropout. The .035 chainstays stretched cleanly with a little inside support and have a nice round finished shape. Should be purty.

Room for the tire here...
and a gentle rise up for greater drive train /stay clearance and a bit of pizazz.
Granted, they don't look like much now, but they should be functional and a bit sexy once melted into the rest of the frame :)

I also received an early shop Christmas present today...a new Graphtec plotter.
This guy will expand my ability to create complex computer generated paint masks and make multi layer masking more efficient as well as increasing the quality of the final product. Now if I can quickly learn the latest version of Illustrator and the new cut software plug in...should make for some nice "as I doze off to sleep" reading in bed ;)

Next day back, we'll put the rear end on Steven's bike, hang all the fiddley bits, and get her ready for paint.

cheers,

rody

PS... Last years Black Friday sale I had one bar that was shipped to England for a German customer who was visiting his parents. The bar never made it and it's replacement has been patiently sitting here on the shelf. Problem is, I can't remember who the customer was???? If this story sounds intimately familiar, please email me so I can make it right by ya. thanks!