Pure luck is more like it. My scrap bin has parts of a dozen forks chopped up and various bits of metal tubing from ideas that didn't pan out. I have a 25 to 1 ratio of things that actually work out. It makes for a big celebration for the thing that works.
None of the shims worked, even the 27.2 made for this frame, so I had to grind out a bigger slot in the shim so it would go in. Now the old layback post is set.
I set up my angle grinder gadget to get some cuts done on the dropout extensions.
Then I mounted them to the frame to see how they panned out. I didn't slot them, I think there's enough adjustment to make it work as is.
I need to get some washers, nuts and bolts. These are just for mockup. I just noticed a strut on backwards.
I filed the razor sharp points off the drops, but they are still dangerous. I'm smoothing them out and giving them some paint. They should look like 14kt gold when done.