Diamond Frame Flying Merkel DONE!

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Re: Diamond Frame Flying Merkel 2/14 tanks a million!

After a trip to Sheboring this mornign to drop off some work, I though what the hey, and brought a few parts back down to my apartment in sunny (ha) Milwaukee. I mainly need to do some cleaning, priming and painting at this point, then re-assembly can begin. I was so giddy I took a few mock-up pics of what I have. What do you think?

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And how she sits in the corner of my humble abode
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And my tires look like they'll fit perfectly! I got mildly paranoid about that after thinking about how many builds around here seem to get the perfect tires only to find that there's something silly with sizing and they just dont work. That seems to usually be my luck, so I was just glad to dodge that bullet (sorry if this has happened to you!)

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Gdcast, I'll do some work later and try to pop the headbadge off if you're still interested in it :D
 
Re: Diamond Frame Flying Merkel 2/21 mock-up

Can't wait to see it done :wink:
 
Re: Diamond Frame Flying Merkel 2/21 mock-up

sweet bike man, the flying merkel is my favorite boardtracker! if you haven't found your handlebars yet check out velo orange they have some that are close. keep going i cant wait to see it done!
 
Re: Diamond Frame Flying Merkel 2/21 mock-up

Dash- It's my favourite boardtracker too! They just have this 'look' to them, the styling is marvelous and to me it truly captures that era. Thanks for the suggestion about velo orange, honestly I have never heard of them before.

Skills- I made the keyboard, one the second page of this thread I posted a link to my gallery, you an see some of the other steamy goodness I've made (some more 'spectacular' than others)
 
Re: Diamond Frame Flying Merkel 2/21 mock-up

your steam punk stuff rocks i really like the fan! and the keyboard is rad .do you sell that stuff? you should. i build merkel like bikes check out the link below when you get a chance just click on radrockets. thanks for sharing your talents!
 
Re: Diamond Frame Flying Merkel 2/21 mock-up

I wasn't sure if it was just the photos at first but it seems that your fork is bent backwards a bit? It could be a illusion but wanted to bring it to attention .The build is fun to follow.
-Kreep-
 
Re: Diamond Frame Flying Merkel 2/21 mock-up

Thanks for the kind words guys, I'm glad folks are liking this one! I'm enjoying getting it put together and watching it take shape from the picture in my head. I've also becoem somewhat of a 'pro' at packing bearings, jeepers there were lots of them! Keep in mind the only other bicycle bearings Ive ever dealt with were on my RRBO5 Wormwood Limited, and they were all caged like animals.

I've gotten a few comments about the fork being bent, and indeed it is. I've put lots of miles on these forks (they were bent when I got the frame) and never had a problem. But taking the general advice, I was able to get a differnet straight set that will actually work better than the stock Phillips forks. The headtube on these is a good inch longer, allowing my trusses to fit in no problem. I'll need to make a few shims for them, but I'm hoping that wont be too bad. I also threw on the wheels just to see get an idea of the current stance.

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Anyone recognize these forks? They were the originals for the auction rat (not the nifty bent ones that wound up on it)! It's pretty cool to me to have a piece of that here on this build. This will wind up painted (all pretty-like) but it will be the most 'rat' thing I have put together from a parts standpoint, with components from all over the place. Like McDonalds says, I'm lovin it! :D

I hope I'm not being too picture happy for everyone's taste, but I get excited when I get some parts or make a little progress, and really enjoy sharing it here. I personally greatly enjoy seeing the progress of a build in picture form and watching a project develop. And maybe my methods/madness might help inspire someone's future build? :wink:
 
Re: Diamond Frame Flying Merkel 2/22 mock-up with new fork

Looks way better :wink: Those struts look nice 8)
 
Re: Diamond Frame Flying Merkel 2/22 mock-up with new fork

I recieved a wicked seat today, a long spring model :mrgreen: It had a women's pan on it that was in pretty bad shape, but I discovered that with a little more tweaking, the springs and all will mate with men's pan from the previous seat. Hmmmmmm :D :D

So here's Frawn-ken-seat (bear with me Mel Brooks fans)

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I'll need to do some tweaking, media blasting and clear coating on the springs (as the Merkel won't be too ratty), but I'm pretty happy with this. The seat pan will of course be covered and padded also.

Waddaya think? :D
 
Re: Diamond Frame Flying Merkel 2/25 'Frawn-ken-seat'

Springy! :D
 
Re: Diamond Frame Flying Merkel 2/25 'Frawn-ken-seat'

Ive been noodling around with the seat some more, and I think Ive got it figured out. I flipped some brackets, and I'll need to run two new bolts to secure the 'runners' from the front coil, but it fits nicely now, and will fit even better after I replace the bolt that connects the front coil to the frame. I'm pretty excited about this seat set up! :mrgreen:

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I also got my front wheel taped and ready for painting the rims. I had planned to paint the spokes and all, but looking at more pictures of the origonal Merkels, it was only the rims that were orange.

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You can see my 'innovative' paint stand/handle too :D Has anyone else thought of this? It's the best thing I can think of to hold the wheel easily when painting, allow for rotation, and be easy to prop on something to dry. I'm sure Im not the first to think of it, but if so, how much does it cost to file a patent? :wink: :wink:


Also a little teaser, here's the fork and trusses painted up, just need to be clear coated. Pardon the bad lighting, the orange is actualyl a bit more brilliant
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And a shot of part of my 'high-tech' drying room (/laundry room/storage room/dingy apartment basement)
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Re: Diamond Frame Flying Merkel 2/27 fork and Wheel

That orange looks GREAT :shock:
 
Re: Diamond Frame Flying Merkel 2/27 fork and Wheel

Behold the paint stand in action! :roll:

That's one light coat of orange over double light coats of primer for all you folks at home keeping score :wink:

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Re: Diamond Frame Flying Merkel 2/27 fork and Wheel

The first major setback...grr...

I tried to clear coat the wheel Ive been painting earlier today, and the bloody clear caused the orange to bubble and 'ripple' some. Its looks like total crud and and I think I'm going to have to sand out the ripples and re-paint. Needless to say I'm not pleased :x

Ive decided that the Rustoleum 'painter's touch' paint Ive been using for the orange and primer maybe wasnt compatable with the Rustoleum 'Gloss Enamel' clear I have. Similarly, I'm not risking any of my other finished parts. The painter's touch paint dries very hard and nice, and I dont believe a clear coar it necessary. I had thought to do it only to add more 'gloss' to the colour. But I'm not messing around with it anymore on this.

So be warned anyone who may be using Rustoleum painter's touch with other things. I think the formula for this one is quite different, and may react poolry (as I found) with other paints.

Here's a poor quality pic of one damaged area
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