Tribute to our friends

[slowrider]

Nice! So far this thing is lookin awesome!

[RatRodDad]

Here's a thought. Get a second Lampy or something similar - and mount it on the frame somewhere - maybe on the seat tube down under the seat.

Take the bulb out of that one and in it's place, solder some wires to the bulb connections. Then run those wires under the fender to the original Lampy - and pull the back end off of that one and remove the batteries and solder the wires to the back of that bulb connection.

So that way you could keep the batteries and the off / on button on the second Lampy out on the frame - and only have the bulb in the original one. Then you could use the off / on switch on the second one to turn it off and on. And you could easily change out the batteries whenever they needed changing.

That's one idea and I'm sure there are lots of other ways to "get 'er done".

It will be fun to see what you finally decide to do.

[zoso]

Here's a thought. Get a second Lampy or something similar - and mount it on the frame somewhere - maybe on the seat tube down under the seat.

Take the bulb out of that one and in it's place, solder some wires to the bulb connections. Then run those wires under the fender to the original Lampy - and pull the back end off of that one and remove the batteries and solder the wires to the back of that bulb connection.

So that way you could keep the batteries and the off / on button on the second Lampy out on the frame - and only have the bulb in the original one. Then you could use the off / on switch on the second one to turn it off and on. And you could easily change out the batteries whenever they needed changing.

That's one idea and I'm sure there are lots of other ways to "get 'er done".

It will be fun to see what you finally decide to do.

So the second lamp would be the switch and batteries to the first? Seems like you'd just remote mount a power source and switch to the original tail light.

[valy]

if you can find a touch switch [like the touch desk lamp]
or maybe you can get some information for the specialist in electronics they work with diod ,sensors and micro switchis
I think exist evan touch torchlight
try chinese products in google maybe you will find somethink
the bike it is turn verrrry good I have one aye on you guys

[RatRodDad]

Zoso, that's pretty much what I suggested. The second light would not really be another light - but just a remote power source and switch for the original light.

I just thought it might be easier to make it up from another light than to come up with a different type of power source and switch.

Fireproof and his daughter will probably come up with something even more creative.

[thatismytruck]

Fireproof and his daughter will probably come up with something even more creative.

This is why I've not made any suggestions. I couldn't come up with anything better than what they are doing.

[RestoRodSchwinn]

Just read from page 1. Awesome, awesome build!! Can't wait to see what's next.

[kboross]

This...

is...



so....
....
....
PERFEKT !!!
GOD bless !

[Fireproof]

Thanks to all for checking in and for your nice complements. My daughter wanted to give an update tonight, but as she was finishing her homework, little bro informed us that he needed a report typed for tomorrow. While I typed, those two fell asleep, so I’m doing the
update.

I just thought it might be easier . . . than to come up with a different type of power source and switch.

We like your idea RatRodDad. The flashlights we are using have sealed switches and the batteries are held in a removable cartridge. Be a shame to waste good stuff like that!
We did a little experiment with the flashlight and found that your idea will work great, but I also found out that we can solder one wire to the bulb (actually, it’s a printed circuit board with the LEDs on it) and the other end of the wire to the battery cartridge. Since the bulb holder is held to the fender with two set screws, it will be grounded. All we need to do is ground the “switch/battery holder” when we mount it and the circuit will be complete using only the one wire. Thanks for your help!

. . . If either of my daughters put half the effort into a project when they're older, I'll be a proud father.

Don’t wait! Time flies, so get them involved with what ever you are working on (or better yet, get them their own projects that you can work on together), but do it as soon as you can. If they’re too young to do the actual work, teach the names of tools/equipment, safety habits, etc. Have some old clothes for them to wear for when they help dad. Buy them some gloves and goggles that fit. Let them have fun while they learn some cool stuff. "Train children to live the right way, and when they are old, they will not stray from it".

[Fireproof]

I say go for it! It would be Blinkey's Ying to Lampy's Yang.

Hmmm i think if you just straped it on there it would stick out like a sore thumb!

Thanks for backin’ me up Druggedonions, but I would have felt bad takin’ my son’s clamps. Gotta side with Nick-ish on this, so we will be doing something a little different here. Again, wanting to utilize the sealed switch and removable battery cartridge that these flashlights have, I thought it would be nice to have "Blinky" hidden in plain sight! Hope you like this little game of Hide-N-Seek as we do our best to camouflage this thing!


This is some of the stuff we'll use . . . those circles are MDF (that’s a fancy way of saying sawdust mashed into the shape of a board! ) They get stuck in the hole saw after cutting through the board. Elmer’s Carpenter’s glue will stick them together, and the 1/4" holes in the center gets a temporary dowel to keep them aligned while the glue dries overnight. The hole will come in handy again latter.
I’ll be using a couple short pieces of that white rod . . . it’s 3/4" diameter fiberglass.
Those four little pieces in the lower left were cut from that dark brown sheet of .062" phenolic.

A few more things . . .
styrene, the black is .062", and the white is .25" thick;
acrylic, the blue stuff is actually .090" clear with blue masking, and the other is .25" mirrored;
on the right is 3/16" aluminum.

[Road Master]

Hi! I've been following your build with great interest, usually with my mouth hanging open in awe. With your combined skills, proper equipment and very innovative ideas you bring customizing to another level.

I'm an electrician by trade and have spent many years doing residential service work. The biggest enemy of mechanical electrical connections is corrosion. Even if the materials are identical the connections are a resting place for condensation from humidity. I adapted this little trick from copper/aluminum connections in which you use an anti-oxidant to prevent the natural oxidation of the two different materials. It usually comes in small tubes or squeeze bottles and can be purchased anywhere a full range of electrical supplies are sold - i.e. Lowes.

Back in the old days it was a lot more common for vehicle owners to remove and replace their own batteries. Inevitably the battery clamps would have corrosion on them and would need to be cleaned. Many a car owner lost power to their starter because of the corrosion that could form on the interior of the clamp and exterior of the battery pole. I found if after cleaning all electrical contacts you coat the cleaned surfaces as well as the outside of the clamp with the anti-oxidant no corrosion will ever form. It does not dry up even after years of exposure to the elements and it conducts electricity so as to aid contact when using jumper cables.

My only recommendation is when you install the light unit with set screws that you coat all the surfaces where contact is needed such as where the set screws tighten against the mounting material as well as the actual threads of the set screws themselves. This simple step will maintain your electrical connections for years to come. A small tube costs practically nothing and you two don't seem the type to skip over something lightly. You won't regret it and keep up the fantastic work. Thanks. Robert

[nick_ish]

cant work out what your going to do with all that stuff but i'm exited to see!

[jwm]

This thread is becoming the bright spot in my day. With so much horrendous stuff going on in the world, it is a welcome relief to come here and check the latest installation in this coolest of all possible projects. Fireproof, you and your daughter are doing more good than you know. Keep it up!

JWM

[Fireproof]

Thanks to everyone for all the compliments! And also, Road Master, thanks for the helpful tip about the anti corrosion grease! We hadn’t thought of that and it would not be a good thing to overlook on my bike.

So here is what my dad did with all those seemingly random materials.

After the glue dried on the MDF disks (those sawdust things), my dad put them into the lathe and shaped them. After the lathe, he drilled a 3/4" diameter hole through the side and inserted a couple of short pieces of the fiberglass rod. Than he cut some 1/16" inch wide slits and inserted the tabs of phenolic. Here it is sanded smooth and ready for the next step . . . thermoforming.


Here is your classic Heartland manufacturing thermoforming machine from the mid 1970's. The MDF parts are mounted on top of this plywood vacuum box. Behind the box to the left is a vacuum pump. It’s connected to that big vacuum reservoir tank on the right. On the outlet of the tank (or is it actually the inlet? ) is the solenoid valve. The solenoid valve is connected to the vacuum box with that green hose you see at the bottom of the picture. At the top of the picture, you can see a clamping frame holding a sheet of plastic in the process of being heated. Those yellow hoses are controlling the clamps on the frame. The plastic sheet is heated with twelve heating elements. You can see six of them in the picture, the rest are above the plastic sheet so it gets heated evenly.It takes about 45 seconds for the plastic to heat up. Then the frame slides out like a door, the plastic goes over the mold, and the solenoid valve allows the vacuum to the plywood box which draws the plastic around the details of the mold. The entire process takes about two minutes.


Here are the parts that were made on the thermoforming machine. The first step after taking them out of the machine is a rough trim on the bandsaw. You can see the part on the right has been put in the lathe for a final trimming. The front ring is sitting on top of the piece that was turned in the lathe.The part on the left is ready to go into the lathe next.


This is the other piece being trimmed in the lathe.


Here are some of the parts my dad made to finish the basic headlight. The black and white discs are 0.62" styrene. The smaller white discs are 0.25" styrene. Notice that my dad has pressed one of the brass inserts into one of them already. The reflector (top left) is made from 1/4" acrylic mirror.


This is a view inside with the disks glued in place. They reinforce the headlight bucket. The white things with brass inserts are how we will mount it onto the frame plus a bracket.

[nick_ish]

i bet if we gave you two a box of eggs you could build the Effiel tower
nice job on the light cant wait so see it mounted and working!