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sumnermclain

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well here goes-

this is my first build for the forum or real life.
my starting point is a schwinn mountain bike like the one on this page-http://www.phoenixbikes.org/node/1215
sorry i started working on this a few weeks ago and didn't think i would start a thread so i have no before pics of my own

I know i know, the double-diamond is not exactly ratty but its the best i have to work with at the moment.

my plans for this build are-
homemade apehangers
new paint-either stripped to bare aluminum, polished and cleared with some accents or classic red rims, black frame and white accents, give me your input!
new chain since i destroyed the eight year old one the bike came with last night
laid back seatpost
fixed gear conversion
front brake delete
wood false tank
possibly a drop in the rear
and the real kicker- chainsaw power via friction drive!

i'd love to do some work on the frame to make it a camelback or boardtracker style but i cant do any welding on it since its aluminum

pictures coming soon, just a soon as i figure out this fancy photobucket thing (question-why cant i just upload straight from my blackberry to photobucket? or can i? help me out)
 
well a few weeks ago i borrowed the welder from work over the weekend and did a little work on ol gnarly

bike2.png


fabbed up a mount for the chainsaw engine

Picture3.png


thats what it looks like when handlebars mate! took some kids bmx handlebars, removed the cross bar and cut off the handles, then the green part is some mountain bike straight bars cut in half and all welded between the base and handles of the bmx bars. geez i hope that made any sense-surely the picture helps

bike1.png


sad story-the monkey bars in this manifestation are no longer with us. due to hasty prep of my metal, when i wirewelded these bars, the welds were not strong, so after half an hour of riding after i had returned the welder they were in three pieces. oh well- i'll figure something out
 
did a little work on ol gnarly last night

_DSC0221NEF-1.jpg

i played around with a few wheel setups and i think i'm gonna go with this, a 20" rim in the front with the stock 26" round back. i was suprised it wasn't scrapin pedals, but im definitely gonna have to trim down my kickstand-here it was sunk deep in the dirt to get it to stand

IMG00131-20110602-1902.jpg

heres my redneck rust remover- my 20" rim had a bit of rust-too much to steel wool, and i didn't have enough vinegar to submerge the whole thing plus i didn't want vinegar in my hub- so here i have one section of the rim submerged in vinegar, as it eats away the rust, i'l rotate it and let the vinegar do its thang all the way around.

question-is this redundant if im just gonna paint my rims anyways? im using red caliper paint if that makes any difference

IMG00128-20110601-1755.jpg

also notice the modified kids bike bars. remember i broke my apehangers? well tomorrow im going to build some more this time brazing instead of welding- i'll let you know how it goes

IMG00129-20110602-1847.jpg

here he is all broke down ready for paint-kinda makes me wannna cry- ive put alot of miles on this bike when it was completely stock, can't wait to roll on the hot asphalt in its new form.

_DSC0225NEF.jpg

my boy-he's almost strong enough to lift a ratchet and he's ready to help daddy
 
To extend the bars you need to sleeve them. Find a tube that fits fairly snugly inside the two parts that you are going to weld together.

There are a few things you can do to make it strong. First drill a couple of holes into the two bar halves. Then slide the inner sleeve inside. Weld in some plug welds in the holes that you drilled on one half.

From there the easiest way is to leave a slight gap between the two halves of the bars (putting a slight bevel on the end of the tubes also gives you more welding surface). Weld this in fully all the way around the bars. From there plug weld the other side.

Then grind everything down smooth.

Hope this makes sense.
 
thanks m.martian! that does make sense and it really does help. i never thought of the plug welds- i'll definitely have to give it a go.
 
its christmas in june!
got my new chain in the mail today from the nice folks over at Porkchop BMX, if you haven't visited their site checkem out!
IMG00133-20110606-1852.jpg


i also went round two on the monkey bars, this time brazing them instead of welding, idk maybe they'll hold, maybe not, if they don't this time think i'll just pony up for some bars on streetlowrider.com unless there are any willing donors on this site :D

IMG00132-20110606-1852.jpg


anyways, been doing some prep work for my paint and my witewalls should be in friday, so keep watchin and keep givin input. or ideas. or criticism, i don't care i just like hearin from ya hahahaha

word to ya mother
 
headset and forks are primed- i also cut off the brake mounts on the forks-that big ugly horseshoe you can see really well in the picture i have above with my bike broke down laying in pieces on the grass. trying to keep things pretty simple-one brake is plenty and the front would have been useless with the 20" tire anyways.

trying to be painted and reassembled by the 17th me and the wife and my boy are headed to ft walton florida! we were hoping to carry my bike and hers- a newer huffy cruiser girl bike which will hopefully be my next project
 

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