New guy in KY - Streetfighter build

[Trailblazzzzzer]

Hello all,
Davo here from KY. I escaped the famine in Michigan and have found good work in the Bourbon capital of the world. (no, im not a taste tester)
I am working on a SteetFighter and am about 30% done. My Sawsall loves to eat old Huffys! It takes 4 doners for this project.
I am getting better with my welding ... but still doin way more grinding than welding. But I am lovin it. The back rest sports a cool Maltese cross a buddy made. Hoping to be done by October.
Will post photos of finished product.
Trailblazzzzzer

[greenevegiebeast]

Call me crazy But I love the build proces,post pics in progress. I did.And my tharipist said it did me some good.:D

[Pagan Wizard]

A lot of us enjoy the pics taken during the build.

[locolarry]

You know what? I started this Streetfox build to get a trike to ride...NOW it's more about "The Build" than "The Ride"! I'm havin' a ball building this SF and have already started to gather parts for the next one..Hooked, addicted, or whatever........:D
Loco

[back2life]

I havent even begun my build and I am hooked!! You will find that the people here at AZ will take you in and not make judgements and will seriously want you to succeed they are a god bunch of people here and I think eveyone enjoys the pics of builds.

Good luck and looking forward to more imput from you

[Trailblazzzzzer]

Y'all are right! The build is a blast.
My derierre is getting too old for the MtnBike saddle and the road bike is getting very little exercise riding up to Post Office daily to check the mail and to take TrailDog for a short run.
I am not sure the StreetFighter will get much miles, but I am having a ball building it. Who wouldnt have fun taking a Recip Saw to their neighbors old WallyWorld Huffy!!!
I need to buy AZ's book and figure out how to make the SpinCylce. I hacked one together but it needs some work.

I found some Pillow Block bearings for the SF, but all 4 weigh twice what my road bike weighs.
Question: Do those two part pillow blocks work well? and are they lighter?
Now back to the fun....
Davo

[Pagan Wizard]

I hope you're poppin some pics of your progress Davo.......we wanna see how you're doing.

[Trailblazzzzzer]

I am stalled right now. I have my rear frame welded and all the steering head tubes cut & welded and ground down nicely(or less ugly).
I will get my digital out and shoot some pics tomorrrow.
Yall could use some entertainment. Dont laugh out loud....
I bought pillow block bearings like Brad showed in the plans. Suckers must weigh 5-7
lbs each. Have you tried the stamped out three piece bearings? and are they lighter?
I am working on a list of materials for this project.
When I get it finished I will give it to Brad to add to his future editions.
I have close to $350 into this already.
I think with some networking we can cut the cost of future projects by at least 40%.
Hope my Quad turns out as well as the ones you featured in your blog.
Davo

[Trailblazzzzzer]

Okay all, I shot pics last night of what I have done so far.
I welded the bolts to the rear frame and bolted on the pillow blocks.
That makes for one heavy rear end. Weighs twice what my road bike weighs.
I hope the resolution of the pics is not too high.
I dont upload much.

[greenevegiebeast]

Looking good so far, Keep up the good work.:D

[ggriffin924]

Yes so far, looking good, and also it doesn't look bowed, which can happen on that back end. Good luck with your project.

-Griffin-

[lumo]

nice! keep pictures coming and probably post troubles you run into it (i am starting to build mine in a few days :D so probably i can learn from your mistakes *evil.grin*)

[Sparky]

cool!

yes, the build is the fun part, for sure. im still working on my streetfighter, but somehow i got sidetracked with this chopper....

i also used the heavy bearings. i believe some people here have used the lighter ones- they seemed to be happy with em. all together, its heavy, but not insane.

[Trailblazzzzzer]

Thanks for the feedback, I will post my mistakes...
I am sidelined for the rest of the week.
Life takes precident sometimes.
But I have my buddy at work machining the Freehub, brake and Hub flanges.
I found that a 1 3/8" x 24 thread die is pretty rare and hard to come by.
I will try to get him to make a few sets by buying him the die and some Miller Lite;)
The chains are pretty hard to match sizes on. I think I only need one more.
Anyone have an easier way to make the rear wheel hub flanges?
I tried to cut a circle but had no luck.
I did find 2 1/8" washers that were 1/8 thick, but the hole is 7/8".
I will shim it somehow with 1/16" sheet metal or something at weld time.
On the BMX hubs they have a cone support built in it. Any ideas on that design?
Going up to Michigan this weekend to pick up the wheels.
My bike shop guy in Clawson is "out there" like the rest of us.
I did not get any odd looks when I told him I need 4 front wheels.
He is fellow builder and hacker also.
See y'all Tuesday
Davo

[AtomicZombie]

I don't know if this qualifies as an easier hub flange method, but it is cheap!...

http://www.atomiczombie.com/videos/hubflange/hubflange.htm

Brad

[Trailblazzzzzer]

Well, I tried it with a hole saw first.
Then with a Kniffty contraption ($29) fromHarborFreight.
Then I tried it with the die grinder method.
Well, if you change the letters around in my name...
... it spells HACK....
Also, Any ideas on the 1 3/8" 24T Die?
I am on a mission
Davo

[John Lewis]

Also, Any ideas on the 1 3/8" 24T Die?
I am on a mission
Davo

Well I don't know about a die that size but I have an idea that I've not tried yet to make a threading device.

Essentially it would be a piece of 24 tpi threaded rod. It will be supported in two threaded pillars and have a crank at one end.

There will be a support for a single point tool at the other end. The work to be threaded will be held on the end opposite the crank either with a couple of nuts or a set screw.

To thread you simply crank the handle. To deepen the thread push the tool in a bit and crank it through again.

Hope you can visualise this. It would be dead easy to make and cheap. I've been meaning to make one for while. I'll do some sketches and upload later.

John Lewis

[TheKid]

I got mine from Victor Machinery. The price has gone up to $51. Scroll down the page in the link.

http://www.victornet.com/cgi-bin/victor/productlist.html?subdepartments=Special+Pitch+Dies %2C+1-3%2F16%22+and+Larger%3A1173%2C507%2C599

[John Lewis]

Well here is what I had in mind. Likely 24 tpi rod would be quite thin so you might need to modify this a bit. Eg a bit of shafting in a sleeve to take the load but it wouldn't be too hard. Food for thought anyway.

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh98/lew2au/tool.jpg

Good one Kid. I wouldn't like my chances of getting one here though. Wonder If I can get one posted over to Aus. Might give them a try.

John Lewis

[Trailblazzzzzer]

Hey Thanks for the help.
I had to drag a car to Detroit over the weekend, and did some shoppin at the tool shops in the area.
Detroit has the most Tool&Die shops in the nation.
I found the die for $37+tax.
I want to get my buddy at work to machine a dozen or so sets.
If he is successful at making them I will offer them for sale pretty cheap.
He has a machine that will drill the hub flanges - no touch.
I am looking for a good way to mount the flanges (7/8" hole) on my 3/4" axle.
I am thinking 1/16" strip of metal wrapped around the axle and weld all 3 pieces at the same time.
Could use some feedback on that idea.
Davo

[TheKid]

Why not make your own flanges with the correct size hole? You'll need a hole saw to cut them out of flat steel bar or sheet to whatever diameter you need. Just add 1/8" to the diameter to figure out the size of the hole saw, or use an adjustable. The center hole is usually 1/4" when using these things, so you'll have to drill out the center to 3/4". A step drill works well for this.
If your buddy can drill the spoke holes, maybe he could cut the flanges for you, and drill out the center hole.
Another alternative is to use Brad's method of making the flanges with a grinder, drill and rattail file.

[jimFPU]

I got some round blanks for my local steel shop for about 80 cents a piece, and they are almost exactly the right size. I drilled the holes and am ready to go.

[Trailblazzzzzer]

Well, if you change the letters around in my name...
... it spells HACK....

That is the best idea yet!
My steel guy was really good about giving me blanks to practice on, I will ask him about circles.

[jimFPU]

I'll try and post pics tonight...

[lumo]

I'll try and post pics tonight...
i am curious, where are the pics :p

[Trailblazzzzzer]

Well I am still waiting on my wheels. I went to Detroit to pick them up from my buddy with a bike shop. He was closed all day Monday.
I called him and he will ship them.
I have posted a few pics, but I have more...

[Trailblazzzzzer]

Here is a pic of my rear frame on my cool small work bench and flat on the ground. I love the work bench cause it is too small to collect junk.
Know what I mean???

[Trailblazzzzzer]

There is my conductor and all the parts I have welded so far.

[Trailblazzzzzer]

Here is my bone pile, and a hacked together spincycle.

[Trailblazzzzzer]

Here is my conductor.

[lumo]

lol the mess behind your house looks like mine :D
although my bikes are chopped into smaller parts

[Trailblazzzzzer]

I finally have my wheels, tires, crank & barend shifters.
I found an almost brand new handlebar off a schwinn phantom.
I just have to figure out how to make the bar end shifters work on that hb.

Question: Do I have to drill a hole in the bar and run the cables inside the bar?

Will cross that bridge when the water gets higher I guess.
I stopped looking at how much the SF is costing, but it will be cool when it is finished.

I am going with a (fake) rawhide leather seat.
The back rest will be sporting an Iron Cross a buddy brazed up.
My sis/in/law has a case of caribean blue duplicolor spray cans, so I think I will crissen the SF "Blue Max"
I am toying with the idea of wood fenders. They looked like they would be fun to make.

I wish I could get on the bandwagon of saving gas by riding my creation to work...
... but, bikes and rednecks in pickups dont mix too well here in Kentucky... lol
I think all my fun will had in the build.
Davo

[TheKid]

Question: Do I have to drill a hole in the bar and run the cables inside the bar?


No. I had bar end shifters on my Fox, the cable runs on the outside of the bar and gets taped. I'll be posting pics of the Fox soon, which will show how I used holes in the bars from front to rear to run the rear brake and shifter cables.

[jimFPU]

i am curious, where are the pics :pSee them in the Baby Wolf thread.