Setbacks and progress

[TheKid]

Even with setbacks, I'm making some progress. First, someone decided to pay an unannounced visit. 2 hours gone. Then I discovered I put the USS tube too far in front of the seat. I want to be able to sit without having to lift my legs over the bars, like I can on the tadpole. After placing the seat where it will be, I relocated the tube so the steering rod will just clear the seat. I may even be able to put the bars on top of the main, so I won't have to worry about ground clearance. To cut the hole for the USS tube, I used a 1 3/8" hole saw held at an angle and let it cut with no pressure on the drill. It takes minutes, and there's little filing necessary. I cut the ends off first tube, and left the rest welded in so as not to weaken the main boom. I then cut some 1/8" thick plugs to fill in the holes. I finished one plug. I'll finish the other tomorrow. I also had time to make the handlebars, so all that's left is to build the wheels tonight, make the seat mounts tomorrow, install the wheels, rear brake and freewheel, install the front fork, and make the steering rod. I should be able to test ride on Thursday. here's some pics of the tube and the finished plug.

http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z66/edpol_photos/DW/000_0196.jpg

http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z66/edpol_photos/DW/000_0199.jpg

http://i192.photobucket.com/albums/z66/edpol_photos/DW/000_0200.jpg

[SirJoey]

I have a feeling there's gonna be another SWEEEEEET DW joining the ranks in the near future...

[Richie Rich]

If this keeps up, we're gonna have to expand the Wolf's Den to fit them all in...!!! :D

....{RR}

[TheKid]

Things are going faster than usual. I just finished lacing the wheels, which means I just have the seat mount to weld on, weld the other plug, and make the steering rod before initial assembly and a test ride. I can probably do that tomorrow. I may be painting on Thursday, and final assembly will be on Friday, because the lacquer paint doesn't need too much time to cure. In fact, if everything goes well tomorrow, I may be able to prime the frame. There's only a few spots that needed glazing compound, and that's been sanded. The USS tube will probably need a little, as well as the plug on the top, but that will dry by the time I fit the seat and make the steering rod.

[TheKid]

It took longer than usual to true the wheels. I did six before these, and they only took about 15 minutes each. These took over an hour each. I was able to weld the seat mount on, and weld the USS tube in place, as well as plug and weld the top hole where I had the USS tube originally. The steering rod took only ten minutes to measure, cut, and thread both sides. I double checked all the welds, and discovered a few spots that looked suspicious, so I went over them just to make sure. After minimal assembly, I was able to take a test ride. The trike rides nice and straight, with no wheel flop or brake pull. (although I only hooke up the rear brake) I only hooked up the rear derailler, since I rarely have trouble with the front. It shifted smoothly, and the sliding pulley worked like a charm. It's now disassembled, all sanding is done, and I'll be priming tomorrow. I'm using a temporary seat, and will build a new one next week. I have some fiberglass I can cut to size to hold the padding I ordered from Power-on cycling. I'll also be ordering Kenda Kwest 100 psi tires sometime in the very near future, as soon as I can find the right price.

http://store.valueweb.com/servlet/poweron/Detail?no=276

[SirJoey]

I'm anxious to hear your opinion on the seat foam when you get it. Believe it or not, I'm STILL looking for the right stuff! On the Deltoyd, I used 2 layers of 1 1/2" memory foam, & still "bottomed out" on the bottom half, as it compressed to nothing, or at least as hard as nothing. That's why I finally gave up & used the factory seat from my tadpole.

On both of my shortie trikes, I have to sit on a throw pillow. Seat foam is the one thing I still haven't had any luck locating. :(

[Odd Man Out]

Try the replacement foam for the RANS seat -- argueably the best seat in the recumbent business -- The neat (did I just type "neat" !?!?!?) thing is that you can get the cover that goes with it. The cover has strong elastic around the edge that lets you atach the foam to a base that you cut to shape. It looks quite professional and I have yet to find anything as comfortable. You can get it at RANS.com
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2212/2331133393_e51e80d9a9_b.jpg

[SirJoey]

Oh man, I LIKE THAT, OddMan! Looks comfy. I agree, NEAT! :p

I'll bet it's a little pricey though, huh? Nothing from Rans is cheap. Sure wouldn't cost as much as buying a whole seat though, like I'm prolly gonna have to do to replace the one I robbed from my tadpole, unless I build another & go the route you're talking. I'll go to their site & check it out, thanx! (My first ever bent was a Rans Stratus, back in 1985!)

BTW, is that another wolf I see sneaking into the pic there? :D

Hey OddMan, I just went to their site. I couldn't find anything there about seats, foam, or anything else, other than the bikes & jerseys!

[Odd Man Out]

You caught me -- one of three in progress. BTW, not to beat my own drum but..... check out the detail on the hub flanges. I did a little sumpin sumpin on the end.

[SirJoey]

Already noticed it. Nice! Noticed the acorn nuts on the bearings, too!

[Odd Man Out]

Oops
that is "shoprans.com"

[SirJoey]

Hmmm... that one doesn't work. It doesn't match any website results. Are you sure that's right? :confused:

Okay, for some reason, that's one of those that you actually have to include the "www" in the address... go figure.

Well, I checked it out. Unfortunately, they don't tell you anything about it at all. No dimensions, nothing. All it says is, "seat foam $43". I guess I'll keep looking, thanx anyway.

[Freth]

I decided to make a blog detailing the building of my DW. I'm waiting to buy the pillow block bearings ... so I started work on the removable hubs for the rear wheels. Richie Rich says he used "black pipe" from a major hardware store ... so I started with that. Feel free to look at my progress and tell me what you think.

[SirJoey]

Love the detailed descriptions & pics, Freth. Keep 'em coming! Looks like you're off to a great start!

[TheKid]

Another setback. I didn't like the heavy wheels, so I relaced with the aluminum rims and 14ga. spokes. Something didn't look right, and I discovered that I forgot to offset the inner and outer hubs on one wheel. On the plus side, I found another hub I could use, so I'll use the one I already took apart from the aluminum rim wheel, and this other one I just found. I still can't get the other hub apart. I also came up with a variation of Richie's pinned hub. I'll show the details tomorrow when I make the new axles. I won't fix the other hub until I can get spokes for the 24" Alex rims I acquired. I'll also be making my spinners this weekend, and show the details for those. The original plan was to hack the left side of a BB to screw on the hubs, but I found out that the steel disc adapters I bought a while back don't fit normal bike discs. So I'll use those for the spinners and save a BB I may need later. I also have a couple of lugged BB's, which I thought were useless, but if I grind off the lugs, I can weld them into some larger tubing. No sense wasting anything.

[Pagan Wizard]

I decided to make a blog detailing the building of my DW. I'm waiting to buy the pillow block bearings ... so I started work on the removable hubs for the rear wheels. Richie Rich says he used "black pipe" from a major hardware store ... so I started with that. Feel free to look at my progress and tell me what you think.

Love the detailed descriptions & pics, Freth. Keep 'em coming! Looks like you're off to a great start!

I just wanted to echo Joey's comments. That was very well put together........keep up the nice work on your ride. I also like the jig you made for building the wheel hubs, I will have to try to incorporate something like that into my drill press.