My new Project.. From Chop to...
Discussion
A large portion of the time is taken up by figuring out how you're going to hold the workpiece, which cutter to use and in turn how to hold that, sequence of operations, setting up speeds and feeds, drinking coffee... at least that's how it goes in my workshop 
I do jobs for work on my machines at home and sometimes you get snide remarks from people that it appears to have taken you 'all day' to machine a daft little part, when of course these experts haven't the first idea what's actually involved.
I'm currently building a 24 foot long CNC machine and the bosses seem to think that you can do everything with off-the-shelf parts that magically fit together like Lego and just work, which of course you can't, but we aren't set up as a machine shop so either I crack on and make parts myself of I have to knock up a CAD drawing and farm it out to local machinists - which eats into the profits of the job.
I do jobs for work on my machines at home and sometimes you get snide remarks from people that it appears to have taken you 'all day' to machine a daft little part, when of course these experts haven't the first idea what's actually involved.
I'm currently building a 24 foot long CNC machine and the bosses seem to think that you can do everything with off-the-shelf parts that magically fit together like Lego and just work, which of course you can't, but we aren't set up as a machine shop so either I crack on and make parts myself of I have to knock up a CAD drawing and farm it out to local machinists - which eats into the profits of the job.
Don't need to take a CBT, and as for the colour.. not sure yet. With its long top tube and short rear triangle the bike will have a slightly retro 70's look about it, so may go with a paintjob to suite. I'll have a go at painting it myself so who knows.
When the frame comes back, its going to need a dozen or so small brackets added, to mount the seat, catch tank etc. I was resigned to making each one by hand, until I found I could buy them off Ebay for less than a quid each. Here's one roughly where the seat mount will go, with a panel bolt/washer I had left over from my old Ducati restoration, knew they'd come in useful one day
When the frame comes back, its going to need a dozen or so small brackets added, to mount the seat, catch tank etc. I was resigned to making each one by hand, until I found I could buy them off Ebay for less than a quid each. Here's one roughly where the seat mount will go, with a panel bolt/washer I had left over from my old Ducati restoration, knew they'd come in useful one day
The front end is still not sorted out. I decided not to use HD forks as they are very heavy for their size, while the Sportster Yokes I had were too narrow if I end up using duel calipers. Instead I pressed the stem out of the old HD yokes to use in a pair of one off billet yokes that Jeff had on his shelf. Using the HD stem means I can use the original HD headstock bearings and headstock which saves a lot of work. The yokes are unfinished but drilled to take 43mm forks, which I'm still on the lookout for.
I don't have any forks yet, but the yokes are almost finished, here they are having their slots cut on the miller..
And here's a short video of the machining.. http://youtu.be/0fkvAG-WW70
And here's a short video of the machining.. http://youtu.be/0fkvAG-WW70
Hooli said:
Merch131 said:
I'm pretty much retired now, its boring if you have nothing to do.. so I mess about with bikes etc.
Even when I retire I won't have your skill, fecking teacher tards didn't let me take engineering courses (they were for thickos!) f
king wkers!Brilliant thread! Thanks for sharing
With the frame back, I need to get the bike done asap, as it needs to be running by December. The engine needs at least a thousand miles running in before it ready to use in anger, a bit tricky given its not road legal. The answer is to run it in on a rolling road dyno for twenty hours or so, which I can do for free, but only when the dyno is quiet around xmas.
Yesterday, we welded on the tabs to mount the rear mudguard and marked out where the lock stops had to go, and how long the bar risers will need to be and where the pegs will need to go etc. I also realised the rear wheel hub will need narrowing a little more to get the chain run aligned, and the rear caliper bracket will need to be remade. I thought we'd get all the welding on the frame done yesterday, but everything seems to take ten times longer than expected. The frame is over at Jeff's workshop now, so we'll be working on it again today.
+1 on having a go yourself, I'm beginner, but just making a simple wheel spacer on the lathe is very satisfying.
Yesterday, we welded on the tabs to mount the rear mudguard and marked out where the lock stops had to go, and how long the bar risers will need to be and where the pegs will need to go etc. I also realised the rear wheel hub will need narrowing a little more to get the chain run aligned, and the rear caliper bracket will need to be remade. I thought we'd get all the welding on the frame done yesterday, but everything seems to take ten times longer than expected. The frame is over at Jeff's workshop now, so we'll be working on it again today.
+1 on having a go yourself, I'm beginner, but just making a simple wheel spacer on the lathe is very satisfying.
With the frame back home, the engine and box went back in, along with the home made 2 inch stainless exhaust from my old bike, while I made a mount for air tank and rectifier. The oil filter should fit below them, but as often happens the oil filter bracket doesn't fit now the down tubes have been modified, so it'll need a bit of machining to fit.
The drive side hub of the back wheel needs to be narrowed by a few more mm to get the chain lined up with the gearbox sprocket. While the rear caliper mount needs to be replaced as I didn't like the way its torque arm would have to be mounted.. one step forward, two steps back..
The drive side hub of the back wheel needs to be narrowed by a few more mm to get the chain lined up with the gearbox sprocket. While the rear caliper mount needs to be replaced as I didn't like the way its torque arm would have to be mounted.. one step forward, two steps back..
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