'Plum Crazy & Half-Twisted'

**Yellowhand** · 08-18-2008, 11:30 PM

Started a new build today...

I'm gonna make a copy of an Azusa frame, but with a few twists...

Used a miter gage to measure the angles on the 'Little Blue' frame, and transfered the dimensions to a bench drawing...

Used my HF bender to make eight bends for the two sides of the frame, but cut off the straight portions of the tubes, leaving only the curves...

I'll be sleeving in straight sections of twisted 3/4" square tubing, so the frame will appear twisted along the straight runs and round in the curves...

**Yellowhand** · 08-18-2008, 11:40 PM

The lengths of 3/4" square tubing that I bought last winter were just large enough in the ID for a 5/8" mandrel to fit perfectly...

The new batch I picked up today was slightly smaller inside, and I burned an hour of build time making a new mandrel on the lathe...

The tubing was twisted by heating with a rosebud tipped oxy/acetylene rig while on the mandrel, and turned with an adjustable wrench...couldn't get a pic...takes both hands to do...

**Yellowhand** · 08-18-2008, 11:49 PM

Lathe-made sleeves fit snugly inside both pieces of tubing...they have to be hammered into place...

Welded across a small gap between the tubes to incorporate the sleeve material into the pool...

Cleaned up a little with a flap disk, but I'll run some die-ground beads out onto the round tubing to completely blend the joint after the frame is all tacked together...I still need to fab seven more pieces like this one...

rimfire · 08-19-2008, 12:25 AM

very talented.
nice work yellowhand..

kbs8ball · 08-19-2008, 12:36 AM

how about half baked?

**Yellowhand** · 08-19-2008, 11:30 AM

Kenny...this bike's gonna be 'Plum Crazy' purple in honor of you, bro...with a purple suede seat of course...

I'm gonna call The Goob to come over and help twist the other seven frame rails so I can shoot some pics of it being done...

It isn't difficult to do, and doesn't require any special tools, so anyone who wants to make up some twisted tubing for their own project can knock it out...

**Yellowhand** · 08-20-2008, 12:23 AM

Some more pics and progress...

**Yellowhand** · 08-20-2008, 12:30 AM

If you're worried about bending the mandrel, just drill a hole through a 2x4 and support the end...

I drive the mandrel out of the twisted piece while it's supported through a hole in the bench...

dobber · 08-20-2008, 12:24 PM

That is going to be a real cool ride. Is it going to be a Chopper, or maybe a Bobber?

kbs8ball · 08-20-2008, 06:37 PM

Again, isnt suede for shoes??