Firemarshal71's Open Class Chopper

firemarshal71

firemarshal71

#21
#21
Foot pegs welded

OK my welds could use improvement. I got used to my old welder and this new one I just cant seem to get the wire speed set right, my welds are too "tall" and I lack the hand-eye coordination to speed up so the welds arent stacking on each other like they are. I am using 3/4 inch pipe (1 1/16 OD) that I took home from a residental renovation I was doing a couple months ago. Besides being about 1/16 inch larger than regular 1 inch tube, I didnt see any reason to not use it. it's free and I have about 40 ft of it and it has a nice thick wall. you can see in the pictures than the diameter isnt noticable when welded to the original 1" frame.

anyway, I dont have access to any proper shop equipment (I am a contractor by trade have plently of woodworking stuff but minimal metal working tools) so I made up a jig on my small drill press using some pipe clamps and used a 1 inch hole saw to notch out my foot pegs to go around the down tube. It came out better than I expected so at least it gives me some motivation to keep pressing onward. my daily 5 are attached....
 
Krowmagnum

Krowmagnum

New Member
#22
#22
I like the stance you got going there.

http://www.oldminibikes.com/forum/attachments/OldMiniBikes-build-off-2013/49824d1357352397-firemarshal71s-open-class-chopper-1.4-mockup-renditions.jpg
 
firemarshal71

firemarshal71

#23
#23
Krowmagnum said:
I like the stance you got going there.

I did too, but with the tire that far forward, I couldnt get the axle mounted between the frame rails. not sure why it looked like it might work in the photoshop but it was just too crowded. I also had problems trying to figure out how the chain would drive the back wheel without jumping over the lower rail, the stretched version took care of most of those probs.
Click to expand...
 
firemarshal71

firemarshal71

#26
#26
lower right frame rail welding in

Welded in the right side lower frame rail this evening. I think I got my welds looking better than last time. Since I don't have any equipment in my shop capable of bending 1 inch material, I borrowed a technique we used to use in the Navy ... I cut a relief in the pipe and then bent it to the desired angle and then filled the relief by welding shut. With the welds ground flush, it gives an impression of being bent without the hard lines of just piecing together and without using a bender- just a lot more work.
 
firemarshal71

firemarshal71

#30
#30
Slow and stressful progress

thanks for all the thumbs up. This build really is a stress reliever for me.. until it starts to stress me out (like tonight). got a little frustrated when I realized that my hope of fabricating some sort of springer front end was a fail. it was a cool idea but would just end up looking like a CF. I am still going to extend the front fork (lowers) by 5" in order to bring the front wheel to the ground. I welded in some temporary bracing in order to retain a symetrical shape and after removing the seat pan, grinding the welds smooth, I considered the idea of using a shock/spring set up under the seat area only while retaining my hardtail frame styling. the seat pan will be reused once i patch the holes and smooth out.

the bike is taking on a new look of its own and although chopperish, has a slight drag look but still keeping some of the Rupp characteristics. Tomorrow, depending on when I get back, I am plan to finish the left side rail and maybe get the tops in so i can focus more on the wide tire setup and drive line. the top frame sections will follow the existing frame back above the rear wheel and have a profile which matches the lower section (same bends).
 
firemarshal71

firemarshal71

#31
#31
Fabr top frame rail

Well since I can give up watching football now, back to the garage.:doah:

Was able to make a pattern for the top rt frame rail out of EMT and fabricated a 1" piece to fit. I notched the pipe as before (lower rail), bent it up, remounted it on a 2x4 to cut the 45 deg notch on the end which I ground with a 4" grinder and cleaned up with a flap disc. I will upload the install pics in the next post. 5 pics are attached of the fab.
 
firemarshal71

firemarshal71

#32
#32
top rt frame weld-in

so after making sure the frame was still sitting level on the leveled bench, I made up another jig to hold my frame section in for the welding. I used more pipe brackets, some 1x pine board and a couple stainless hose clamps to tighten everthing up to the original frame. I have welded in some more temp braces to hold the shape until i get the other side put in. the old frame is almost ready to be cut out at this point. a couple other pics attached of how everything turned out.
 
firemarshal71

firemarshal71

#35
#35
Last post for the evening

Thanks Buck!

I had a few more pictures showing the completed work for today. I welded in the lower left frame rail and made sure everything was still squared up. there's a ton of welds that need ground down and still some more of the old frame including the swing arm and engine plate that need to come out. I don't know what's taking my wheel and tire so long to arrive, hoping to get that soon so that I can figure out if I can use a regular 5/8 axle or go with the 1" live setup. I also still cant decide if I want to keep the old Rupp seat setup or go with the one from BMI which is cheaper and cool looking but it will just take me farther away from my scope of keeping the bike looking "Rupp".
 
firemarshal71

firemarshal71

#38
#38
didnt have much going on at work today so I put in a few more hours putting in the rest of the frame rail sections. everything still seems aligned OK and level. started to grind down and blend some of the welds but need to get some more flap wheels. I need to put a few vertical sections between the back lower and upper sections and another horizontal between the 2 lowers below the seat section. once that is done, the rest of the old frame comes out all the way to the down tube. the ends of the frame sections will be trimmed once my wheel and tire get fit up. Since it's good to have a face to go with the build, that's me (Joe)grinding away in the 4th picture, was a little colder today @ 10 degrees and my last tank of propane just emptied so calling it quits for the day.
 
firemarshal71

firemarshal71

#40
#40
more fabrication of frame sections

Put in a couple more sections of frame and removed all temp bracing and Rupp frame I wasnt going to use. If any of you local guys want some of this old stuff including the 3hp Briggs (doesn't run) you can stop by and pick up for free. I'm wont ship and will toss it out for recycling in about a month.
 
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