Classic & Vintage - I've been doing some drilling...

Drilling, sawing, filing, sanding, &c.

See, the problem is that the post war Raleigh Record Ace came with a lot of parts made specifically for that model, as you can see from this old catalog page:

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/retroraleighs/catalogs/1951-england/images/07-record-ace.jpg

The stem was hand brazed from 531 using 'lugs' that resembled the lugs on the frame; very snazzy, and very hard to find now.

The pedals, and the crank, are even harder to find. And without the right chain ring, the bike just won't look right.

I did, however, get one of these (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=290463733869&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT) on ebay. Which is where the drilling, sawing, filing, sanding, &c. comes in.

I'm not done yet, but it now looks like this:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2660/5713234600_570b9b23bd_b.jpg

Nice. Are you going to build up the three herons as well?

(or is the catalog picture not quite reality?)

Pretty damned impressive. You're an old school artisan.

Nice. Are you going to build up the three herons as well?

(or is the catalog picture not quite reality?)

From photos I've seen, of the real deal, the catalog picture is pretty accurate. My design is intentionally a bit different, on account of the 5 pin attachment rather than 3 arms.

I'm not quite sure how I'm going to do this, but I plan to incise the aluminum to bring the heron heads out better, give them their eyes and the waves lapping at the bottom. I'll probably file everything down a bit more, too, since it just looks too heavy as is (the thing is a full 6 mm thick!).


Pretty damned impressive. You're an old school artisan.

Thanks! Just wait until I get started on your pedals! :roflmao2: You may recognize them now, but when I'm done... ha!

Outstanding work! I can only imagine how many hours you have in that ring...

Here's a photo of a real one.

http://velospace.org/files/1948RaleighRecordAce01.jpg

I was like, yeah, pretty nice, you modded a swaged raleigh chainring to make a TA-style bolt on. That's pretty cool.

Then I clicked on the ebay link. :eek:

Wow!

Dang I love stuff like this, man after my own heart :) If you can't find it, make it.

I think it's better that it's not the 3 bolt pattern, less someone in the future be fooled. I'd leave it a little on the heavy side so as to clearly see that it's intended to be an interpretation of the original and not a copy.

Exceptional work by the way!

I think it's better that it's not the 3 bolt pattern, less someone in the future be fooled. I'd leave it a little on the heavy side so as to clearly see that it's intended to be an interpretation of the original and not a copy.

Yeah, that's basically what I thought. I wanted something that looks right on the bike; but I don't want anything fake.

Resourceful and ambitious. Nicely done.

That's cool, Rudi. I'm hoping that rear rack is next as I need one for my RRA!

Neal

rhm,
You sure you don't have a CNC machine in your garage you're not telling us about??:D

Chombi

Cool!

Damn Rudi! That looks amazing!

Nice work. I like it. When are you going into production? ;)

That will look so good when you polish it...

Nice work, very impressive. I think the main reason I've been hesitant to get into any pre-1960 lightweight bike projects is precisely the difficulty of finding parts, and the associated costs. I imagine it's less of a problem for those of you who live in Europe, since you're at the source.

rhm, you have a special place in your heart for cottered cranks.

it must be awesome loving something no one else does ;)

Golly RHM - Half the people are afraid to service a cottered crank - and you made one. You are the exemplar of C&V resourcefulness! :thumb:

it must be awesome loving something no one else does ;)
But IMHO that's absolutely the nicest cottered crankarm I've seen. The "drilling" you've done make a this crankset "pop". Great and inspirational work, rhm!:thumb:

Thanks, guys!

To be clear, the crank arm is a Constrictor arm from the 40's (or so). I've only been working on the chain ring for it. I got the arm on ebay not long ago; I've been bidding on this type of crank arm whenever they come up, figuring sooner or later I'd get one that wasn't too too expensive. It's steel, but really quite light; about the same as an aluminum Shimano 105 arm I have kicking around (but, to be fair, the 105 is longer; 172.5 versus 165 for the Constrictor).

Neal, what's so special about the RRA bag support? I've seen a couple in photos, but I haven't seen anything that would indicate it's better than an old Park bag support. Those things are really good. I have one on my Fothergill, and am very happy with it.

Neal, what's so special about the RRA bag support? I've seen a couple in photos, but I haven't seen anything that would indicate it's better than an old Park bag support. Those things are really good. I have one on my Fothergill, and am very happy with it.

Rudi, they're made to fit those seat stay braze-ons unique to the RRA. Otherwise, I don't think the bag support works any better than another.

Neal

Rudi, they're made to fit those seat stay braze-ons unique to the RRA. Otherwise, I don't think the bag support works any better than another.

Neal

Yeah, that's what I figured. So it really depends on how strong the material is. I'm going to stick with the old Park support.

Very nice work man! I hope to get an RRA some day.

I don't know what else to say here but wow! Amazing ambitious work!

rhm: how did you make sure the drillings were centered? What are the size of the holes that need to be drilled in order to fit standard chainring bolts?

I'm planning on doing a similar adaptation on some steel cranks I've found in Colombia, a triplet of the lightening holes have at their tips 80mm BCD, the same as TA rings. Seeing that there are basically no TA rings around here for love or money, I've been thinking of taking 28t BMX chainrings, and drilling in appropriately spaced holes to fit the existing lightening holes.

202197

rhm,
You sure you don't have a CNC machine in your garage you're not telling us about??:D

Chombi

I am friends with a husband/wife, who with their collective nerd brain power (I say that in the most affectionate way possible), made their own working CNC machine. It can be done!

I wish I had as much time as Rudi.:thumb:

That is very impressive!

You got some mad skillz, yo.

rhm: how did you make sure the drillings were centered? What are the size of the holes that need to be drilled in order to fit standard chainring bolts?

I'm planning on doing a similar adaptation on some steel cranks I've found in Colombia, a triplet of the lightening holes have at their tips 80mm BCD, the same as TA rings. Seeing that there are basically no TA rings around here for love or money, I've been thinking of taking 28t BMX chainrings, and drilling in appropriately spaced holes to fit the existing lightening holes.

202197

Google "bolt circle layout" and you will find some good info on this.

Next, you'll be machining replacement parts for your FW hub.

rhm: how did you make sure the drillings were centered? What are the size of the holes that need to be drilled in order to fit standard chainring bolts?

I'm planning on doing a similar adaptation on some steel cranks I've found in Colombia, a triplet of the lightening holes have at their tips 80mm BCD, the same as TA rings. Seeing that there are basically no TA rings around here for love or money, I've been thinking of taking 28t BMX chainrings, and drilling in appropriately spaced holes to fit the existing lightening holes.


I designed the whole thing in Corel Draw, with correct measurements &c, especially for the large center hole. Then I printed my design on regular paper, cut it out as a disk slightly smaller than the BMX chain ring, and glued the paper to the aluminum. I just used regular white paper glue (Elmer's or the like). Gluing it on is a little tricky, you have to let the paper get completely saturated so it dries flat, but I figured as long as the moisture level was approximately constant, and I left an even ring of bare metal around the outside (about 1 mm) then the central hole would also be centered.

For the holes, I don't know the correct size. I have a set of drill bits, so I tested them all in a Lambert chain ring, and used the biggest bit that fit through the hole. Imprecise, maybe. But it worked.

With your crank, you might want to cut the arm off first, leaving enough of the base of the arm so you can still mount it on a spindle; then spin it and scribe a circle at the correct diameter (80 mm) as a guide. Good luck!

Next, you'll be machining replacement parts for your FW hub.

Whittling new pawls out of chunks of tool steel in his vise with a hand file...

Whittling new pawls out of chunks of tool steel in his vise with a hand file...

Yeah, yeah, you guys! Tool steel just laughs at a hand file. On hardened steel you have to use a whetstone.

I make mine out of pieces of granite just by giving it hard looks.

I make mine out of pieces of granite just by giving it hard looks.

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_YOGWGO-1Vs0/TdKdmwxkG_I/AAAAAAAAAeo/P45PRgu_7Qc/superman%20pawl%20cutting.jpg

http://www.fatwreckwiki.com/phpBB3/images/smilies/pointless/CurbYourEnthusiasm-LarryDavidStare.gif