I've been doing some drilling...
05-12-11, 08:02 AM
#1
multimodal commuter
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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:
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 on ebay. Which is where the drilling, sawing, filing, sanding, &c. comes in.
I'm not done yet, but it now looks like this:
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:
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 on ebay. Which is where the drilling, sawing, filing, sanding, &c. comes in.
I'm not done yet, but it now looks like this:
05-12-11, 08:12 AM
#3
Dropped
Pretty damned impressive. You're an old school artisan.
05-12-11, 08:22 AM
#4
multimodal commuter
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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!).
Thanks! Just wait until I get started on your pedals!
You may recognize them now, but when I'm done... ha!
05-12-11, 08:30 AM
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multimodal commuter
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Here's a photo of a real one.
05-12-11, 08:37 AM
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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.
Wow!
Then I clicked on the ebay link.
Wow!
If you can't find it, make it.
05-12-11, 08:43 AM
#9
Get off my lawn!
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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!
Exceptional work by the way!
05-12-11, 08:45 AM
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multimodal commuter
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Yeah, that's basically what I thought. I wanted something that looks right on the bike; but I don't want anything fake.
05-12-11, 05:07 PM
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That's cool, Rudi. I'm hoping that rear rack is next as I need one for my RRA!
Neal
Neal
05-12-11, 05:13 PM
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rhm,
You sure you don't have a CNC machine in your garage you're not telling us about??
Chombi
You sure you don't have a CNC machine in your garage you're not telling us about??
Chombi
05-12-11, 07:04 PM
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Cottered Crank
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Nice work. I like it. When are you going into production? 
05-12-11, 07:44 PM
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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.
05-13-11, 06:21 PM
#19
)) <> ((
rhm, you have a special place in your heart for cottered cranks.
it must be awesome loving something no one else does
it must be awesome loving something no one else does
05-13-11, 07:41 PM
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Golly RHM - Half the people are afraid to service a cottered crank - and you made one. You are the exemplar of C&V resourcefulness! 
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05-14-11, 09:48 AM
#21
Procrastinateur supreme
05-14-11, 05:45 PM
#22
multimodal commuter
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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.
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.
05-14-11, 05:47 PM
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Neal
05-14-11, 05:52 PM
#24
multimodal commuter
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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.
