It is a rare project that goes exceptionally smoothly, and this is not one of those rare projects.
Between some reconsiderations, weather, and poor eyesight, I've had a couple delays.
Last week my rims and tires arrived. I am beyond pleased with both choices. I acquired 650B Grand Bois Papillon rims, and red Grand Bois Hetre tires.
Especially impressive (to me) is the part of the rim you won't be able to see when tires are mounted.
Who wouldn't be excited to get them laced up? Here's where the bad eyesight comes in. When I had done the spoke length calculations, I came up with 268mm for the front. Unfortunately, I somehow found that I had a wheel full of 263mm spokes. I made the discovery as I laced the 28th spoke. So that aspect of the project is on hold for the moment.
On the positive side, I have sources Specialized 650b presta tubes of appropriate volume, and found out that Vittoria rim tape in the 18-571 size works beautifully with my rims.
As I took a look at the paint colors I was using, I realized that I didn't like the very low contrast between the lug color I had chosen, and the color I had chosen for the non-chromed portions of the frame and fork. Soooo... a little bit of rework was in order. Initially I had in mind something close to the orangey-copper that Raleigh offered Internationals in. As I'm now fortunate enough to have one in original paint for a reference, it was painfully obvious that my first choice of rattlecan was very far off the mark, and that the more i looked at it, the less I liked it. Here's an idea of where I'm going with this.
The color on the fork is what will go on the frame tubes. I think it will make a nice contrast to the lug colors. The "eyes" on the head lugs, and the lug lining will return as nearly as possible to the original gold. Gugie suggested Sharpie oil markers, and from a test usage, I can tell that the lining will be a breeze. Obviously, I made a bit of extra work for myself, and the paint job has a long way to go. Fortunately, I have learned from past mistakes that paint is not something you want to rush.
Initially, I thought I wanted decals. Then I changed my mind, because I had an idea (not going to spill that one here yet). Unfortunately appropriating the desired decals is proving a bit more difficult because apparently the current license holders for Raleigh have decided they neither want to offer replacement decals, nor permit others to offer them commercially. If I said what I think of that, you wouldn't be able to read it. (word filters). Anyway, there has to be a way to outsmart a corporate MBA, and I'm still pondering the situation.
So that's where it stands for the moment. Hoping to lace the rear wheel and make painting progress over the coming weekend.