new SS conversion!
 

OK, I finally did it. took the freewheel off my old Univega, threaded on an 18 cog shimano, took off the derailers and shifters and cables, shortened the chain, pulled the wheel back in the dropouts to tighten the chain, and now it's a SS. Did I do it right? is there more to it? the chainline looks straight and it rides nice. 42:18 ratio. do I go up or down for an "easier" gear?

sounds like you did it right...

If you want an easier gear, you want to decrease the difference between the number of teeth on the cog and chainring: get a bigger cog or a smaller chainring.

thanks, man! I think I'll try a 20.