5 year project done.

[JonesL]

Been a while since I was here. Finally finished the project bike. Getting my 1921 H-D board tracker up and running, finding and curing bugs and design flaws. Test riding this thing to find problems is an experience in itself.
I even managed to get a few miles on it before the rainy season started.

Here are a few pictures.

[govmule84]

Pretty wild. Neat take on that machine. What's that front end?

[JonesL]

The front end is my own concoction. I copied the look of the early JD style springers but widened it to accept a modern ironhead drum and hub. Found a set of off-the-shelf rockers, had the springs custom wound to vintage length and O.D. dimensions but with the spring rate of a set of modern springer springs.

Fixed and floating legs and upper and lower triple trees along with the handlebar risers are my handiwork.

21" wheels front and rear that have the "clincher" rim look laced to Sportster drums w/ Buchanan spokes.

The Avon Speedmasters proved to be a little squirrely on rain grooved pavement so I've switched to Shinko E-270s. Almost the same tread pattern as early Goodyears.

[JonesL]

Got the last of the bugs worked out of my board tracker project. Did the artwork on the tank then went over it with some rubbing compound to give it an aged and weathered look.
The Shinkos are far more sure-footed than the Avons and have a retro Goodyear-style tread pattern so I was able to keep the vintage look.
Not going on too many road trips but it's great for around town on the week-ends.
The pictures are at the local H-D dealer's 100 year anniversary of H-D in Sacramento.

[JonesL]

Been doing some refining on my board tracker.
I decided I didn't like the overall look with the gas tanks pointing downhill so I made new fork legs 2" longer to level it out.

Here are before and after pictures.

[dusterdude]

Niiiice

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[Ducbsa]

Probably has a mellow exhaust note!

[JonesL]

A lot quieter than you'd think. I curved a pair of 8" universal baffles so they'd slide up into the pipes. Outdoors and away from metal container walls they're even more docile.

You Tube

You Tube

[Goldy]

I love it when somebody comes up with something that's out of the normal cookie-cutter scheme...not going to find something like that on every street corner. B.Z!

[Dutch Dennoz]

Cool creation!

[Lester]

Great Job! Thant is one sweet machine!
Did you do a build thread?

L

[JonesL]

I tried but problems with photobucket kept me from adding pictures along the way. Without something to look at, it makes for some pretty dry reading, and not all that informative.

[JonesL]

Lester,


I don't want to clutter up the site with bunches of views of any given part being made. Name a piece or process and I'll just post those pictures.


Here's a frame piece and my axle plates from billet to finished. After machining, I texture them with a needle scaler for a rough casting finish. Instant forging.

[Ratso]

That sure is a convincing faux-casting. Beautiful work all round.

[JonesL]

Another handy trick to know is sheet metal embossing.


Here's my oil tank and electrical box.

[dusterdude]

Cool

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[Ducbsa]

Do you make male and female hardwood forms and press them together?

[Thebigguy0811]

I'm real interested in how how you did the embossing. My feeble brain says male/female molds and pressure. I'm sure there is a LOT of finesse involved. I continue to be amazed by the talent here.

[JonesL]

No Ducbsa, I'm not that ambitious.

I figured out how to eliminate the need for a bottom die and the trials and tribulations of matching top and bottom dies and getting the right clearances to avoid "coining" or shearing the sheet metal.

16 ga. mild steel is about as thick as my process works on but that's thicker than a lot of factory made stuff.
Start with a piece that's bigger than the finished part, because as you press in the panels, the top die will tend to curl the sheet metal up, turning it into a bowl.
I figure out what shapes the embossing needs to be and cut out paper templates which guide me in cutting out my top die(s) / punches from 1/8" thick steel plate.
I position those on the 16 ga. to be embossed and hold them in place with some 3M 77 spray contact adhesive. Orientation is everything and I'm forming the embossing from the backside of the sheet metal so I'm kinda working in reverse at this point.

Next I build a "sandwich" that's, from the top down;

A piece of 3/8" steel plate to cover the area of the sheet metal being embossed about 2" beyond the die on all sides. It's there to iron out the 16 ga. so the part ends up flat with the embossing raised. The spray adhesive is there to keep the die(s) from shifting on the sheet metal while I'm juggling the various layers into the press.

Under the 3/8" stiffener plate is my 16 ga. w/ dies glued on.

Under the sheet metal is a sheet of 1/4" thick UHMW nylon I get from my plastic supplier. Ultra high molecular weight nylon is barely resilient (even stiffer than urethane) and so makes good bottom die.

Last, under the UHMW, I have a piece of 3/4" or thicker steel plate as an anvil.

I'm using a 75 ton hydraulic press to get a clean, crisp raised panel or shape. Lighter presses will work but it's what I have on hand. You can still get a good finished piece in a lighter capacity press if you just use thinner sheet metal.
I pull and inspect the work while my dies are still glued in place and can even move the sandwich around on the press to concentrate the force in an area that isn't quite as sharp and distinctive as I want. Once satisfied, I just warm the sheet metal with a propane torch and the glue lets go. If the die sticks it may need to be pried loose but they usually just drop out.

Cut sheet metal to the final size and start folding / bending to the desired shape.
Just a note. I folded the flanges on my tank top and bottom first so I could locate the dies without trying to figure out just how high and at what angle the flanges needed to be, but working with a bigger piece is easiest.

As you can see, any shape you can think of, you can stamp. All depends on what detail you want and how much time you're willing to spend with a band saw and file.

[Thebigguy0811]

Great innovation. Is the uhmw reusable after forming or does it retain the impression. I've used it for other applications, but never with the application of that much direct pressure.