scarlson 

Haaaa, that guy!
I actually think I've been watching too much youtube machining. I was required to make an instructional video for some science equipment I machined as a tool for my research, so others could use it, and surprised myself with the jokes I made, almost involuntarily.

By contrast, Abom79 is a way more prolific machinist but seemingly has no sense of humor. Maybe you lose that when it's your actual job. I have turned things on an American Pacemaker lathe like he uses, and it is indeed serious business. I'm super lucky to have access to the shop here at work, so I don't know how much videoing I could get away with! Maybe I'll give the youtube thing a shot in 30 years if retirement is still a thing at that point.

abshipp 

I feel like it's probably a combination of doing the work for money, and that work typically being really big.

The size of some of the stuff he swings in those lathes is a bit scary

I've got a feeling that our YouTube history has quite a bit of overlap

Also it's been fun following this, I'm always excited when I see this thread bumped!

scarlson 

Just got parts back from chrome, at Franklin Frame.




Getting nuts and bolts chromed is expensive! $4 each, because they had to be individually racked to plate. The plater could've done something called "barrel plating" where they all go into a barrel that turns slowly and acts as the electrode, making it unnecessary to rack the parts, but I guess nobody does that anymore. It may have been slightly cheaper in some instances to go with the reproductions that Jan Heine sells, but then it wouldn't be a real one anymore. A lot of the original screws are 5x0.75, a thread pitch that barely exists anymore and certainly isn't available from any retailer. I was able to get a Chinese-made tap and die to clear excess chrome from the threads, so that's good at least.

Because the racks and bolts have a lot of file marks and pits that still show through, I think any worries about the shiny chrome "letting down" the rest of the build or it being "overrestored" are unfounded! You gotta believe me, without a rechrome, I would have been letting down the paint. There were entire swaths of tubing completely devoid of chrome.

Now, before I start hanging parts on the bike, how should I preserve the original paint? It is beautiful original paint, but has rust spiderwebbing under it and is scraped off in places. I am thinking either linseed oil or car wax. Or both? The linseed oil mixed with coleman fuel dried nice and hard on my Trek, and looks to be holding up pretty well, for what it's worth. I am looking at patina preservation techniques that the car guys use for the Rolls Royces at Pebble Beach concours. Preservation, not restoration. Any ideas?

merziac

No idea on the paint but Bravo on the chrome and the rest, great work going with Jack, Bob Freeman relies on him for most of what he does I believe.

Prowler 

I’m not a restorer but I play one in my shop and I slept in a motel6 last night, so - I’ve been using boiled linseed oil (BLO)for various things and am pleased with the result. Tools, wood handles, chrome bits, bike frames. I recently cleaned up a pair of toe cages and am coating with BLO cut with a bit of mineral spirits. Done the same to chrome plated bike bells. I’ve used BLO to treat two bike frames, preserved patina but brightened and protected the paint. They are both holding up well.

The, maybe, bad news: I think it takes a lot of coats. On the two bikes f/f, I stripped the bikes and applied 15 or 20 thin coats of cut BLO. Both times it was winter so I had plenty of time. Smear a coat on, wait a few minutes, wipe it off. One a day for as long as I felt like it. Easy but a long process. No worries. I like the smell of linseed oil. Natural. I like the idea that it’s so thin it seeps into tiny cracks, wee holes in chrome, paint dings, etc. So far, a good sealant. More durable than wax and easy to re-coat. YMMV

Slowride79

Regarding preserving the paint: I think this calls for treating what is worthy of a museum like one!
https://www.thehenryford.org/collect...for-artifacts/

see motorized vehicle pdf.

recommend cleaning the frame with Orvus then perhaps some light polishing for any oxidation as they recommend followed by Renaissance wax.

scarlson 

Good suggestions. I have some nonionic detergent I can use for starters anyway. There's a fair bit of dirt in the lug details.

Here's a little effort I've made so far with restoration and reassembly of the brakes:

Before - n - after

gugie 

Mang, that's some attention to detail!

I think I have some air in a WWII jerry can I can send you to pump up the tires. I'm not sure if the date matches the bike, but I would think it's close enough to be called period correct.

scarlson 

Send it my way! I can put it on the basement shelves next to the Lucas replacement wiring harness smoke kit I got off ebay for my car.
Although if it's wartime WWII air, while the lead content would be correct, it won't have the appropriate radioisotope content to reflect the detonation of the atomic bombs which happened the year prior to this bike's construction. That immediate postwar era was a special time for the atmosphere...

scarlson 

Yeah, I was pleased mainly because he did not lose a single screw. That's impressive. Unboxing produced rich whiffs of either pipe tobacco or woodstove, which was also a nice touch.

madpogue 

Before rebushing the upper grunnion banjos......

ThermionicScott 

You can say that again!