The Chopper Compendium

I make both at the same time ...mark a straight line and lay out the radius centers....tack both plates togather and use a holesaw or drillbit and cut the holes at same time...predrill for pilot holes.....then I make a full size template, align with the slot and punch my cut line about every 1/8th"....cut close and use a carbide cutter or grinding disc to fine tune....home made drum sanders are easy to make !!

its a horrible thing the date of the last post is on here so u realize how long u been neglecting your project. but i have made a little progress i got the axl plates back from the machine shop yesterday and put em in the jig today bent a couple tubes but didnt like the way they looked . i finally got one thats close tomorro ill see if i can get the fit better and get some pics hopefully i can get that and the other side done and get the whole thing outa the jig

Shit! Don't worry about no stinkin' post dates. If I would have done that with mine I would have been in a state of depression for 4 years. It's all part of the journey. Enjoy it!

oh i am just hate when life gets in the way of things and ya cant get back to the fun stuff fast enough

this is the swing arm design im going with the plates arent finished yet still unsure of the design but thinkin somethin close to the lines on em the tube on the right is fitting alot better but still needs work the one on the left still needs a lot of work to make it match and fit nice im just going to tack everything together and pull the swingarm and try it on the rim im so far off the plans i just want to make sure everything is good before i weld it up and waste the axl plates . the hubs are wider than i thought they would be and im going with an 18 inch rim so want to be sure nothing rubs it should be real tight between the frame and tire i hate all that sppace makeing it look like your tire is too small . hopefully more progress tomorrow

got the swingarm finished learned a lot about what i wont do next time but broke the lathe so i cant make a spacer for the wheel orderd the part for the lathe hopefully it shows up this week

Nice pics Curt. You must have your hands full doing 2 frame and springer / girder design / fab + a job...

Looks good Curt...not to much longer & looks like it'll be a roller...I hear ya about lookin at when you last post...drives me nuts sometimes

ya def got my hands full thanks im hopeing to have it in a roller soon gotta pick up the tires so i can make the girder the right length

just getting caught up on reading everyone's builds. your build is looking good man. don't sweat having to make lots of changes, that's why there's a huge difference between builders and assemblers. also why Gary's plans are for builders and not assemblers. in the end you'll get it worked out right and be able to enjoy it for a long time to come.

-dan

Real bikes don't just "happen"...they are nurtured, coaxed and sometimes dragged kicking and screaming into life..... this build is going in the right direction and will be a superb bike soon enough

keep at it dude, we're all right behind you

Maz xx

Yeah, If this stuff was easy then everybody would be doing it. Thankfully it does require some blood, sweat and tears which is why fabricating things is so darn rewarding. There is an old quote embedded somewhere in the Handbook about " they bend steel, forcing it into submission to create dreams" or something along those lines and it's absolutely true. Thats why what we do is an artform and a craft. This is why every person builds something a little differently. Our personalities go into our work and shine through the finished product. I've seen some pretty horribly built Choppers in my day but I've never seen one that wasn't a piece of somebodies art and for that reason alone they become beautiful.
I think you're doing an incredible job on all of your projects.

gww25 wrote:Yeah, If this stuff was easy then everybody would be doing it. Thankfully it does require some blood, sweat and tears which is why fabricating things is so darn rewarding. There is an old quote embedded somewhere in the Handbook about " they bend steel, forcing it into submission to create dreams" or something along those lines and it's absolutely true. Thats why what we do is an artform and a craft. This is why every person builds something a little differently. Our personalities go into our work and shine through the finished product. I've seen some pretty horribly built Choppers in my day but I've never seen one that wasn't a piece of somebodies art and for that reason alone they become beautiful.
I think you're doing an incredible job on all of your projects.

thanks coming from you it means alot your work has inspired me to create some works of art for myself and hopefully share what ive done and maybe inspire someone else in some way.i am so much more enjoying building from scratch than any partsbike ive ever built.

Like the man himself said, you're doing a great job with all your projects, so don't get impatient when its not going as fast as you would like, just take whatever time it needs to see it done right

And you are right, Gary has been (and continues to be) an inspiration to all of us ....that's why we call him the Grandaddy

Maz xx

and you as well i read your stuff too if it werent for the people of this forum willing to share their way of doing things and ideas im thinkin we would all be a lil slower than we would like thanks to everyone