Carnage Chopper - Section 2

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Once it was tack welded solidly, I checked the entire fork for alignment by looking down the length while the front wheel was installed (Photo 10). If all checks out, then apply the final welds to the fork stem and fork legs, if not, you know what to do (chop, chop). If there is only a slight misalignment between the legs, you may be able to just twist the fork while holding the wheel solid to put it back straight. If the entire thing looks like it was thrown off a bridge, then break those task welds and try again.

Photo 10 - Visually checking alignment.

The top of the triple tree fork design will be a flat plate bolted to each fork leg and secured to the fork stem via gooseneck stem. Simply cut the top section from an old steel gooseneck so that at least 2 inches of the stem (tube with the angle cut at the bottom) remains as shown in Photo 11. You will not need the bolt and wedge, or the clamp part of the gooseneck.

Photo 11 - Cut the head from a steel goose neck.

The top of the triple tree fork is just a bit of plate or flat bar rounded at the edges to conform to the width of the fork legs (Photo 12). A hole is drilled at each end to approximately the center of each fork leg, or to allow a bolt to pass through the plate and meet a nut welded into each fork leg as will be shown in the next photo. You may want to weld the two nuts in place first, coming back to drill the holes in the plate later, just in case the two nuts are offset in the fork legs as the ones I used were.

If you really wanted the holes centered on the plate, the nuts would either have to be large enough to fit snugly in the fork tubing, or a washer would have to be welded in first, then the nuts into its center hole. The method I used here (using half inch nuts and bolts) works just fine, and is plenty strong for this design.

Photo 12 - The top of the triple tree fork.

Photo 13 shows the 1/2 inch nuts welded into the fork legs. Since the diameter of the nuts is much smaller than the inside diameter of the fork tubing, they are only welded along one side. This method offers plenty of strength. The nuts should be flush with the top of the fork tubing, and end up as much in the center as possible. The holes in the triple tree top plate are drilled to match the location of the nut centers.

Photo 13 - Nuts welded into the fork legs.

Here are the completed triple tree forks installed on the bike (Photo 14). Notice how the top plate is rounded around the edge of the fork legs. This gives the bike a professional look. The nice thing about this triple tree design is that it does not restrict you on what type of handle bars or gooseneck you have to use. The top of the plate is blank, and you could weld the clamp form the butchered gooseneck back to the top for a standard set of handlebars, or go for something more radical like I plan to do as you will soon see.

Photo 14 - Completed triple tree forks.

Since the top of my workbench was clean (rare event), I decided to get out the jigsaw, some scrap steel and work on some eye candy for the bike. Photo 15 shows a cool looking evil spike thing I cut from some paper to install on the rear dropouts (drop-ins on this bike). I like to work with paper and scissor for this kind of thing, as it is easy to make adjustments then trace the design onto the desired material.

Photo 15 - Visualizing ideas using paper cut outs.

12 gauge steel is light, easy to find, and can be readily cut with a grinder or jigsaw with a steel blade. I use this stuff for most fenders, gussets and eye candy work. I traced the shapes outline on the steel using a black marker (Photo 16) so it could be cut.

Photo 16 - Tracing the designs on steel.

The shapes are cut from the steel using a jigsaw with a steel cutting blade (Photo 17). Take your time, especially around sharp corners and your blade will last a long time. This blade is quite a few years old. If you have to start cutting in the middle of the plate, drill a 1/4 inch hole just outside the cutting line to get the blade in.

Photo 17 - Cutting the shapes with a jigsaw.

The newly cut spike shapes are welded to the tops of the rear dropouts (Photo 18). A few tack welds were done first, so I could bang the steel into the correct position, then it is fully welded and ground clean. Those things are sharp!

Photo 18 - Don't get your foot stuck in these spokes

Since the jigsaw and sheet metal were already laying on the workbench, I decided to make a custom rear fender using the same method as the dropout spikes. I cut two sides and a center strip out of the steel (Photo 19), and they will be welded together to form a fender. The center strip is longer than the side parts because it has to fit around the curve. Those boring formulas you learn in math class do actually come in handy some day!

Photo 19 - Three pieces make up the rear fender.

To make the center strip conform to the curve on the fender, it is first tack welded to the end, then bent along the curve, placing tack welds at about every half inch (Photo 20). Just keep tack welding and bending until the entire length is completed.

Photo 20 - Weld, bend, weld, bend.

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