Fixing a Victorian

[Mickeyspinn]

Some quotes picked up throughout industrial life

"There is no process for common sense"
"Assumption is the mother of all f\/ck ups"y

Needless to say, it may be academic of how, who, what is built when you trundle off riding it. It's weird, I've got so attached to this bike and it's been an eye opener to the engineering and business excellence present in the USA. As a very strong - unashamed Europhile as I am - I can't help but fit the missing links in wider aspects of geopolitcs, space race, ethics looking at this machine. Perhaps I'm pissed (drunk) and need to get out more, but the fact is I think at this time there are things happening over the pond which are mind blowing, and also they mastered something that in Europe never got registered or handled properly - industrialisation and create appetite. How many Singar machines are in Europe?

Well my old man was a rather talented tool maker his preferred sayings were..

Do it once do it right.

Doctors bury their mistakes,engineers have to live with them.

I think it's essential to try and understand the who,how,why,when,what's it's part of learning and understanding like a seed for progress ! Unlike a computer that has a finite memory we essentially don't ...because ...well we have the power to forget.....freeing up space for more "usefull" stuff!
I think the marvel of America's unique ways of doing things really boils down to the unique mindsets of first settlers.....they I guess in some way we're more free of mind....they got up and left respective countries because they felt constrained and stifled by monarch rule and oppressive to them ways of life etc. I imagine it being to a country a bit like the brain drain that occurs during wars and financial depressions/recessions.....some people endure some people say f*c£ it this is crap I'm leaving for something better! Start anew!
What took centuries to achieve in the European countries the Americans caught up to so fast....I think that stems directly from skillsets and mindsets!

 

[Woz]

I know nothing about engineering your speaking Sanskrit or Babylonian Cuneiform, machined out, pressed? All I‘ve ever done is pump gas, auto maintenance in the 60s, hook up trailers, wash dishes, janitor, Army (expert marcher, poor hand grenade thrower, pretty good rifle marksman), food inspector, long shore-man, bar tender, tax collector, real estate appraisal, professional Cartographer, city planner, grant administrator, oncology nurse, teacher and currently the best job I ever had, retired. Why so many carriers you may ask. Computers made all these jobs obsolete or for people so stupid they can’t make changes because they don’t have to, the computer does it all. I kept changing careers because my jobs became obsolete. I quit teaching and retired when all the course work went on computers and offered far inferior programmed learning. All I can say is if you think education is expensive then wait until you have to pay for stupidity. By the way, Nabeaquam means man in a boat in the Anishinaabe language. No word in the original native tongue for bicycle so man in a boat is close enough.

That's the university of life right there! The invoices for stupidity are already racking up.

 

[Mickeyspinn]

I know nothing about engineering your speaking Sanskrit or Babylonian Cuneiform, machined out, pressed? All I‘ve ever done is pump gas, auto maintenance in the 60s, hook up trailers, wash dishes, janitor, Army (expert marcher, poor hand grenade thrower, pretty good rifle marksman), food inspector, long shore-man, bar tender, tax collector, real estate appraisal, professional Cartographer, city planner, grant administrator, oncology nurse, teacher and currently the best job I ever had, retired. Why so many carriers you may ask. Computers made all these jobs obsolete or for people so stupid they can’t make changes because they don’t have to, the computer does it all. I kept changing careers because my jobs became obsolete. I quit teaching and retired when all the course work went on computers and offered far inferior programmed learning. All I can say is if you think education is expensive then wait until you have to pay for stupidity. By the way, Nabeaquam means man in a boat in the Anishinaabe language. No word in the original native tongue for bicycle so man in a boat is close enough.

I've been wondering what your name meant!
I was thinking something along the line of "he who gave up the horse for the iron horse"...in native Indian speak! Love the way youve dodged the march of technology/computers in life.. spirit!
So I guess the name man in a boat is very apt!
I too have dodged the world of code,tech and all that junk...all my friends embraced it ...not for me I don't see it's true worth long-term only it's downsides. I do actually think that we are now paying for stupidity... The human race is awesome collectively....but only in the short term! ...damn we are utterly stupid in the long-term! Our solutions for problems of the past that we build for the now become our problems to solve in the future....duh....progress! Does a dog chasing its tail ever think it's making progress?

 

[Nabeaquam]

I've been wondering what your name meant!
I was thinking something along the line of "he who gave up the horse for the iron horse"...in native Indian speak! Love the way youve dodged the march of technology/computers in life.. spirit!
So I guess the name man in a boat is very apt!
I too have dodged the world of code,tech and all that junk...all my friends embraced it ...not for me I don't see it's true worth long-term only it's downsides. I do actually think qthat we are now paying for stupidity... The human race is awesome collectively....but only in the short term! ...damn we are utterly stupid in the long-term! Our solutions for problems of the past that we build for the now become our problems to solve in the future....duh....progress! Does a dog chasing its tail ever think it's making progress?

Dog chase it’s tail,wonderful, I burst out laughing

 

[Nabeaquam]

I’ve been looking at old advertisements for early pedal toe clips, just to get ideas. I made one yesterday evening out of junk. It’s important to have your foot on on the pedal so you can lift on "a fixed gear bicycle so you can pull up to assist stopping. I think it looks funky enough to be somewhat convincing. The wire ring was for landscaping, poly tent or tarp staples. There is a solution I have that will stain the galvanized wire so it looks old. It’s great being retired.

 

[Mickeyspinn]

I’ve been looking at old advertisements for early pedal toe clips, just to get ideas. I made one yesterday evening out of junk. It’s important to have your foot on on the pedal so you can lift on "a fixed gear bicycle so you can pull up to assist stopping. I think it looks funky enough to be somewhat convincing. The wire ring was for landscaping, poly tent or tarp staples.View attachment 637509

Nabeaquam's patented iron horse stirrup

 

[Nabeaquam]

Nabeaquam's patented iron horse stirrup

It’s a good idea, flawed in the execution. No where near the craftsmanship that you do converting aluminum parts into other clever things. I’m a very poor welder. I have a central tremor so you never know where the arc will start. I also have very poor vision and that makes it difficult to see where the wire or rod is when starting. I have very good equipment, stick and wire welders, but not the talent or ability to use them well.

 

[Mickeyspinn]

Practice makes perfect I found with welding....I've never stick welded tho only mig which is a lot easier!

 

[Nabeaquam]

Practice makes perfect I found with welding....I've never stick welded tho only mig which is a lot easier!

They are similar. Stick requires less fuss to get something done. Stick is great to fix something. A bolt falls out of your wheelbarrow and is lost, don’t look around for a replacement or tools, just stick weld it. I also use it on trailers and hitches, no bolts, just weld the parts on. 6011, the farmers rod, welds through paint and rust so no grinding, just over weld it, get the whole thing red hot, gob welds.

 

[Nabeaquam]

I was wrong about the larger diameter tubing. I finished sanding off the small amount of remaining paint and went through the plating in two places. Same crazy zig zag joint. I ran my fingers down the zig zag and you can’t feel it. It is also built with lugs. Some of the lugs are hard to see and you can’t feel them, even with a fingernail. The bottom bracket joints are barley noticeable with your fingernail.
The head tube joints are the best, very hard to see, but their there.