Mech Pimping For Cheapskates

[torqueless]

Re:

Yeah I think it belonged to my Grandfather, and was probably second-hand to him, so it could easily be 100 years old. It doesn't do three decimal places, but it's fine for transferring dimensions- the kind of dimensions that I work with, anyway.

I am terrible...I use 'retro' tools, 'retro' bikes, even 'retro' oil, but I don't consider myself 'retro' at all- 'Retro' means 'going back'. I don't really need to go back, 'cause I never went forward...

Anyway, seeing as it's Friday night, I polished up these bits- still a few scars and clumsy transitions:

 

[Diamant_Don]

Looking fine! There is nothing quite like well made shiny bits to lift the mood.

 

[torqueless]

Re:

Found a pair of hex-socket bolts of exactly the right length. I'm not quite sure if they are 6mm or 0BA- at any rate I drilled out the holes in the inner plate and tapped a 0BA thread into them.

The pulley bushes cleaned up OK in the end. A liberal application of grease and they feel about how pulleys should feel.

 

[Martin Rattler]

Re:

Nice! Looking forward to seeing the completed mech.

 

[torqueless]

Re:

I think I've just about run out of energy to devote to this mech at the moment. I still need to get some sort of washer between the cage and the pivot-housing to take up about half a mm of play. I need to cut down the stop-screws a bit so they don't stick out at the back. Apart from that it's more or less done. The edges I filed on the steel parallelogram arms I painted orange- a pre-emptive strike against corrosion.

Pictures can be selective and show things in their best light, so in the interests of full disclosure, here's some less than flattering pictures- one of the vice-prints on the parallelogram arms, (I also need to punch the pin in a bit further) and one of the somewhat ragged and oversize counterbore for the 'nut' that holds the cage to the pivot.

Here's a few more pictures, including one of the mech in it's natural habitat. Cage alignment was a little bit off, which could be just as much to do with the hanger on this frame as with any issues with the mech itself. Needs a bit more research.

 

[Hillwalker]

Very impressive indeed. How easy was it to finally attach your handmade cage to the RD body?

HW

 

[torqueless]

Re:

Well, I don't know if you are familiar with these mechs- the pivot bolt is two parts- one screws into the other. I guess the idea is that you can unscrew the 'bolt' part with the allen key and then withdraw the long 'column', still attached to the cage, from the other end, leaving the spring in place in the 'barrel'. But being able to do that depends on the cage/column interface having more friction than the column/bolt interface. I just tried this, and failed- turning the allen key dismantled the cage/column connection, leaving the column/bolt connection secure.
I must rectify this problem....!

 

[bm0p700f]

How light is this. I have a cyclone II mech which I have sent of to fibrelite as I want carbon cages for it. It should be under 130g by the time it's done. Then I will have to find a bike to use it on.

 

[torqueless]

Re:

I don't have any scales that are up to the job of weighing it accurately. It certainly won't come in anywhere near 130g. According to Velobase it should have started off at about 210g.

 

[Ian Raleigh]

What a great looking finished project, well done mate.