I got the other side welded of the Rickati tank welded on the other night during Open Shop. It's looking pretty good so far but it's going to be a little bit slower going to get it planished up nice. I can't use the pneumatic planisher because it won't fit underneath the lower post, so everything has to be done with a hammer and dolly. The hardest part is always right next to the weld bead. There always seems to be a slight depression that's a son 0f a gun to raise up. I'm getting better at this as I progress, so the old adage "practice makes perfect" certainly applies but knowing myself as I do, I don't need too many delays or I'll drop the project and move on to something else. The wheels have already been turning. My buddy Bob dropped off some parts for me the other night, though. I've got new levers and cables ready to go, so that helps. I'm going to try and get some more done over Spring Break but I've got a lot of other stuff around the shack that needs some work as well. As my old pal Joey B. used to say - "steady by jerks".
The weather has been teasing us with temperatures in the high 60's, so it's time to get outside and start running and cycling. Depending on my schedule, there's a 10 mile run in about a month I'd like to be able to do. Don't know if I'll be up for that one but there's a 5k in about two months that's going to be a definite. I'm planning on riding to work on the bike as soon as Spring Break's over as often as I can. I've ridden in a couple of times this year but there's just been too much snow and ice to get out and run or cycle. Spring is definitely in the air, however. Get outside and enjoy it people!
4 comments:
I'm hoping to acquire on of those nice rail wheel units you made :)
My plan is to use it for stabilizing my bicycle on a local abandoned track...
Any chance I could acquire one of these units?
Also, how well does the roller stabilize in lateral-tilt mode when it sits on the rail?
Also, the photo shows it with four wheels - two on the front and one on each side of the rear, but are there two more holding up the rear end?
I'm a little too busy right now to make one but since there seems to be a bit of interest in railbikes, I'd be willing to draw up a quick sketch of the whole bike if anyone is interested. The front guide was made from leftover skateboard wheels from when my son used to fiddle around with them. That sort of dictated the design. There are no wheels holding up the rear. The guide just holds the front wheel of the bike in alignment with the track. The outrigger keeps everything upright. I assume from the name isochroma that you're also interested in photography?
I've been thinking about how to build a pure magnet-guided single-rail railbike!
And finally I have the solution. It uses a 4" wide Neodymium disk magnet inside a PVC pipe attached to the front fork via a second fork from another bike.
I tested the cylindrical magnet system using a scaled-down rail and small ceramic disk magnets, and they self-center :)
Here's the magnet:
eBay: 1 PC N42 4" x 1" Neodymium Disk Magnets - 320 lb PULL!
http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=310207234153
Now that I've gotta see! I suppose if you can have mag-lev trains you can have a mag railbike. Let me know how that works out.
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