Sidecar

Since I was able to finish up several projects around the shack, I got back to work on the sidecar project. I've got the fender pretty much finished up now. It still could use some planishing to smooth it out more but it's time to move on beyond that. I can do that next winter.

I needed to make a bump-out for clearance on the axle. Originally I thought I'd try to bump out the sheet but decided against that and went the make it out of a separate piece route. Of course this still involved making a piece to make the piece, but it came out rather well. 

Finished fender looks pretty sexy. The more I shine it up the more obvious the need for further planishing but even if I leave it as is, it's not too bad. Besides, it's supposed to be the kind of thing the passenger would be clambering on and about so you wouldn't want it finished to too high of a degree. I do like the solid rivets rather than "Pop" rivets holding things together.

While drilling the holes for the rivets, my Milwaukee 3/8" Hole Shooter quit working - I think the switch gave out. Of course the switch is no longer available so I grabbed the old Van Doren to finish up the job. This monster is actually only a 1/4" drill motor even though it's about twice the size of the 3/8". Grabbing this one was easier than walking out to the other barn and getting my cordless but it's tough to handle one-handed. Especially without breaking that small #30 drill bit. 

I looked at replacement corded drills on Amazon from both Milwaukee and Dewalt. The only Milwaukee I saw similar to what I have has a keyless chuck. While those are handy, for a heavy duty drill I'd prefer a chuck that requires a key. What I'd really like is to just be able to replace the switch on mine and move on from there. This is the second Milwaukee tool that's broken that I haven't been able to get parts for. Of course both of them are old enough to vote. The new Dewalt I looked at has a little less power and it's made in China. I'll do some shopping and see what I can come up with. I could probably get by with the cordless drill but when working in the shop having to have a cord isn't much of a handicap and they are a smaller than a cordless with comparable power.

Next up on the sidecar is the wiring. I've got the two lights that fit in the tubing that I need to wire in for tail and brake lights. I get that done and I'll be ready for powder coating or paint.