Day Forty-Three

     Today I got some cable ties and u-bolts for attaching the forks to the cart. I believe this is the third trip to the hardware store so far, we'll see how it goes, I anticipate at least one more. I'm not going to attach the forks until I get the wheels, so that they'll be even if they're different sizes. I also grabbed a foot pump for $5.79, and finally pumped up the tires on my KMX (Website, mine's much older and much less nice.) and I partook in some drifting.

     Then, I finished spraying primer on the forks, and gave them numerous clear coats. I really like how smooth the matte primer is, but gloss protects it, and makes it look marginally more professional (I hope.).

The clamps and U-Bolts. Around $11 worth.

Tiny hose clamp holding the back of the cart to the bottom.

A better angle of it.

I found this old piece of belt, and thought it looked pretty rad. I wanted to incorporate it onto my bike somewhere.

Either on the headtube.

Or on the underside of the seat. I might just leave it off, I'm not sure yet.

The forks after the primer was dry.
















After a couple clear coats, it's still wet.

Day Forty-Two

     Today was a pretty successful day. I got down, and got to work. I cut through the non-drive side supports, which were significantly harder than the drive side, due to right-hand dominance and awkward angles. Eventually I got most of the way through the last support, and just turned it around until it came off. It was a feeling of pure victory. I then tightened up the hose clamps holding the fork to the cart, added two more at the bottom, and tightened those to near-dangerous levels, and I'm somewhat worried about it pulling the fork apart slowly over time, I think it should be alright though, if it's not, I'll just get an axle, or even a quick-release skewer, and put it through the front dropouts to prevent expansion, but I don't think that'll be necessary.
     Finally, after all that, I sprayed a few coats of Clear Coat (that sounded redundant) onto the seat to protect it a bit more. Ideally I'll be able to build up a plastic (Apparently Plasticine is a modelling clay...)  layer on top of the duct tape to protect it from wear and weather. I'm not sure if it'll be soft or rigid, we'll just have to see, I I honestly wouldn't mind a whole bunch. I also taped up the non-painted surfaces of the forks, and gave one side a coat of primer, albeit a thick coat. They were slightly different shades of black, and the primer I have matches the shopping cart well, and the more colors that match on this bike, the better.

For Science!

I got halfway through this cut, but then I realized that it was a bad place for a cut and wouldn't look aesthetically pleasing, and almost as bad, it might be dangerous.

Where the new cut was, much cleaner looking.

I thought that having a perfectly straight tube would be good for sticking flags or antennas or polo mallets in.

But then I took a break, and saw the ends of the forks... Realistically, they'll be covered up by some coin and epoxy-based mechanism to keep rain out.

Also, while I was taking a break from sawing, I took the plastic seat lid off, it was cramping my style. That said, I might put it back on, it completes the appearance of the cart.

The plastic seat lid.

Also, I saw this label, and very promptly removed it.

This is what Victory looks like. This is the kind of scene that Nike dreams about.

I'm so happy to be done with this stage, also oil is covering my floor...

The new hose clamps at the bottom of the fork.

This may pose some danger, it's kind of sharp. But it's also difficult to come in contact with, and the entire cart is uncomfortable... I'm thinking that adding pool noodle foam in strategic locations would be beneficial.

It's perfectly symmetrical. For aesthetic reasons mainly, though keeping equal pressure is important too.










The other side.











The forks after they've been taped and had a one coat of primer. (Still Wet)

Day Twenty

     Today I went back to the bike shop for the first time in far too long of a time, and I picked up two 26" forks! They look like they're different widths, but the axle space is equally wide, and they will hold the same size wheel. Also, they're both suspension forks, so this is going to be a front-suspension cartbike (If only I had a soft-tail mountain bike for a frame!). Now, I'll have to start sawing the wheels off the cart, I used a muffler cutter today, and despite the amount of sparks, it is nice! Then I'll mount the forks, and eventually get some wheels. But not tonight, because I'm tired.