Gears Part 1

 Progress report on Little Walt. Gears 1

Greetings, Alb here...transmitting from deep cyber space.. Cos that's where I live, my workshop is in 'The Shireshire' though. The lights have been burning brightly and the lathe has been spinning whizzily, so good news...I've a few pictures and informative words I can share with you. Extremely exciting stuff if you love the smell of hot cutting fluid and the clickety click of digital calipers as raw metal gets cut to reveal it's destined shape.

The gears on Little Walt had suffered the same fate as the old crankshaft...probably having been submerged in water for quite a number of years didn't help.. Not like they may not turn again for a few last miles but to match them to the bling new crankshaft would be a criminal act. .

My search for a gear cutting specialist began in Minskip. A small 1 x street village just off the A1 in 'The Shireshire'  An overnight stopping place in years gone by for the drovers as they worked their way south towards old London town with cattle and sheep. A lone engineer known as Trevor had a small industrial unit next door to a chum of mine. "Trevor's your man" said my friend. So we popped next door to ask about gear cutting. Hummm...do-able he said. He recommended that I buy gear blanks from the largest manufacturer of such things in Blighty a company called HPC Gears (Chesterfield). Their catalogue was huge. I first had to learn about DP's and P.A.s then reference the replacements to match the Raleigh gears. I needed x5 gears to sort the 2 x speed transmission and valve timing gear. Gear blanks are oversized width ways and undersized on the centre bore to allow re-machining to fit most applications. Made of the correct steel too. 

 Once in possession of the gears I reached out to Trevor the engineer.  .emailed... No reply ......sent another email...No reply again. Hey you could bet money on this happening...Now what? 

Our window cleaner..(a biking chap) reminded me of a long established small engineering shop in Bradford. Located deep in the city of curries. No fear, down there I went....Phuff. Old skool engineering chap he was, past retirement age but still there hanging on to life. Didn't look too keen on doing the job. You could tell. At least in the end he told me straight up he wasn't.. Did get a workshop tour though. Not one machine in his shop had a D.R.O.  All work measured with vintage Moore & Wright micrometers or eye racks and feel. He continued to tell me the business used to be his fathers, passed to him. Trade slowed as the factories around shut and cheap replacement parts were the way to go on repairs rather than mend. he just likes to be in his shop now, small jobs and ebay sales on a conversion bolt he'd invented to improve the one on a VW Golf engine that shears a grub screw or something like that. By the time he'd finished talking old days and how many skilled operators used to work the machines he had a tear in his eye. No worries, I can relate to what he was telling me.  Skills lost for good. Shame on the youth of today...at some point this disinterest in working with hands will bite their arses, but there's no telling um..

Place your bets again...odds on that your Uncle Albert will be working the gear blanks. Correct!!!!!!

At this point I knew that the chances of me getting an exact fit on the gear internal bore to match the crankshaft was not going to happen with a general internal boring tool. Tried an adjustable reamer on a test piece of gear steel but that didn't fill me with confidence either that I could do all 5 x gears. 

Hang on...in amongst the engineering treasure I have a little grinding arbour that fits a Myford lathe tool clamp. Made by my Grandad. (cos he was Myford thru and thru) Who'd have thought after all these years I'd be in need of it..  He'd be proud and of course I'm proud to own it now and hopefully use it...In fact just like the engineer down in Bradford, connecting with those gone through their tools and teachings has got to be the best inheritance left.

Let's get the grinding arbour fully stripped of the tallow grease, oiled then rebuilt. Unfortunately no motor to drive it. I was planning on doing internal micro passes with a spinning mini grinding wheel just taking cats cocks off it till the gears are a perfect slide on fit. 

Ali-Express...dream it and they have it. Like Alladin's magic lamp but with a cost. Everything guaranteed to your door in 8 days. So I purchased a small motor complete with speed controller. Internal grinding wheels I sourced UK. Pulleys and belts to follow when I get the fixings sorted.

So,     I just need to wait now for the arrival of the motor and controller... 

Stay tuned for the latest news from 'The Old Sidevalve Bar' 

Unlocked in Yorkshireshireshire.

 Phuffff...Phuffff....Phuffff.....I'm quickly blowing off all the cobwebs so I can see the vintage keyboard.....(last used in June '23).  Greetings, it's me. Yes, your Uncle Albert back with our Little Walt. Both of us survived Covid. In fact wasn't Covid a load of old bluster compared to the world problems now? Anyway I'm gonna make an effort to stay with the main theme and not ramble off track. 

Recap from '23 - In the last post Little Walt was granted an age related registration number from the great powers that be. (Vehicle Licensing H.Q.) Neat to have an age related plate which is a number that could well have been given to a motorcycle in the 1920's..Obviously it wasn't but it's been lying in a file unwanted till now. So got the number and related paperwork but progress didn't follow quickly....The highly polished engine cases slipped back into dull normality, looking like they always did. The rolling frame still under an old sheet in the workshop, just like it always has been...The sand slowly running through the year glass clocking another and then another year off. Little Walt appears to be sleeping undisturbed towards his 100th birthday.

But...behind the scenes a massive raid on the Crackle-piggy bank was in operation. It's very sad that the original crankshaft is destined to be forever a boat anchor, what's the plan now?  For Little Walt to have any chance of burning some petrol and seeing the countryside again the only alternative was to call the best crankshaft specialist in the UK for help. Alpha Bearings in Dudley. yes, down in the black country, one of  'Britains' engineering areas left over from when old blighty ruled the world!! Yep, that's where there's still old skool guys that can work with their hands and turn iron ore into working steel.

A visit to their works...and a chat about my needs in the old board room that possibly hasn't changed since the 60's. The long solid oak table coated with a thick layer of dust, the glass fronted display cabinets fastened to the walls containing trophies from race wins over the last 60 years..It's times like this I knew I was experiencing REAL time travel. Hey!!! Don't anyone tell me that they wouldn't go back if they could!!!!!!!

Took quite a few months for the 'Wizards of Lathe' to work their magic.. Quite a few emails and hand drawn sketches changed hands...forever checking....doing their best to replicate a broken, misshaped and abused (by previous owner) near 100 year old Raleigh part. 

The cost of skill didn't come cheap, and why should it? Do you work for nothin? I'm about to present to you a 'work of art'. Best bit... It's a one off and it was commissioned by me, made by proper engineers!!!!! It's my 'Work of Art'. As good as any Banksy.

So there...Little Walter has a new heart. Still lot's to do before it will be pumping though. Keep looking in for the latest news.. Alb.

Covid19 ressurection - Locked down in Yorkshireshireshire. (Vintafake or Art for Art sake? you decide)Part 13

 Greetings......Yep, You've landed. Welcome to one of the internets smallest digital silicon chips, a.k.a. 'The Old Sidevalve Bar'. but shame on you if you knew nothing of the 'Crackle Dynasty' before today. A non profit early learning hub with an online database of Vintafake and Derring Do that is nothin' short of a national treasure.

Anyhows this very blog page is a biggy. This could well be the final chapter to a very long story that the whole world has been waited for. (and of course to any alien species that are intersecting this intersepting missive.) Blimey, imagine the interseption of space with the thoughts of Albert Crackleport... Posh!!! Have I beer-houred too early?

Nay, no beer hour is early, only just in time.!!!!

So, flopping onto the doormat in an unceremonious flutter came a missive from Big Mother down in Swansea. Our Postie is a master at flopping all sorts of suspicious packages through our box without a sound so it remained in a state of laying un-noticed for several hours. "Behold more shitte" I cried as my eyes caught a glimpse of another possible credit card application form.  But no, this was a small brown envelope with a secret inside, information that only someone in Welshman land knew.   Yes you've guessed it...D.V.L.A. had made contact..... 

Opened with trembling hands it did in fact bring instructions....

Oh blimey, what do you make of that? Episode 13 of a lock down story... Started with a sausage buttie and then to end like this...What will 'Little Walt' think?.....

POSH!!!! BEEEEER! 

Covid19 ressurection - Locked down in Yorkshireshireshire. (Vintafake or Art for Art sake? you decide)Part 12

 Progress report by Albert Crackleport. - News? Chuffin NEWS!!! I'm sat here shaking my head in slow side to side movements and at the same time and much slower rolling my eyes upwards. "Well you silly man" you may shout, "What's rattled you?" Hang on... hang on....how much can a chap take before pouring an extremely large sherry and helping himself  to several cheese/pineapple cocktail stick nibbles....

Blighty News....(which helps put this jotting in time, place and space) is the disaster around the world regarding covid and it's still ongoing....blooming serious! Too right. BUT!!! Outside of 'The Shire' and further darn sarfff where the silly willy clowns that govern our land live the T.V. news discussions are on 'Boris's curtains.....How much did they cost? I can hardly lift one finger across the keyboard to type... F.F.S. He's a public schoolboy blagger and don't ya know it. Ya did know before casting ya vote surely !!!! Well known for taking anyones money especially the taxpayers,  Thank goodness The Old Sidevalve Bar doesn't have a currency, I have a special world trading agreement in place, swapping goods and labour for sausage sandwiches', huge croissants and snifters of Barley wine. None taxable but rather a pain to carry around in a wallet. Hey Ho!

Back to Little Walt. The little chap is complete, next step is to apply for a dating certificate. Not one that may come from 32 Ambleside Avenue. Streatham. (Rather a famous dating agency in the 60's) Nay, Little Walts dating certificate will have to come from a motorcycle club that has access to old records of the relevant machine manufacturer. To obtain such a document I have to provide photographic evidence of Frame Number, Engine Number together with several photo's showing both sides clearly. Attached to such valuable information needs to be a bankers cheque valued in G.B.P. and not sausage sandwiches. 

Stress....don't know which is more stressful....Waiting for a successful dating search or the birth of a first born..  Either one takes what seems like ages to arrive and is accompanied with huge puffing and blowing as it emerges into the daylight.

Finally the big day.... He's from the year 1926....... and now has roots...I have the certificate to prove it..

Then more form filling to answer questions posed by Big Mother Computor of vehicle registration, another bankers cheque valued once again in G.B.P. and another wait......

 1926, by 'eck, them the'er Raleigh riders knew how to clock up tha' wins!!!!

Covid19 ressurection - Locked down in Yorkshireshireshire. (Vintafake or Art for Art sake? you decide)Part 11

 

 Albert here....Date 03/05/2021. Still living around Covid restrictions.......You know what? I'm not bothered if it's lockdown or not. Slowly unlocking? Phuff....Do I need my nails done? Nope!!! Visit a zoo? Nope!!! Have a pint outside on a freezing night? Nope!!! I'm in my zone (shed and homebrew) and the new normal can be what the hell it likes I'm not going to be part of it, not now and I've decided not ever! What really matters is progress continues on 'Little Walt'. 

There's faking and then there's 'Big Mister' faking and hey you've come to the right page to meet the 'Big Mister Fakers' We are edging ever nearer towards the climax episode! The finishing stoke that will reduce anyone but the prepared to breathlessness of almost lifethreatening proportions.... aaaaaaahhhhh....  aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh.... careful now!...Hold on a bit longer!!!! There's more to do.

Handlebar grips - Surely the old racers didn't bother with nancy boy anti-vibration bar end weights and sponge grips?  No sir!!  Fabric tape or a strip of tightly wrapped old inner tube would surely suffice to keep hand on bars over the infamous bump at  Brooklands. Then it's good enough for me, I need some similar.

Here's my Eric Fernihough tribute handlebar grips.....using old bicycle tube. Above is the man himself  at 169.79 miles per hour on a Brough Superior. Little Walt is looking faster already.

 

Adding to 'The Sporty Look' - The old Castrol R tin is a left over from my own racing days in the early '80s. Maybe not the correct logo for 1920's Wakefield Oil Co (laterly Castrol) but hey it's my motorcycle, and old motorcycles evolve through time.  A British Army water bottle carrier dating from possibly Falklands era held it nicely, case of fabricating a couple of brackets to mount it to the frame. Tried 2 positions and settled for the later.

 

 

 Fabricate bottom bracket - complete with 'speedholes'
 

and a top bracket.

Add a period lamp..

Borrow the gear changing lever from the Picklington Precision and fabricate attaching bracket.

That's it ! Hope Little Walt now looks good enough to present to Licensing Dept with a view of obtaining road legal paperwork.

Hope also that the 'Extreme Vintafaking' reflects in the best possible way the sporting heritage of Raleigh Motorcycles. 

Speaking of sporting - Here's another good sport, well known for giving her best on the moors and in thick wooded areas. Yes, you've guessed it, another great photo of top Works Raleigh Chick - Marjorie Cottle riding in the 1927 I.S.D.T.  (left)

 

Looks like Little Walt came from an era of hard riding, and hard dinner breaks.

Shap ISDT 1927 (image from STT collection)  

Image of a Lunch Stop with lashings of Beer at ISDT 1927 

So, keep watching for more news of Little Walt.  In the meantime why not have your own ISDT lunch stop. But remember 'stay safe and bottoms up'.

 

Covid19 ressurection - Locked down in Yorkshireshireshire. (Vintafake or Art for Art sake? you decide)Part 10

 Covid19 news today - Same old - same old. Lockdown easing stop......Dickheads heading to beer gardens and the coast stop....Barbers open so is it something for the weekend sir? oh and a haircut if ya can't do it ya'self stop.....Wow that's freedom.. ...Any bets on another wave? 

Greetings my friends, Albert here with more tips on how to recycle everyday objects into breathtaking motorcycle vintafakeness that not too far in the future will become family heirlooms. If, of course that's where you interest lies read on. You would have thought that working with sellotape, string and skool glue appeared to be something only baby boomers can do without safety equipment, but fear not on this blog knowledge is freely given to those who are capable of cooking their own meals rather than 'app a meerkat pizza' from their well arsed sofa.  Start today and learn the ways of the masters and in no time you too will be able to leave home without a phone...find your own way with just a map and be confident enough to tie your own shoe laces..

Todays lesson -How to fabricate a faux kickstarter shaft.

So far on the Little Walt vintafake for arts sake journey we have made a replica exhaust pipe out of plastic and a fuel tank out of cardboard. Obviously missing if you look at Little Walts pictures is the kickstarter shaft and lever. The big hole on the right side of the motor instantly giving the game away. A kickstart lever came in Little Walts travel suitcase but it looks suspisiously to be of Japanese small motorcycle heritage. The kickstarter shaft was beyond a quick repair. Now what?

 

Just call your Uncle Albert 'Geppetto Crackleport' for yes you've guessed it....this time I will be working with wood...

Turned one side of the wood to be a tight fit into the engine casing, the other tight enough to hold the kickstart lever. (At least for a couple of photos) You surely wasn't thinking I'd be trying to start the engine with it?  Remember there are no engine internals, it's a real Pinocchio motor...lie upon lie upon lie.

Finish by cutting the nose to length and spraying silver.

 

The Pinocchio shaft, it got no strings !!! Hey, Geppetto Crackleport ya deserve a flagon of homebrew 'I certainly do' even if I do say so myself...

Covid19 ressurection - Locked down in Yorkshireshireshire. (Vintafake or Art? you decide)Part 9

 How could your Uncle Albert match the shear artistry of the 'Splut' cardboard fuel tank that now adorns Little Walt? A show stopper or a big whopper? Was it 'Naturalism, Realism or Kidologyism? A perfect meld of all? You decide. The pressure is on, for I too now have to done my smock and floppy velvet beret and create a piece of 'Vintafake' that pleases the eye and fools the brain. Look out 'Tate Modern' 'cos 'The Old Sidevalve Bar' is coming to get ya!!!!

My chosen modelling material is plastic. I just happen to have in stock a length of  tube that was originally destined to transfer soapy suds from a washing machine to a sewer drain, this with a bit of effort and imagination could make a lookalike exhaust pipe. 

A heat gun best used for paint removal was gently played over an area of the tube and once the plastic reached a wobble state a bend was attempted. Hum, this 'aint gonna work, too much wibble on the wobble. Now what? fear not, sometimes the years of collecting the non collectable pays dividends. I just also happen to have in stock a selection of rather unattractive coil springs that once added external support to Mig Welding torches. 

 

 Double lucky that one of them slides down the plastic pipe with less than a millimetre clearance. Hot gun on wobble temperature and the plan appears to be working. Slowly, slowly, keep the wibble out of the wobble and watch the ripple.

 

Feedback majority suggested I filled the ripple scars with body filler ( a.k.a. Bondo) before painting black.

 A couple of coats of Satin Black followed by a very light rub with Scotchpad when dry and that looks pretty life like to me. Next job - Brackets to hold the pipe in place. Drilled with Speed-holes and to be painted with black a.s.a.p.

So there it is, Little Walt now has a Vintafake exhaust pipe. Below George Dance on the 1920's works Sunbeam. Spot the difference.

Here's Elke Sommer with a bit of Vintage. Oh yes, it's all about the pipes.