Simplex Fenders

[Ricks]

I used 22 gauge on the test piece.  I think Simplex used 20 gauge. I will be getting some 20 gauge next week, and may pick up some 18 gauge also to try out.  I had some 16 gauge at home, but man, that was hard to form.

[pd]

I'd think 16g would take a lot more pressure and I suppose a bit more muscle .

I've never used an English wheel , so I'm just guessing .

Pete .

[Ricks]

I'd think 16g would take a lot more pressure and I suppose a bit more muscle .

I've never used an English wheel , so I'm just guessing .

Pete .

16 gauge is about what they used to make the seat pans.  16 ga is .060" vs 20 ga is .036".

[oil-lamp]

That looks like a great start for the chopped and rusted repair. my question
would be that, have you tried to make the notch for the forks? That little reverse bend that goes in a bit. Now that's seems to be where I would be stumped. Shoot I'm stumped just trying to build my drop manifold and to get it out of the way of the belts. At least you did start with the hardest one so when you get to the rear fender you will just be able to pop them out. 

[Ricks]

That looks like a great start for the chopped and rusted repair. my question
would be that, have you tried to make the notch for the forks? That little reverse bend that goes in a bit. Now that's seems to be where I would be stumped. Shoot I'm stumped just trying to build my drop manifold and to get it out of the way of the belts. At least you did start with the hardest one so when you get to the rear fender you will just be able to pop them out.  

My idea to put the fork notch in is to make a die and stamp it in.  I think I could use a block of hardwood and use a router to cut the groove and then use a piece of round stock to punch the notch into the die.  Anyone see a problem with this thinking?

[pd]

That's exactly how I would do it , Rick .

I'm sure you'd have to clamp the fender to the hardwood die  in a couple of places , so there would be no movement .

Pete .

[kartjockey]

Rick How much time did you have into making the fender sample? 

[Ricks]

Rick How much time did you have into making the fender sample?  

About an hour. I am working on a front fender. I have about 3 hours into it so far, and it still needs some metal finishing. I also need to make a jig to stamp in the fork reliefs.  Comments are welcome!

[Mike Sal]

Nice work Rick.  One of the guys in our blacksmithing group also makes things with these tools.  He used to sell a lot of fenders on ebay.  He has done many demonstrations at our club shop in the past & he can turn out a full size fender in aluminum in about 20 minutes.  Really something to watch him.  And he wasn't using any tools I didn't see in your photos....with maybe only the specialty hammers to use with the shot bag.

I've been meaning to buy a HF (Hazard Fraught) set myself but just haven't done it yet.
Mike Sal

[Ricks]

Hi Mike, long time since you have been here, You must be playing with the VW.

I just picked up some mallets to go with the shot bag and I have a cheapie old set of body hammers.

I think once I figure out what I am doing, I may be able to get the time down to 2 hours or so for a complete fender.  I bet the aluminum shapes up much quicker than steel.

As for Horrible Freight, I have noticed that over the last few years the quality of some stuff has improved.  I read that one of the owners son's has had a big impact on this.  They built a new testing facility, and are demanding better quality from their suppliers. 

I also have one of their throttles shears, and what a crude casting it is.  I disassembled  it, bead blasted it clean, smoothed the rough casting, and then trued all the mating surfaces.  What a huge difference this made.  Now, I understand this is not a Beverly Shear, but for the $100 I have into it, it works amazingly well.

While speaking of tools, I like Grizzly.  They seem to be a couple of steps in refinement ahead of HF, and usually work well right out of the box, albeit at a higher cost.

[Mike Sal]

Yes, I've been busy getting the repro Kubelwagen ready for the upcoming reenacting season.  I've discovered that using metal from old washing machines works pretty good for small forming jobs.  I've been using my HF throatless shear a lot over the last couple weeks.  Ya, the casting was pretty rough & needed to be reworked when I got it about 5 years ago.  The mounting surface was so bad that I still have to put a shim under one corner when I clamp it down to the work table.

For punching holes, if you can find the fake whitney punch tools that come from Taiwan instead of china, the quality is much better.

Yes, the aluminum fenders are a lot faster to fab than steel.  Don't be afraid to use a rose bud torch to anneal the steel inbetween workings. 

Regarding the dimples for the fork tubes, you might make the female portion by making a cast of that area from an original that you can use to shove the dowels against in a press.
Mike Sal

[Ricks]

Well, here is my first complete fender.  Not perfect, but better than most of the originals out there.  I made a quick and dirty die out of wood to put the fork reliefs in to the fender.  Works better than I thought it would.  Only took a couple of strikes with a dead blow hammer against a piece of round stock to get them the correct depth.  I will work out a more repeatable way in the future to index each one the same.  On this one, I just eyeballed it and compared it to a stock one.

[pd]

Not bad , for a rookie .

Next one should be award wining .

Pete .

[kartjockey]

very nice Rick.  An ole tin knocker from way back!

[Ricks]

Now I need to build a bike to put these fenders on!  Only 5 months to Portland!