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  1. the tinker

    Hanging some guns on bikes

    Crummy day. It's wet, freezing rain this morning. Too damp for the bones. Figured I hang a few guns from the bikes....
  2. the tinker

    This past summer. . . .

    Don't ride much, but usually run into something interesting when I do. Fell in love with this 1918 steam tractor. The 52 Panther looked good parked next to it. Really like these old steamers. This snowy week was a good week to take out the erector set and make a model of one. Been messing...
  3. the tinker

    Day and night photos. ..show yours.

    Went into the shop after lunch and couldn't help but notice how bright and colorful it was. Some items stand out better in daylight, like the old marbles stored inside glass bottles, displayed in the sunlit windows. At night, other items stand out and the old bottles and their colorful contents...
  4. the tinker

    Another first

    I've had many Schwinns with springers. Broke the spring once, right in half. I've never heard of anyone breaking an original 1952 spring. Maybe riding it down the old wooden Cook County forest preserve toboggan slide one hot august afternoon was more of a jolt than it could handle. I've had...
  5. the tinker

    Biketoberfest Villapark, Ill.

    Got to the swap sooner than expected. Saw lots of great bikes and good friends. Saw three fellow Cabers that I sold Phantoms to 6-7 years back. Actually bought a green '51Phantom back. Always had seller's remorse on that one. Anyway, here's what was there.
  6. the tinker

    Entrance view to your shop.

    The entrance to your workplace is important. It makes a statement. . . It's "You." Let's see yours......
  7. the tinker

    Old beater Schwinn: what year?

    Don Lindquist bought this old Schwinn at the Blue Moon swap and would like to know what year it is??? I lent my pre war serial number list to someone who never returned it. [ Wish I could recall who it was] Here's the number: Y04933. I think it's a 1938-40. What say you guys...
  8. the tinker

    Blue Moon photos[part one]

    Just got home from the Blue Moon swap. Perfect day! Been a rainy week, but today was great. Got there at 9 and took photos of everything. Got the feeling that money was a little tight with the buyers this year. Lotta guys don't put prices on their stuff, which is bad. Very bad. You know what...
  9. the tinker

    What do you do with old chainrings?

    Here's mine, where's your's?
  10. the tinker

    Huffy tandem in the weeds

    Just returned from a walk with the wife. . . . . She spotted this old Huffy amongst the flowers...... Notice the Monark butterfly on the horn.
  11. the tinker

    Steampunk Zepplins

    Steampunk goes hand in hand with the Ratrod Bikes. It's all about imagination and having fun with old stuff. In the case of these Zeps, it's using old erector set parts and any old junk that's handy. This winter I will add an Erectorset built tank to an old straight bar 30's boy's Ranger, that...
  12. the tinker

    53 Panther

    Rode old 8 Ball this morning. Been my favorite rider for many years.
  13. the tinker

    Show us your your clutter

    Let's see it. Let's share it.
  14. the tinker

    Clean Monark Yard Art

    Nice lady a few houses down the street from me bought this original Monark for 20 bucks at a garage sale. Look closely.. . . The guard looks rusty, but it's really not. 2 small dings on top edge that would easily straighten out. Hard to find, rust free chrome spring supports under the saddle...
  15. the tinker

    38 Schwinn Liberty ....sort of.

    Nice day for a ride.
  16. the tinker

    Whizzer stuff for sale

    See my post under; "General discussion about old bicycles." Lots of photos.
  17. the tinker

    Bunch of bike and Whizzer stuff for sale.

    Went through this place last Weds. Three big old buildings, mostly filled with late 60's-70s car parts, hoarded by a life-long stock car driver. In between the stacks of old car parts are scattered lots of repop Whizzer stuff, and old bikes. This fellow's name was Ralph I forget the last name...
  18. the tinker

    Erector Set Locomotive Hudson 4-6-4

    Just got done adding a classic Schwinn part to complete the Hudson 4-6-4 steam engine. There's actually two parts off a Schwinn bicycle used. Can anyone spot them? Everything else is mostly classic standard Erector Set parts. No plastic parts used and well over 400 slotted screws. I'll post...
  19. the tinker

    Erector Set Hudson 4-6-4

    It's 37 inches long. Used over 400 hundred slotted screws. All metal, no plastic. Had to make the top of cab from sheet metal, other than a few small pieces, it's all from common Erector Set parts. I left the pilot the original Erector Set yellow paint. Everything else, I painted flat black...
  20. the tinker

    Guns and bikes

    Made a Paladin holster this morning and mounted it on the old Hawthorne. The bike is displayed on a stand. Cast the chess knight out of scrap tin from a teapot. Two tiny machine screws were cast into the back of the chess piece to fasten it on to the leather. Made these holsters, hanging...
  21. the tinker

    Erector Set Zeppelin

    Here in Illinois, the crazy lock-downs have given me much extra time in my shop. Using it wisely, I've installed a train Layout, with 4 separate tracks of Marx and Lionel. After re-covering a bunch of worn out bicycle saddles out of leather, I decided to try making cap-gun holsters...
  22. the tinker

    Ralieghs

    How do I date a Raliegh? It has a Sturmney Archer 3 speed on it. Is there a date code on the hub? Where are the serial numbers? I spotted this bike in a thrift store this morning for 50 bucks. Super clean. I'll take a photo of it tomorrow, unless I come to my senses. Never liked English bikes...
  23. the tinker

    Addison swap

  24. the tinker

    Another Ranger

    Just when I figure I'm done with the bikes. . . After a couple fun days of selling at Memory Lane, I'm loading up the truck for the ride home. Two minutes from hitting the road, I notice a young fellow has set up across from me. I spot two old frames. A 30's Schwinn and a Ranger. I'm out of...
  25. the tinker

    Chicago Klassics Swap photos

    Lots of bikes and parts. Many CABERs there. Bob Usasi came in from sunny California. Rico Bike, Neanderthal, Bikeman76. Vincev and his wife, Ruth drove up from Indiana. Big Don, Rick Potter from the south side, and of course me, Tinker was there riding old 8 Ball, the 53 Panther that is rode...
  26. the tinker

    Winter tomorrow. . . what's your plan?

    Today is the last day of fall. Did some painting on a tank this morning. Took a long walk with the wife. Hate walking with her. It's hard to see around her, watching out for cars and such. She did make an excellent dinner tonight. Never can tell what she's cooking. Can't see the stove when...
  27. the tinker

    Yo yo's

    Caber, buck hughes has 4 yo yo's for sale. Check them out. One is sterling silver. I have a couple myself, but was never good at them, but my wife is. Here's a yo yo story, that's related to bikes. I was at a old car cruise night one evening, a bunch of years back, showing several old bikes...
  28. the tinker

    Murray Merc.

    Got the Merc. in the shop and up on the stand. Changing the wheels and tires out for better ones. Going to do something with this tank. Was going to do a stars and bars Dukes of Hazard theme on the tank, but there's this bike in the Rat rod section that has this great flame job on the tank...
  29. the tinker

    Hang'em high!

    Hung the Hawthorne Flyer I got this week from the shop ceiling. It joins the old black Ranger. Uses wasted space in a small shop. The wife hated it. She was barking like mad about it. Guess it scared her.
  30. the tinker

    Year of Hawthorne???

    Picked up this old boy last night. It's a one owner bike, recently bought at an estate sale. Being I got it from the guy that bought it at the sale, it must have went for practically nothing, as I only paid him a 100 bucks for it, and he was happy to get it. Here's a photo of the late owner...
  31. the tinker

    Sight unseen.

    This covid crap changes things. I think this winter is going to be a long one. Bought a bike sight-unseen tonight, for a winter project. I've done this before and usually I'm disappointed. It's supposed to be "old. " I was told it's a J.C. Higgins, but it's from Montgomery Ward, so that makes it...
  32. the tinker

    Just curious. . .

    Back in the summer of 62 or 63, I picked up a bike in an alley on trash day. It was a 24' Rollfast Roy Rodgers bike, with the later model [Schwinn type] springer. The bike was painted a medium brown, with a rope design piping painted on the frame. The only reason I took it was because it had a...
  33. the tinker

    Decisions, Decisions.

    Which one to ride? The Merc. An easy rider, for sure. Great morning for a ride. Intended to ride all of them this morning, but much too humid for the old tinker. As I pulled these bikes out , I was reminded of earlier times. The summer of '62, a kid on the next block was selling his older...
  34. the tinker

    A Schwinn afternoon.

    The wife and I rode up to the local war memorial. Great afternoon for a ride. 26 crosses for the 26 young men from our county that lost their lives in the Middle-east. Saw lots of pretty flowers on the way. USA-all the way!
  35. the tinker

    Today's garage find

    Just picked this Schwinn Typhoon up from original owner. Dates from April 64. Dirty, but not much rust. I know nothing about middleweights. Sold my original Phantom in '63 for 8 bucks when these banana seats were first coming out. Looks like a cool bike for the old tinker to tool around town...
  36. the tinker

    Girl's bike?

    The lady that cuts my hair told me last year her friend has an old girl's coaster-brake bike hanging in her garage, that she bought new, years ago. She'd like to sell it. I'm not into girl's bikes, so I really wasn't interested. I told her 20-30 bucks would be about it. I live in Chicagoland...
  37. the tinker

    Making curved, Shelby style fender braces.

    I'm sticking this post here in the restoration thread, in case someone wants to try this. I don't have a real shop, just the basics. I think if you have access to a metal cutting band saw, cutting these would be more accurate and faster, especially if using a rip fence. The first braces I made...
  38. the tinker

    curved Shelby braces

    Making a couple of those super cool curved Shelby braces for the back of the Roadmaster rat. Bent a hunk of 1/2" metal electrical conduit and ripped it lengthwise in half. Love the look of those heavy curved braces. If you attempt this, cut them longer than needed, so you clamp in a vice while...
  39. the tinker

    The three amigos

    Three fenderless favorites. Hawthorne 5 bar, 49Schwinn, and a Colson. It started to storm a couple minutes after I took these photos. I guess the wind didn't like the Hawthorne.
  40. the tinker

    Junker 49 Schwinn

    Another one-owner bike. Spent the 50's as a paper route bike. It had the big Wald basket on it when I got it. The bike was beat. Yes, I know, that's not a Schwinn rack. Thanks Gary[GTs58] for noticing that.;) This bike rides "Happy." As in happy to still be around, like me.
  41. the tinker

    Sonia's Schwinn

    Here's Sonia's Schwinn the day she gave it to me. Took it apart, every nut and bolt apart, except the spokes. Soaked the frame, fenders chain guard and rims in oxalic acid . Trued the wheels, re-covered the saddle in black leather, and rolled the fenders. Added the correct front fender light...
  42. the tinker

    Hawthorne Beaters--Post Them Here!

    I'll start this post out with this 5bar, one of my favorites. This is a DP Harris frame. I cut the original front fender in half and put it on the back. Great rider and fun bike. Took these photos about a half hour ago.
  43. the tinker

    Tiny Cog.

    Took the Toadmaster apart. Accidently hit "T" instead of "R" on the keyboard. I like it. "Toadmaster." It fits this bike. Previous owner replaced all the parts from a girl's bike onto this frame. Look at the size of the rear cog. It's on a 26" rim. Look how small it is. Don't see something...
  44. the tinker

    Columbia.

    Just came back from a ride on the Columbia. This is a smooth riding bike. Black-out New Departure hub on the rear.
  45. the tinker

    Great Riders

    Hard choice which one to take out for the morning ride, especially when they're both such easy riders. Took the red '47 out. Unless it starts raining, 8 Ball is next.
  46. the tinker

    Roadmaster

    Here's the next project. I had this Roadmaster for sale at Memory Lane three years ago. I went down in price to $175, which was a good price for someone looking to get a tank-bike with a springer and great original paint wheels. It had the original saddle on it, bars and pedals, but did not...
  47. the tinker

    His and hers.

    My 38 Liberty custom and her 59 Fair Lady. Whatta nice day ! As I was riding the 38, I looked at my wife's 59 and couldn't help think how Schwinns had changed in 20 years.
  48. the tinker

    An old Merc.

    Had some fun putting this old Murray together. Re-did the saddle yesterday with some dynamiter red leather from a worn out couch cushion. Laced in a couple of old Elgin hubs into Murray rims. Had two mismatched WW tires, so I used them. Put a couple bumpers on the springer to keep the tank from...
  49. the tinker

    Saddles, cheap and quick.

    Covering some more saddles tomorrow. I've got 10 to do. Starting out with these 6. If you've never attempted to cover a saddle, check out "Covering saddles , cheap and quick," in the Restoration section. I keep a razor blade handy in my truck. When I see an old leather couch on the curb, out...
  50. the tinker

    What's to be cranky about? It's Friday!

    Illinois is finally lifting some restrictions on this virus thing and what a better day to do it. It's nice out and it's Friday. I'm celebrating. I'm breaking out some Schwinns!
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