# 1890's 'Huseby' Timber & Iron Frame Survivor



## Jesse McCauley (Nov 6, 2021)

I have been slowly trying to rebuild this machine for the past few years after finding it as a frame / fork some time ago. 
I had a suspicion this could be a Huseby machine but with insight from Jeff Kidder and Matt Stofko that ID seems to be confirmed. 

I'm not sure if the badge would have once had an insert or if the framed 'H' image is all there would have been. 

Traces of the original paint scheme are visible throughout- green and red pigment together in a way that I have a hard time envisioning what it looked like new. 
Gold filigree still holding on visible on the seat tube especially. 

Construction akin to tool handles and parlor chairs, it is remarkable to me that this bicycle survived the rigors of 19th century roads and riding. 

I would love to find an advert that shows this ladies model, iron frame section that makes up the bottom bracket housing is so strange, I can't for the life of me understand that extended portion of the top tube...unless the top tube itself runs all the way through to the end of that iron housing for structural integrity? Maybe? 

Anyway, I love this bike and I hope you do too


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## cr250mark (Nov 6, 2021)

Beautiful Saddle
Steel wedges located in top of forks like a axe handle to keep things snug
Almost a take down bike if needed
Early ingenuity, love it

mark


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## stezell (Nov 6, 2021)

Ditto Mark, I thought the exact same thing when I saw the fork. Very cool find as usual Jesse!


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## Ricker (Nov 6, 2021)

Those hubs in that ad are awesome- perfect place for a wood product- seems like something that someone could reproduce for you you one-off.

Rick


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## gkeep (Nov 6, 2021)

The advertisement mentions aluminum or aluminum bronze fittings, are these cast or drop forged steel?

Is that a wedge in the top of the fork like a wedge in an axe handle? It seems like they designed the bike with a remarkable combination of technology from the time used to build farm machinery, wagons, tools , etc. That extra length at the bottom of the top tube must have been to strengthen that like a longer socket for a shovel handle. Maybe all those sockets are fox wedged joints in place of any bolt or screw that would require drilling through the wood and weaken it?

Incredible survivor as you said. I wonder if somewhere there is a small local historical society museum with one of thee sitting in storage or on display.


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## stezell (Nov 7, 2021)

So Jesse is the wood Hickory?


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## Jesse McCauley (Nov 8, 2021)

stezell said:


> So Jesse is the wood Hickory?



I may have to take this machine to a pro in the field of woodwork to see what they think.


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## gkeep (Nov 8, 2021)

stezell said:


> So Jesse is the wood Hickory?



Hickory or ash has always been the standard for tool handles, and both woods take well to being steam bend. Those handle bars in the advert look like steam bent wood.


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## cyclingday (Nov 8, 2021)

Absolutely fabulous!
Nice preservation, Jesse.
Thanks for sharing it with us.
Definitely a feast for the mind.


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## Barnegatbicycles (Nov 10, 2021)

Jesse McCauley said:


> I may have to take this machine to a pro in the field of woodwork to see what they think.



You could send it up. I was hoping to get to mine this winter but we shall see. Also soooo you want some hubs made?


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## FreedomMachinist (Feb 6, 2022)

I debated with myself a bit whether or not to start a new post ... but  since it is highly unlikely that much more Husebies are going to show up in the near future, I figured it would be the best to keep it neat in one place ...

So, first: Congrats to you Jesse for this truely unique bicycle.  
After dreaming about a pre-1900-wood-machine for some time, earlier last year it was my time: US-Ebay enabled me to enter this exquisite club 
The machine I'm going to post now, and which might serve as a reference to your frame, is Huseby   











Some of you might have seen this offer ... later, while researching this bike,  I found out that it already had been sold a few months earlier, presumably to the person I bought it off.

After arrival at home I took some pictures to document the initial state... and was quite happy - seeing this old man, 100+ years of age, being in such great condition after crossing the great pond, was really pleasing to see.
This was especially rewarding, since the costs for bringing him here ended up tripling (initial quote was 400$.) .. but no bad feelings, it is a great bike and next time I will be smarter and chose other shipping options /another carrier.









The only flaws I could identify at this state was a long split of the upper frame "tube" and a "cowboy-style" replacement of the seat post 







and a bend drop out of the rear fork ,with the sleeve being lose.




So nothing to be too concerned


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## FreedomMachinist (Feb 6, 2022)

Some cleaning ...





















As you can see, the fork shaft has been extended. I can only assume the original Huseby front fork, with the wooden sheath broke at some point and was replaced by a steel version- The repair is nicely done and the used hardware is period correct - very hard to say when it was made....
The cones and cups seem to be original and there is no wobble, slack etc.

I guess now it is time to paste in the known catalog copies...


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## FreedomMachinist (Feb 6, 2022)

Source of the follwing photos : Marine Bike Museum - they also have a Huseby:


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## FreedomMachinist (Feb 6, 2022)




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## FreedomMachinist (Feb 6, 2022)

Source: SterbaCZ (also in posession of one Huseby


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## FreedomMachinist (Feb 6, 2022)

The third Huseby which is known to the internet, is in MSI-Chicago museum, and it seems to be the only one with the original wood hubs - 






although the photo (just the front hub, no rear)  differs form the image on the catalog -  I emailed and telephoned them quite a few times, inquiring about the hubs- if they  were on the bike when they purchased it, but no answer yet.



Here is the OG-fork , NICE ! 




By the way: Here is the link to pictures of Sterbas Huseby in Praha:




__





						Huseby Cycle Co. - Milwaukee, WIS., USA 1896 - The Gallery - The Gallery - The Gallery - ŠTĚRBA-BIKE.cz
					

Huseby Cycle Co. - Milwaukee, WIS., USA 1896 - The Gallery - The Gallery - The Gallery - STERBA-BIKE.cz




					www.sterba-bike.cz
				




and actually, sorry for duplicating, please refer to this link on our forum here: most of the stuff above has been posted already, sorry for that...









						Can anyone shed some light on the origins of this TOC wood frame that's been donated to the Marin Bike History Museum? | General Discussion About Old Bicycles
					

Any insight regarding this great survivor?    https://mmbhof.org/bmn_v1n1/?mc_cid=7caa0884da&mc_eid=96c93a9b52.




					thecabe.com
				





So now, lets see something new, since plenty of parts were missing I had to refabricate them...


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## FreedomMachinist (Feb 6, 2022)

I started with the chain: my chainwheel dictated the inner width of the chain, and a 9,35mm thick block chain was next to impossible to get my hands on - and I wanted a "solid Block", not a few plates riveted together to look like a block. 

So after figuring out the design 








it was time for milling the blocks (CNC) , heating up to 800°C with a torch and quenching them with cold water to be hard as glas, afterwards heating up to 200° (tempering).















Surface grinding to precise thickness:







After heat threatment a carbide reamer was necessary to achieve accurate hole dimension and smooth bore surface again.









The outer plates were conveniently lasered by an online-service provider - just like toothing of the sprocket (just upload DXF to website).

But the easy part, producing the pins to exact shoulder distance (to not squeeze the blocks together) was actually challenging, since I have no access to centerless grinding or CNC turning...









I made a little fixture to help the assembly process... putting the chain together were really a long shot  130 rivets had to pressed in and the head hammered flat. 
But in the end I got it done, with help of some beer 






Chain Lock via screw







As always, weekend was too short.. another working week is calling bedtime 

Tommorow I will post some pics from making the hubs and the complete bike...

Good night

Jochen


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## Rustngrease (Feb 6, 2022)

FreedomMachinist said:


> I started with the chain: my chainwheel dictated the inner width of the chain, and a 9,35mm thick block chain was next to impossible to get my hands on - and I wanted a "solid Block", not a few plates riveted together to look like a block.
> 
> So after figuring out the design
> 
> ...



😍 great work Wowzers


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## dnc1 (Feb 7, 2022)

Rustngrease said:


> 😍 great work Wowzers



What he said!!!!!


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## FreedomMachinist (Feb 7, 2022)

Already late at night over here... but I said I'd post some more pictures...
Getting back to that chain:
Here is some of the clutter I needed to prep and assemble it:






As mentioned, getting the outer plates laser cut by an online supplier was an easy and quite inexpensive task, and of course I did try to have the blocks cut as well , so you can see two examples of laser cut blocks in the center (riveted together).... 
At first the company was a bit reluctant about my order but ended up doing it- afterwards I knew why they stalled- the thickness to mass-ration was too high so the blocks ended up burning up- they could not convey the high temperature caused by the thick cut some were else and therefore melted away:
In the foreground you see milled blocks, behind are two lasered blocks - and these were the better ones, which I already trued up a little bit - most of them looked much worse.









I had to pay for the order anyways, oh well, and the company told me I might try a water jet service... After contacting a few folks that provide such a service they rejected, mainly because the parts could not be secured and would fly away during the cutting process - also the bore size was a concern...
So thats why I ended up milling them.


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## Bazil4696 (Feb 7, 2022)

A most impressive attempt at a very challenging project!  You really did try every route, but sometimes our own skills are the only option.


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## FreedomMachinist (Feb 7, 2022)

The cranks have  slots where the pedals go for adjustable torque arm length (actually a neat feature).
I found some TOC pedals with matching patina, but of course the axles were kind of short, since the pedals are not threaded directly into the crank arm but held by a nut going through the crank (Safety-Style) - I did not want to mess with the axles that came with the pedals (probably could have extended the round portion of the shank a bit, but i hate doing harm to any parts of that age).


So I made new axles, cones, nuts etc. Last summer I purchased a small lathe which was one of my best investments - I could turn the axle, the lock nut on the crank side,  also the cone for the outside (screw on) and inside bearing, which I pressed on the axle after hardening it  (quenching the entire axle is probably not a good idea) and I could even mill the slot for lock-washer of the adjustment cone, all at home in my living room 










Milling two Flats for the slot in the crank arm: 








The secure-washer (right side) was a bit of a hazzle:
I drilled it to size, filed out a slot and soldered in a rectangular piece of spring steel.

Even though I have brand new ones,  I wanted to salvage the tapered crank-pins, since they have great patina  - the thread was totally wrecked, so I cut a new, smaller thread over it and made square nuts, follwing the nut-design of  the survivng screws on the seat post and the rear chainstay enforcment bridge (which I am very happy that still exists on my bike  )


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## FreedomMachinist (Feb 7, 2022)

To be continued tommorrow...


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## FreedomMachinist (Feb 7, 2022)

Bazil4696 said:


> A most impressive attempt at a very challenging project!  You really did try every route, but sometimes our own skills are the only option.



Hey thanks a lot, happy to hear


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## locomotion (Feb 8, 2022)

FreedomMachinist said:


> To be continued tommorrow...



wish I had skills like yours, great work
can't wait to read more about this incredible endeavour .......


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## FreedomMachinist (Feb 9, 2022)

locomotion said:


> wish I had skills like yours, great work
> can't wait to read more about this incredible endeavour .......





I really appreciate such a nice comment, especially from a true bicycle-expert like yous  - I can only say that it is not so much about skills - by no means I'm a machining-pro, just learning by doing.  When making a repro-part, the nice thing is that you can mess it up, no problem- you are not destroying an original - so often it is more about not thinking about it too much, but just doing it - so commitment, patience and time is the main ingredient  , and the later one is the most precious one.


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## FreedomMachinist (Feb 9, 2022)

So coming back to the parts that need to be manufactured - on some nuts and bolts I went for the square design as seen on the seat post - which is probably a heritage from the horse drawn wagon area - before hexagonal heads became common...







 Luckily, on the picture above, all screws and nuts are original...


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## FreedomMachinist (Feb 9, 2022)

The seat post and saddle were missing, and even though period correct seat posts were available, I found none with such a uncommon small diameter (5/8")
A friend suggested boring out the fitting, but this is something I'd not dare and rather made a replica seat post.
Since the frame fittings are made from (cast) brass, I made some parts also out of that material.

By the way:
This frameset is really heavy - the catalog states "brass or alunimum brass frames", but I assume mine are pure brass, due to the weight, golden color, and patina: green "rost" (verdigris) is seen in some areas, which would not show with aluminum. I suspect Sterbas Huseby to have at least some alunimum in the casting, (left rear dropout and front fork are not gold but blackish color.

But anyways, the seat post was made of brass - the horizonal shaft (where the saddle mounts to) from steel, both bored out in the center for weight consideration and brazed together.
I'm not totally happy with the intersection of the two, it doesnt look perfect but the joint is very tough.
Next time I'd use silver braze instead of bronze for this


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## FreedomMachinist (Feb 9, 2022)

A look inside the seat post hole... bored to nominal size to about 5" depth.







Next in line where the wheels, I had some 28" wood rims with almost identical profile and used the 36 holes for the rear and 32 for the front.
I bought them on "Ebay Kleinanzeigen"  (sort of German Craigslist) and the previous owners already treated them with sandpaper 
So, instead of just sealing them, I wanted to add some stripes, like I have seen on other American Wood Rims of that age.
Please correct me if that's wrong, a friend told me that there were no such stripes on US-rims back then ...


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## New Mexico Brant (Feb 9, 2022)

FreedomMachinist said:


> Please correct me if that's wrong, a friend told me that there were no such stripes on US-rims back then ...



Hartford had similar stripes but used a dark green.  I believe one of the Michigan firms sold rims with this exact stripe pattern.


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## FreedomMachinist (Feb 9, 2022)

Designing the front hub








turned on a manuel lathe and old-school drilling 














wood application (freshly harvested from the tree



















I did not foresee this strange, zebra patina - it happened by accident after shellac coating the hub


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## FreedomMachinist (Feb 9, 2022)

Rear:


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## FreedomMachinist (Feb 9, 2022)

Tommorow I'll post some pics of the entire bike and some thoughts on the hubs (catalog versus MSI-Chicago-wood hubs).

Good night
Jochen


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## FreedomMachinist (Feb 9, 2022)

New Mexico Brant said:


> Hartford had similar stripes but used a dark green.  I believe one of the Michigan firms sold rims with this exact stripe pattern.





Thanks for the input... I just cannot find the picture anymore ... but I believe I saw it on a Sterling machine, where the line color on the rims were matching the frame color....and  how about Lobell  (Lobdell) - didn't they have double black stripes, too.

In terms of "Correct Reference":
I talked to Mr. Sterba and he admitted that he basically also just had a frameset and added period correct parts (rims, pedals etc.) - so there is no real reference.

I keep trying to talk to MSI-Chicago (emailed and phoned many times, but cannot get a hold of the curator  to get any info, especially about the wood hubs...)

I communicated succesfull with the Marine museum who also have a Huseby  (without OG hubs) ... they are  also curious about these MSI-hubs...

Does anybody live in Chicago - the curator just wont talk with me 

My repro-attemp for the hubs is based on the MSI-Photos, which is different from the Huseby catalog - so there is a good chance I will make the hubs again (and make the wood types match, so the front looks like the back )


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## FreedomMachinist (Feb 10, 2022)

stezell said:


> So Jesse is the wood Hickory?



Huseby seemed to use "Rock Elm"





a tree only located in the US - its wood used to be in greater use back in the days but the tree almost disappeared today:







_The wood of the rock elm is the hardest and heaviest of all elms, and where forest-grown remains comparatively free of knots and other defects. It is also very strong and takes a high polish, and consequently was once in great demand in America and Europe for a wide range of uses, notably boatbuilding, furniture, agricultural tools, and musical instruments.

Much of the timber's strength is derived from the tight grain arising from the tree's very slow rate of growth..._



Source: Wikipedia



I tried to purchase some Rock Elm and found a website of a small US-business who deal with rare woods, it was stated that they harvest beams of farming barns for old Rock Elm - I wrote to them about purchasing some Rock Elm but no success yet.


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## dnc1 (Feb 11, 2022)

FreedomMachinist said:


> Designing the front hub
> 
> 
> 
> ...




...it looks like you used a piece of Yew (Taxus spp.) wood for the hub construction, I've never seen it react with a varnish (shellac) in that way before, it may be due to the freshness of the timber used and the chemical makeup of the sapwood in particular. 
Fantastic work by the way, I'm loving following this thread on so many levels!



FreedomMachinist said:


> Huseby seemed to use "Rock Elm"
> 
> View attachment 1567461
> 
> ...




...the majority of Elm (Ulmus) species were renowned for their non-splitting properties and would have been a great choice, resilient and strong. Traditionally used for the seats of 'Windsor' chairs over here in the UK. 

I'm guessing that the trees demise in the USA was caused by the devastating "Dutch Elm Disease" which practically wiped out Elm species across the world in the latter half of the 20th century (it killed almost all of the Elms in the UK in the mid 70's/80's; believed to have been accidentally introduced,  not from Holland as the "Dutch" epithet would suggest, but from timber imported from the USA).

It's great to hear that they are salvaging old barn timbers over there.
A friend lives in a post medieval cottage made from Elm framing in the 1600's.  When the architectural historians examined it, it turned out that the timber had been felled in the 1300's and had already spent several hundred years as part of a ship! Crazy stuff.

We have a couple of Elm species now showing resistance to the disease which is spread by two species of beetle, but it will be a few hundred years before they are the 100 feet tall specimens I remember from my youth.
Apologies for the wood nerdiness, I trained as an arboriculturalist and have a keen interest in the social history and uses of timber.
I talk a lot about it when started off, I talk a lot about bicycles when started off.
If I had one of these gorgeous 'Huseby's' I might not ever shut up,  LOL!


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## FreedomMachinist (Feb 12, 2022)

Hello DNC1.
Thanks for the input - I really enjoyed your journey into wood nerdiness   - I don't know much about it, but I feel timber is great stuff, even though steel might be more suitable for rigidity in the long term, wood can tell stories of the past at another level as steel may do - since it is/was a living organism it adds another layer of information (and for me, also attraction) when being built into an old machine or structure.. Your friends house with an earlier life as a ship: just amazing   I love that kind of stuff.
Just today I stumbled about an article about the roof of Notre Dame de Paris, the cathedral which tragically burnt down in 2019: it was built around 1200 and it seems like they planted the trees for the roof for that exact purpose , being the roof of that church, +100 years ahead of time, before the construction even started.









						The Stories of Notre Dame, as Told by Timber and Limestone - Longreads
					

'“Notre Dame will come out of this experience enriched,” she says. “And so will we.”'




					longreads.com
				




 Compare this to the current practice, where a CEO needs to show good numbers, i.e. return of stock-holder investment within a year ...     

There were plans to not rebuilt the original structure but put some modern bullpoop on top of the church - I'm so glad Macron did not use that opportunity to shape the skyline of Paris to praise himself, but instead it will be rebuilt to original state (if they find enough suitable oaks to do that)


(Sorry for sliding "off-topic"...)


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## FreedomMachinist (Feb 12, 2022)

So here are some photos of the bike in current state:


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## dnc1 (Feb 13, 2022)

FreedomMachinist said:


> Hello DNC1.
> Thanks for the input - I really enjoyed your journey into wood nerdiness   - I don't know much about it, but I feel timber is great stuff, even though steel might be more suitable for rigidity in the long term, wood can tell stories of the past at another level as steel may do - since it is/was a living organism it adds another layer of information (and for me, also attraction) when being built into an old machine or structure.. Your friends house with an earlier life as a ship: just amazing   I love that kind of stuff.
> Just today I stumbled about an article about the roof of Notre Dame de Paris, the cathedral which tragically burnt down in 2019: it was built around 1200 and it seems like the planted the trees for the roof for that exact purpose , being the roof of that church, +100 years ahead of time, before the construction even started.
> 
> ...



I think France still has some quality Oak forest left so they should have enough to cope.
Great to hear that they are rebuilding in a traditional way too.



FreedomMachinist said:


> So here are some photos of the bike in current state:
> 
> 
> View attachment 1569249
> ...



It looks great, have you dared ride it?
Why not look into 3D printing a complete set of lugs for a full frameset? 
I think you might have people interested in building replicas to ride.


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## Clarner (Feb 13, 2022)

Ok, that’s just some next level work right there. Awesome job; bike looks great! Hopefully get too see this beauty down the road at a show sometime.


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## FreedomMachinist (Feb 13, 2022)

dnc1 said:


> I think France still has some quality Oak forest left so they should have enough to cope.




Here is the answer, didn't even have to look for it, LOL, I still had that article open up in a browser tab from yesterday  








						France no longer has trees tall enough to rebuild Notre-Dame's roof as it was
					

The cathedral could be rebuilt with smaller beams or a metal frame. But purists will want Notre-Dame to remain true to the original design.




					www.insider.com
				








dnc1 said:


> It looks great, have you dared ride it?




You know, for me, one of the best moments when working on an old machine, especially after having received it incomplete, is the first time you turn the bike around and see it standing on its feet again.
And the second best moment is to actually ride it, and so far I succeeded in getting all my machines into ridebale condition - since European machines tend to have steel rims and separate inner tubes, this goal is easier to achieve than with US-machines 

So that was my goal for the Huseby: at least make a test ride to feel what it was like to ride it - it is a very tall machine, in fact by far the tallest one I own,  and all the newly made parts were heat-treated etc. to accommodate that plan.
The bike seems to have been stored dry - the wood feels strong (and the bike is very heavy by the way).

However, there are two critical details, which I was aware of before buying the bike: The upper top "tube" had a app. 5" long split, but it did not reach very deep. I  filled it up with "wood cement" , mixed to the correct color, so from that perspective I'd say I'm safe.
The second area of concern is the the right seat stay (wood rod from the seat post down to the rear wheel drop out). It is lose, you can pull it out of the lug by about 1/4". It could be cemented in with the same stuff I used for the crack in the upper tube, but I left this part open to show the bike to a carpenter once the other aspects of the bike are completed. 

So, when the machine was standing on its wheels again and I was adjusting the play of the head set, I could feel something giving way, a little wobble of the upper wood rod: the connection to the front lug is not tight anymore. FYI: Each rod is secured by a bronze pin, with the head being about 7mm in diameter- so I assume the pins are 6.35mm (1/4") and hammered flat to 7mm, to rivet the joint together.   










The relative movement of the joint is very minor, you have to put your finger over the intersection to feel it, probably not even 0,25mm (0,01"), but it is there.


So now comes the really bad part:
The gap is so small that very likely no cement may be filled in, not even with a syringe  (and also: I'm not really a friend of such a cement-repair) .
Either way: I'd need to take the joint apart to see what's going on - since it is a diamond frame, I'd need to bore out all rivets on all lugs of the "diamond", just to get to the wood rod out that has the bad connection.. since the rivet is still sitting tight:






, very likely the wood inside has worn. 
Under a certain light, you can see grey wood, which came out the lug:





other lug-intersection do not show this gap.. 

I'm showing a few more of these close ups - they make some color visible which cannot been seen on a "normal" photo, 
I'm wondering if there was some kind of ornament, similar to Jesse's bike  ...?

































































And: I don't really want to replace any of the rods... I can't even purchase Rock Elm 


And riding it the way it is, even just for a test ride is not really an option: I could not enjoy the trip, always thinking about possibly  breaking this beautiful frame, and if that happened, I'd be literally crying.
So, sadly, I'm at a point where I will probably never ride this fellow, which is kind of hard for me to accept.

Either way I'll take it to a carpenter and see what he has to say, but I'm not expecting too much from that.

So that brings us to your next comment:





dnc1 said:


> Why not look into 3D printing a complete set of lugs for a full frameset?
> I think you might have people interested in building replicas to ride.




Great idea  - I thought about this as well, not for other people, but for myself (I have to admit). But of course I'd be happy to share that experience.
3D-printing metal is delicate, printers which do that are very expensive as far as I know.

But, a much better option and closer to the OG-design, would be casting the lugs.

The good thing:
The material which Huseby had in use is really easy to cast with hobby-equipment (just 660°C/1200F are needed for alunimum and 900°C/1675F for bronze) - You Tube is full of it.

So  this is how it works:
1. Modell the part in 3D and print it out
2. Arrange the part in a split form in molding sand, in the "usual way"
3. heat up the bronze and pour it into the mold
4. the  liquid bronze will burn the plastic away and take the shape needed (maybe some experimenting has to done here for proper burning printing material)
5. to make the molding process easy, no inner cores are needed.  Just molding a solid part, so the last step would be:
6. Bore out the holes 

I have not done this yet, but already 3D-modelled some parts and bought the molding sand, a electrical air blower and fire clay bricks.
The nice thing: any cheap 3D-printer will do the job.


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## FreedomMachinist (Feb 13, 2022)

Clarner said:


> Ok, that’s just some next level work right there. Awesome job; bike looks great! Hopefully get too see this beauty down the road at a show sometime.




Thank you for the comment   that is nice to hear .. 
 I will probably take it to a show which takes place every summer, even during Corona-times   ,at a fixed date: 1st weekend  of July, but it is in Bad Brückenau, Germany, so unfortunately most Cabers won't be able to attend... but in case any of you goes to Europe for a summer trip  - check it out


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## Andrew Gorman (Feb 13, 2022)

Where there is a very slight gap, maybe soak the frame in water for a day or so.  It is probably very dry after more than 100 years! This has worked for me on loose hammer handles and old wicker baskets.  When something is large, like a bicycle, put it in the bathroom shower for a while with hot water.  The steam will continue to let the wood expand.


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## dnc1 (Feb 14, 2022)

FreedomMachinist said:


> Here is the answer, didn't even have to look for it, LOL, I still had that article open up in a browser tab from yesterday
> 
> 
> 
> ...



On the 'Notre Dame' issue,
I guess forests are too well managed these days!

I understand your concerns on the structural integrity of the frame, I guess I can be a little blasé about these things. I do like @Andrew Gorman's suggestion though. It definitely works on old boats!

I'd love to hear about more shows in Germany that are worth visiting, if you ever want to start a thread don't hesitate; It's not so far for me to travel. 
Although that first weekend in July does clash with the annual Benson VCC rally in England and Anjou Velo Vintage in France.



Andrew Gorman said:


> Where there is a very slight gap, maybe soak the frame in water for a day or so.  It is probably very dry after more than 100 years! This has worked for me on loose hammer handles and old wicker baskets.  When something is large, like a bicycle, put it in the bathroom shower for a while with hot water.  The steam will continue to let the wood expand.


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## David Brown (Feb 14, 2022)

Nice job on the wood frame bike .  I always wanted one of those .The loose joint might ,I say might be do to winter dryness and less Humidity in the house. Come spring it might tighten up as we get more humidity. I notice that with my wood rim bikes in the winter when the spokes get loose and then tighten up come spring time . Just my take on it .


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## FreedomMachinist (Feb 15, 2022)

Thanks Andrew, thanks David on the suggestions about the wood treatment, that sound like a route to go- especially just some steam treatment opposed to soaking it up completely... Good idea.
 I thought about steaming up some wood rims to true them ( many times the whobble is to much to pull out by spoke tensioning) but a guy, who I believe is very knowledgeable, told me to stay away from that procedure: the glue in the rims would fail... The Huseby, by description, has no glue, screws, etc. so I should be safe .. but I'd be interested to know: anybody here truing wood rims with help of water steam ?


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## FreedomMachinist (Feb 15, 2022)

That would be really cool to meet at some event ☺️ Actually I traveled the world quite a bit, but never made it to England yet.
I'll let you know/start a post once the season for bike events is starting again in Germany...


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## volksboy57 (Feb 15, 2022)

FreedomMachinist said:


> Great idea - I thought about this as well, not for other people, but for myself (I have to admit). But of course I'd be happy to share that experience.
> 3D-printing metal is delicate, printers which do that are very expensive as far as I know.



There are companies that make metal filament that can be sintered into metal parts. Some offer sintering services! The workflow is to buy the filament in a spool, 3D print your object, Mail it off to them, they bake it and send it back. It is not cheap of course, but much more attainable to the average tinkerer.  https://all3dp.com/2/basf-ultrafuse-316l-review-specs/


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## David Brown (Feb 16, 2022)

I have had pretty good luck getting wood rims back in shape. Take the spokes out then lay the wood rim on a piece of plywood cover with cloth towels then pour boiling hot water on the towels a couple of times . then clamp the rim down with a couple of boards and c clamps let it dry for couple of days. Sometimes good results depends how bad the the rims are. You might have to re glue the finger joint which I have done also.


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## FreedomMachinist (Jun 27, 2022)

dnc1 said:


> On the 'Notre Dame' issue,
> I guess forests are too well managed these days!
> 
> I understand your concerns on the structural integrity of the frame, I guess I can be a little blasé about these things. I do like @Andrew Gorman's suggestion though. It definitely works on old boats!
> ...



Hi DNC, This weekend I'll be heading again  to the German Bicycle Museum in Bad Brückenau- there will be a parts market and many people who enjoy the hobby - last year Robert Sterba also showed up with a few bikes for sale - he has a great collection- I assume you know his website.... And you could visit the museum in Bad Brückenau- definitely worth it


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## dnc1 (Jun 27, 2022)

Hi.
I'll look forward to seeing some photos of your visit.
I see Robert had been touring museums in Italy.
We follow each other on Instagram, he does have an incredible collection.


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## mickeyc (Jun 28, 2022)

A couple of observations:  how did they manage to drive those wedges inside of the bottom bracket?





And, how could they "guarantee" that these joints would never loosen?  I've never had a wood handled hammer or sledge that didn't loosen up after sitting to some time.

Marvelous job on a very rare bike and a joy to see your endeavors.


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## FreedomMachinist (Sep 14, 2022)

Short update on the loose upper "tube" of my Huseby Wood-Frame:
Thanks for the advice Cabers, following the suggestion, I soaked a  washing cloth with warm water, wrinked it out so it stayed semi-wet and wrapped it around the loose joint.
I measured the diamater of the wood shaft at start of the procedure and again the next morning.
And, the result was quite a  success: the diamater has increaed by about 0.35mm and the joints were nicely tight ! I was really happy with that outcome and was looking forward to my first ever pleasure ride on that bike that night, after work....

But, you might have guessed it, when I came home from work, the fitting was lose again - the swelling of the wood was only temporally.


I dont think it would be good practice to soak the bike whenever I want to ride it     even though I certainly don't intend to ride often...

Any idea what could prevent the shrinkage after wetting it up ?

Thanks

Jochen


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## FreedomMachinist (Sep 14, 2022)

mickeyc said:


> A couple of observations:  how did they manage to drive those wedges inside of the bottom bracket?
> View attachment 1653491
> 
> And, how could they "guarantee" that these joints would never loosen?  I've never had a wood handled hammer or sledge that didn't loosen up after sitting to some time.
> ...



Hello Mickeyc.

Thats a good question (how they assembled the wedges) I assume with help of a press and a U-bracket with a little extrusions to drive them in , or even easier, a concial shaft that fits kind of snug into the Bottom Bracket and presses all wedges in at the same time while hammering the shaft sideways into the BB ...

and you are right: there is no garantee that the wood shafts stay tight.
The advertisment states that no screws where used, and we know (we can see) that each shaft has a brass pin going perpendicular through the assmebly, i.e. the pin goes through the lug/fitting, penetrates the wood and pokes out on the other side of the lug again. The ends of the pin were cut off, hammered flat  and smoothend.
I assume they also used some glue, resin etc. to secure the wood inside the lugs - I could feel some "hard coating" when touching the wood ends inside of the lugs.

Thanks for the comment on the work

Jochen


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