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Resurrection vs. Restoration

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I almost forgot. This sex-bolt goes on not only the Wingbar, but also the Hextube. Again, we're talking secret sauce, heat, and an impact driver, and it is NOT coming loose. I did the unthinkable. I drilled the SOB into oblivion.
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This is what my Hextube has, so I went looking for bits that fit. All 5/16 bolts were too small in the head size.
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I found that the 3/8 stainless bolt had enough head meat, so I spun down a few to proper size, and also turned the shaft to a 5/16 thread. The sleeve was a piece of threaded coupling. All that was needed was to turn the outside round. The inside was already threaded.
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Next came the radii!!
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A slot.
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The sharp edges get cleaned up.
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The stainless becomes chromic on the buffer.
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The bolts get cut to size.
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I now have got a "correct" looking piece of unobtainium. The Wingbar has some steps left in the resurrection, but since I'm not going all the way with the goodies, i.e. rack, fenders, lights, etc, I'm starting to feel like I am nearing completion. I am going for a brushed shine, as opposed to liquid Mercury.
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It's been a year since my last Wingbar project post. Thanks to @Balloonatic for scoring and posting about his lovely bicycle. I needed some motivational inspiration to get me back to the resurrection of my bike.
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I've got the major tasks behind me like the straightening, welding, grinding, and filing. Here's the sexbolt in place.
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I'm working in the #220 zone finally.
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There's one little divot where the lock drilling incident occurred. I'll probably leave it since there are a number of flaws throughout the bike. If you look closely, you can see a small circle of weld where the holes used to be.
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Large gashes were once on the wing with the serial numbers. Gone!
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My plan is to not go el stupido with the polishing. A dullish luster finish will suit me fine. I'm tired of trying to keep up with Mother Nature's attack on the ultra shine.
 
Don't loose the motivation. I like many I am sure love to watch the process of bringing back a Silver King. The highly polished examples are gorgeous but I am always drawn toward the natural finish of aluminum. As I have said before, I don't care if it is a bicycle, teapot ,coffee pot, old mag wheel, etc. I love old mature aluminum. Keep us posted.
 
Awesome! Mike, you're a genius at bringing back bikes like this from the edge... thanks for sharing and inspiring us all.

It's funny how things will go in waves... all it takes is for a new wingbar to come up or for someone to post about one, and suddenly there's a buzz again about Silver Kings. It happened like that last year with Bluebirds.. suddenly they were everywhere then the Sears ride happened.

I'm hoping this spring we can get a big group of Silver Kings together for a ride or show... there are so many guys on the CABE who have great SKs, it would be so cool to see a big grouping of them.
 
I found a set of truss rods for this project. They looked good when I bought them, but a kink here and a kink there...
Radius blocks are normally made out of metal. They support the material that needs bending. The aluminum on these rods is so soft, I cheated. I made them out of wood. I drilled a hole the same size as the truss diameter, then cut the pieces in half. I used 'Ipe' pronounced eepay. It's also known as Brazilian Walnut. Really hard. I made two sets because it takes three to tango!
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Here's the tango. Easy squeezy. A little at a time. 4 or 5 goes at it and it's just like new.
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I found a set of truss rods for this project. They looked good when I bought them, but a kink here and a kink there...
Radius blocks are normally made out of metal. They support the material that needs bending. The aluminum on these rods is so soft, I cheated. I made them out of wood. I drilled a hole the same size as the truss diameter, then cut the pieces in half. I used 'Ipe' pronounced eepay. It's also known as Brazilian Walnut. Really hard. I made two sets because it takes three to tango!View attachment 943356
Here's the tango. Easy squeezy. A little at a time. 4 or 5 goes at it and it's just like new.
View attachment 943355

Mike you’re a master !


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