Al Blum's Creative Use Of Joe's Cargola's Fender Roller

[Goldenrod]

Picture #1 Rolling a Whizzer sheave. Notice Al's custom roller and extension used with a stock 7 1/4 pully.
Picture #2 roller and extender reverse view.
Picture #3 The entire fender roller in its special setup.
Picture #4The standard pully is on the right with 4 custom rollers for non-Schwinn fenders.
A little Illinois magic. You are welcome.

I should add that Al got a cancer report giving him 6 months to live. He has finished the treatment and he will learn if they got it all in mid-January. He is getting stronger and will soon be the master machinist, artist and inventor that he has been for all his 78 years. He does impossible magic every day for fun. It is like picking up gold nuggets to be with him. We have been separated from him for about 5 months.

 

[coasterbrakejunkie1969]

I'm sorry probably a silly question, can you re roll exsisting fenders with that set up? Painted,SS, chrome?

 

[Goldenrod]

I'm sorry probably a silly question, can you re roll exsisting fenders with that set up? Painted,SS, chrome?

Joe's roller was made for Schwinn fenders but many have been modified using custom rollers. Search below for the whole story.

• • 

The End OF An Era--The Joe Cargola Fender Rolling Story

 

[the tinker]

I picked up a new one from Joe several years ago. He's a talented guy. Originally made them for the whizzer fenders. I brought my old one over for him to see, and he got kind of emotional when he looked at the serial numbers engraved on it. It was his original roller, #3. The man put a lot of effort into making them, with almost no profit, considering the time he spent. I had another early roller of his that had extra rollers made for it, to roll the narrow lightweight fenders and a special "flat" roller. Wes Pinchot [The fender doctor} showed me how to roll fenders. It was an evening well spent. It's fun to use.

 

[the tinker]

Al Blum. I always thought it was spelled "Bloom." I was selling at a bike swap one day and he comes up and picks up an after-market Krate chain guard off my table. I hate Krates and only had a buck on it. I refuse to sell anything under $1.00. At a buck, I'm giving stuff away anyway. If you can't afford a buck for some part off an old bike... FIND ANOTHER HOBBY. Al picks up the chrome guard [ That had a $1.00 price tag in big letters on it] and asks me if I'd take 50 cents for it? I told him he obviously needed it more than me, and gave it to him free. He said, "Thanks," and walked away happy, never getting my sarcasm. Whatta guy. On a side note, Al used to race motorcycles back in the day at Santa Fe Speedway. I messed around with sportsman stock cars there. some 50 years ago. . .

 

[coasterbrakejunkie1969]

Joe sounds like a true artist loved what he did if he was emotional about a piece of machinery. Real art has nothing to do with money. Would the set up stay the same just the rollers would change from fender to fender? I have considered getting an english wheel set up and attempting to learn how to use it. You know with all my spare time. Haha