diy forks..update.

[marc two tone]

october 12 was the last post i did on these and was more encouraged than detered while contemplating creating some d.i.y rigid forks.
ive picked the last of the burrs from my hands so il fill you in on how things are going...most key components are cut to size but ive mostly been concentrating on the steerer and all thats headset needy.using 2mm thick t-6 ive created a steerer thats exactly the size i need rather than trawling the 'bay stuff! once shimmed and nipped up its well tight and rigid,very little flex on legs and none(vitually)on steerer.ive loads more to do regarding fixing and securing and the dropouts ive robbed need trimming up,socketing and welding in.
measurements have stacked up nice with dropout distance being 100mm and crown to dropout at 42cm.
needless to say tarmac/trail rigour will be the true test but so far im pretty happy.take a butchers' at the scales(crappy fone camera im afraid)im on for some light forks once properly fabricated and welded/clamped.

thanks for looking.oh,id appreciate suggestions on leg finish.polish? paint?
powder coat will kill my £10 budget so thats out.

 

[kaiser]

I......


How.............



Whats todays date? :?

 

[lewis1641]

Cool. Thanks for the update. The lower part you are using for the drop outs, how much of that are you going to be using?

 

[dyna-ti]

Im still a bit worried about this :shock:
The legs you have are meant to slide up and down not take the full pressure of a rigid fork leg
I fear for their strength and the health and well being of marc.
SRYM8 but i think you should put this down to a good idea but not practicable.
any other part of the frame breaks and you can get off without problem,with the forks however,any failure is likely to be a catastrophic failure,and you'll be heading for the tarmac .

Chin first :shock:

 

[MikeD]

the dropouts ive robbed need trimming up,socketing and welding in.

Um. Good luck welding the magnesium dropouts to the aluminium legs :?

 

[marc two tone]

d.i.y forks

the dropouts have been cut back since pic so the legs insert around 40mm. its all in a dry-fit state at mo to give me a better picture on how to safely attach each bit.im 99% confident at steerer end but ive more to do with legs n dropouts as rightfully pointed out above.ive all winter to get it right(and i will!) so is a magnesium/alu weld not possible then? i know zero about welding.a light- road- use-prototype may be the resignation of this project afterall,all good research i suppose though.
thanks for your input.

 

[Xesh]

Re: d.i.y forks

.....so is a magnesium/alu weld not possible then?.....

Have you never heard of magnesium flares?

If you even show a welding torch to those dropouts it'll be exciting to say the least! :shock:

Generally speaking you can't weld dis-similar metals (ie alu/steel) and even some alloys of aluminium don't weld very well.

Your best bet is to bond those legs on or find some lowers of a cheap fork, like RST 281s, that used alu lowers to keep costs down.

 

[marc two tone]

FORKS

thanks for the tip.il see if that guy down the road(which i dont like)fancies some welding work on the side! lol.

 

[hamster]

When I worked in an aerospace company we had a separate shed 50m away fro mthe main building for machining magnesium. It tended to burn down every 3 years or so when someone set a feed rate on a lathe too fast.

Nasty stuff, magnesium.

 

[Scrat]

There are a lot of doubters here

Good on you for taking this on, looks good so far