Workshop...in progress...

Sorry if I'm missing something but how do these work? Don't they need some kind of transfer foil on top or something?

Yea I send you some transfer/application material with them.

It’s very simple. First you stick it over and flatten with a credit card, then carefully peel off the backing. Stick to the surface, then peel away the transfer tape from the top.

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By the way I’ve priced everything up and started a proper FS thread for decals:

https://www.lfgss.com/conversations/339285/

It’s very simple. First you stick it over and flatten with a credit card, then carefully peel off the backing.

Thank you for clarifying, yea it is indeed simple (I have worked with stuff like that in the past), was just wondering as you didn't post any with transfer on them.

Stuff is looking well nice by the way!
: ]

How does one attach the ghost and pacman ones to the spokes?
How much are they? How much for shipping internationally (Germany)?
Thanks!

Well that’s because I’m providing it separately - you are better to apply the transfer interface immediately before use, not leaving it stuck on for days/weeks.

The ghost and pac-man are different. They are thicker material, made for HGV’s. They fold over and stick to a mirror image of themselves, so the fold-over part is wrapped around the spoke.

They are thicker, no interfacing. Just like a thick sticker.

Price on them will probably be about £10 a set. They will come with two pacs, two ghosts, and a few bips to attach in between.

I haven’t finalised them yet.

Ok cool.

Oh go on then...

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The saga continues...

Spent the better part of last week tidying the shed best I could, finding a tall worktop table for the Graphtec, rearranging, etc. After a few days, among other things, I had the Singer 29K58 finally fitted with the servo motor, having drilled out the cast iron to mount the motor and controller, and angle grinding its metal base to accommodate wiring. Plus the Sewmaq compound feed and Pfaff both tidied-off and accessible.

Made that big progress on some semblance of order in the shed and then went into the house to make sure the trip-switch was working. Pressed the ‘test’ button and got a massive spark fly at me with a loud pop and the house was pitch black. Someone has left batteries charging in the other shed, so the circuit was under load when I’d pressed test. That, and all the rain recently any tiny potential for a short (rat-chewed cable or the like) was increased dramatically.

A day or two later with a replaced 30mA box, and coaxing of the wires to fit, thought I’d be back in business. At least I could check if the wiring was safe. Even the light switch in the shed trips the new box, so I have a real short somewhere. Engineer friend says to start by looking on PE/N since it’s happening when load is turned on. Called an electrician and he’s not free for over a week. Sigh.

Very busy this week with helping family, so no time to check wiring. When riding today to check for materials, found out I’d missed a curtain sider by a day - the guy had scrapped the whole truck by accident instead of keeping the sider for me. Then later popped the mountain bike against a fence for 5 minutes and came out to it laying on the piss with a broken rear mech. Somehow the bolt sheared clean off when it hit the ground. Crazy.

Walking home wasn’t fun.

I’ll take progress in any form, though. So once home I tried the overlocker for the first time in many months. To get it stitching right, I swapped out the needles and double checked the timing, and cheated with Nylbond on the needle threads.

Got a steady and consistent overlocked seam good enough to sort out tailoring a couple jackets, so now at least one more retro cycling jacket has been taken in to a better fit.

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Electrician came yesterday and checked over the wiring, and now the shed is back with power. Tried to do a bit more tidying and sorting.

Some six months back there was a lot of banter attached to my purchase of a Lidl stick welder. Now I went out on a limb and spent money that was gifted to me, purchasing the welder, flames-design welding mask, etc. In the last six months it’s sat unused because of a variety of factors. The angle grinder that I’d bought has had constant use for bits and pieces.

Mostly, though, as my rapport with the scrapyard has grown and improved it has afforded me a couple of mountain bikes, a bunch of bmx’s and lots and lots of parts.

Last week I decide to do it, go for it, and weld myself a centre-stand for the Xtracycle, and maybe the side/foot rails, and so on.

So when I collected the broken Raleigh from a friend’s, I also came home with these great lengths of square section.

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In fact, the centre-stand hasn’t materialised, because I want to get the design right before wasting material. Such a simple thing has really been winding me up.

So in the mean time, I went back to hazy daydream of cutting up some bmx’s into a cargo bike. I went back to the scrapyard and grabbed two more frame&forks to use with the Felt that I’d already got for parts a few weeks back.

But I got distracted and got this vintage Singer dressform NOS, and covered it with black stretch fabric.

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Bit the bullet and cut up these frames, taking cues from memory of many photos online.

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The large angle grinder is a very scary piece of kit, I much prefer using my smaller one, but the larger made cutting frames like slicing butter.

Gonna skip past all the building in-progress pics and only throw up the complete bike. Welds are very ugly but relatively sound. I started bulking them, and there’s more weld than bike.

Design is currently a mini tallbike. I am planning to put the horizontal rails and removable front/rear racks once I fine tune the bike itself. Frame seems straight, solid. Two and a half bmx steerers, two frames plus an extra head tube.

Front brake cable goes through the steerer as all good bmx brakes should. Rear wheel needs swapping out when I get a freewheel tool to swap this lower gear to the other wheel.

Took the bike out to the scrapyard and then to the scrap store, which is around 10-12 mile round trip I guess. Maybe a little more. Absolutely chucked it down with rain. After this photo I got drenched through.

Bike survived the odd bump and kerb hop. I didn’t die. ‘Brakes’ didn’t grip that well, should be renamed ‘slows’.

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Interesting and impressive stuff. You seem very creative! Trying to think of any sticker requests, must check out the sales thread asap.

Thanks!

As far as stickers, I’ve been mulling over what’s best to make it affordable.

Last night I was weeding loads more little dayglow Borts (the xx-eyes Bart ghost). Sussed how to get the most out of the machine on smaller width rolls.

Since people were interested in the Homer and Moleman and stuff but didn’t realise how big/expensive they were, I will be re-drawing them all myself to try simplify their design. I’d painstakingly stolen and cleaned up images from online, but they are too intricate to be made as little stickers. Must redesign them and do cycle-specific ones ideal for bike tubing.

I was thinking to make some decals for this monster bike, probably take the Cannondale font and make a downtube ‘Crack-N-Fail’.

Next up I’ll be looking to make some Premium Rush quotes. Can’t stop don’t want to, brakes are death, etc. Simple type that will sit well over a stickerbombed rat, if that would interest anyone.

I am also not above doing incredibly vulgar stuff, such as swears or nasty words and phrases.

Less offensively, maybe someone will want a top tube/stem sized ‘shut up legs’.

Less offensively, maybe someone will want a top tube/stem sized ‘shut up legs’.

waves

I learned meaning of blowing holes straight through. That nice thin-walled box section was way too thin. Awful job.

I made a rack for front and back but the idea is/was to be removable from the main rails. My drill bits are all shoddy so I got two holes for the front and resorted to zip-ties. It’s got the two to locate it, and the cable ties to hold it down proper. It’ll do.

Fixed front racks are weird. Rides absolutely fine and the weight is so much with the extra on the front there are no wheelies.

Definitely learnt why people abandon stick welding for mig/tig/gas for anything other than girders.

Got a wet arse too, so going to wrap the rear rail in dayglow yellow as a makeshift ass-saver.

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Aaaaaand custom reflective decals in a pseudo-cannondale font.

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That is incredibly fast work on the rack! I'm sorely tempted to buy an Aldi stick welder

Definitely recommend going for something like the FCAW (“mig”welder) instead, think price is pretty equivalent from Lidl/Aldi. Stick is pretty wild. Racks are rough as hell!

Absolute brass monkeys outside, so made a couple reversible bandanas and a couple regular long scarves from vintage material scraps. Was very happy to have the dark floral one keeping me warm on the bmx today.

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These look nice! whats the pattern?

Sewing pattern, or print pattern? The sewing patterns aren’t anything difficult, long rectangle or a square, but they are put together with a running stitch, then overlocked, turned inside out and closed ... so I guess you mean the print patterns.

Most of the material is scraps and remainders so it’s missing the selvedge with the original maker information. Nuisance then is that I can’t get more once I use any of it up. Some of the material came as single pieces from a shop specialising in vintage materials, but has since vanished.

Only the paisley, dots and flowers are printed. The houndstooth and stripes are actually woven. The paisley is FL505 Lawns by Fabric Freedom.

I actually meant the sewing pattern. If it's just simple rectangles, you arranged them really tastefully. I was umming and ahing about how to recreate something like these. :D

Yep roughly 55x55cm square, sewn with a minimum of 5mm seam, turned inside out after overlocking. The long scarves I’ll have to measure again, more or less 20cm wide by as long as you like. If you use the right material you can snip and tear it along the weave and get a rough but straight edge.