1947 R O Harrison Lyta

Oh also I think the lettering would have been red originally. I was in two minds when I started, I had seen one other example and it had red lettering - but there was no trace of red on mine and who knows maybe the other one had been painted red sometime during the last 70 years. I have since seen another one that has red lettering, so balance of evidence suggests red lettering and a black background originally. There was no way I was taking off the black and redoing it red though :)

Update: reading back I see I had seen 2 red ones previously, so that's actually 3 I've seen now with red lettering.

It looks very good to me, Makes me wonder whether my Holdsworth badge would have had any colour originally?

@clubman might know how these were done. I think they were probably enamelled originally and he knows a thing or two about proper enamelling.

Application of the colour might have been done a bit like tampo, rolled on with a squeegee and maybe the excess scraped off if done by hand. Then oven cured which flows it out evenly on the surface. Polished up at the end. Just speculating though, I don’t actually know.

I’ve always felt that brass headbadges must have been quite an expensive item to put on a frame. First a set of stamps would have been made up to cut the shape out and then press the features into the badge, then the colouring, curing and polishing. It’s quite a lot of work!

I was thinking deeper profile initially, sprayed (cured whatever), the top of the profile machined off, then polished. Something like that would be the least manual work and most consistent result. Not sure about the machining, way outside my area of expertise!

@SideshowBob this badge looked pretty cool just polished brass. I made a few slips masking though so cut some lines into it 😑 No turning back at that point. FYI for anyone else, you just need light pressure with the knife!

That haa jogged my memory though, I think I saw that these days a mask would be put on the blank, then the profile cut, then sprayed, then mask removed. So the infill would perfectly match the profile. Don’t know if that was possible bitd.

I'm afraid I only know about stove enamel, which is really just paint cured in an oven. A finish which 'flows out' when cured sounds like vitreous enamel, which I don't think was ever used for these badges.

The photo below shows my attempt at restoring a brass badge. I polished the brass, stoved it black, flatted off the paint on the high points and then gave it a coat of stoving lacquer.

I think Veloham's result is better than mine.

Incidentally, this Duckett frame is thought to be the only known pre-war solo example of the marque, although there is a tandem. Mine is probably 1920's and is the only 'lightweight' I've seen which came with Westwood rims. The firm advertised in the fifties and sixties with the slogan 'Wise men in the East go to Ducketts for their wheels'

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Thanks @clubman, high praise! I have decided to have another go at it though, I think one more attempt and I will have it how I want it. Either that or chuff it up from not being able to stop fiddling.

Yours looks great too, really in keeping with the bike / age of it. Did you go for the 'art deco' Duckett decals?

Duckett Transfers

When I got this bike there were a few fragments of the original finish remaining, including a corner of the seat tube transfer. I took the style of the transfer and tried to recreate what might have been the original. I must admit I'm not sure that there ever were downtube transfers, but if there were they might have looked like my effort.

These 'transfers' were made by using computer cut vinyl stencils and spraying with stoving paint - metallic gold works well for this since it covers well and looks ok without too much build up. This method is time consuming and certainly not commercially viable.

The result may well be 'over restoration' and is reminiscent of that artist's impression of a large dinosaur created from a small fragment of tooth (a Dubiosaurus).

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An afterthought.

Here's the complete bike as I used it to ride over the old Bath Road 100 course. Obviously there's a fair amount of non original kit here, but 100 miles is a fair way to cover without a little help!

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I bet that's an absolute riot to ride? I love the geometry, not great on hils I'm sure but once your on the straight it must fly, soaking up any pot holes and such like.
Is that a constrictor rear brake caliper. Is that something you have added or was that part of the original set up.
@veloham will love the chainset.

The geometry of this reminds me of the early EF Russ I used to own-does it handle akin to a wheel barrow by any chance? On my Russ I seem to remember I used to have to kind of plan turning corners in advance in order to get round them smoothly! It was great fun too ride though, a shame it was too small really...(especially as I'm always keeping an eye out for another early 30s frame now.)

Duckett Brakes

When I first got this bike it had an Ambra Superga calliper (front only). Since it had Westwood rims which seemed original I assumed this was a modification, and an unwise one since the rims didn't have a suitable braking surface. I thought I'd be more period correct and safer with the stirrup brake which you can see.

However, I've since learnt that there was what might be called a transitional period when it was fairly common to use callipers on Westwood rims - they can't have been very effective. My Grandfather (b.1885) was convinced that Westwoods 'rolled' better than Endricks and probably he wasn't the only one who believed this. It's certainly true that a basic steel Endricks do not ride very well.

The rear brake is a Resilion modified with a Mafac style straddle cable (because I hadn't got the right Resilion cable to hand). I added this when I used the bike for an 'Eighty Miles in a Day at Eighty Years of Age' clubrun organised to celebrate a clubmate's birthday. The bike was about the same age as the clubmate - both got round without problems.

The chainset is anachronistic. I have got the original BSA set, but as stated elsewhere I don't like 6.5" cranks, especially not for long arduous rides.

As to handling, all I'll say is -it's not too bad, once you've got used to it.

If antone's interested I may by able to find the 1914 route card for the 100 and a pic of me riding the bike on that course.

Definitely interested in a few pics..!
I have just finished building up my Stronglight cranks, TA single adaptor with 1/8 46t track ring. To be honest it's all thanks to @veloham for locating the parts.
Just need a suitable axle now, as the axle I took out has worn bearing surfaces.

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It's a bit better than a wheelbarrow, but you have to get used to it.

It's reasonably light - there have been a great many worse bikes made since this one!

That looks great, in my opinion not over restoration at all. And the gold does work very well.

H Lloyd has the ‘art deco’ ones I mentioned https://h-lloyd-cycles.myshopify.com/pages/search-results-page?q=duckett which alone would be enough reason for me to add a Duckett to the list of projects :)

I know they’re not the prettiest but that chainset does it for me. Sounds a bit weird but it looks better on a bike too, a la @clubman’s Duckett.

Got a few options for the ROH: 1) double fluted BSA but maybe a bit too shabby for a refinished frame; 2) rechromed Chater Lea round cranks, nos ring - rechroming is underway but often just looks wrong unfortunately; 3) Williams 1200 but looks like guy I bought it from cleaned it with a Brillo pad, scratched to buggery; 4) I don’t think Stronglight for this one but always tempting!

Managed to put some time in to the headbadge over the weekend. It still needs a bit of cleanup, I'll give it a polish with Autosol and I think a gloss lacquer this time, but I'm much happier. I've taken some pictures along the way for once in case anyone ever wants to try this.

I didn't redo the lettering, that's good I think and as I mentioned a royal pita. [I used a brush, Humbrol enamel paint and thinners, an Oyster card (or any other flexible credit card shaped thing) flexed in to a curve between my fingers to try and squeegie the excess and toothpicks for cleanup of the edges.]

This is it with the paint cleaned off. Looks pretty great like this but hey ho ...

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So work in progress, pics in reverse order. First put masking tape over the middle of the star with a little tag to pull it all off. [Trying to get the mask off after hours of work with sticky wet enamel is stressy.]

Then use Bare Metal chrome foil to mask the star - laying the straight edges of cut strips of foil along the edges of the star is pretty straightforward.

Masking the border is not straightforward, I stuck strips of foil across each curve between points of the star and then used a hobby knife to try and follow the curve. Tests the eyes, needs a glass of wine to steady the hand :)

Then into my shonky spraying booth ...

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The finish still isn't perfect, but I think a rub with Autosol will soften it. It's much better than my last attempt - I hadn't removed a prior failed attempt, just rubbed it down with fine grit sandpaper. You could still see all the cock-ups through the final coat.

When this is fully dry I'll clean up a bit more on the star, polish, lacquer.

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Ok I finally got the frame to a point I’m happy with - water slide transfers and a soft sheen lacquer rather than high gloss. Just got to glue the tyres on and it’s shakedown time 🙌

Some cheeky phone pics in the sun today …

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Very pleased with the badge. I am almost certain now that the writing would have been red, but I like it black and I’m not re-doing it!

I bought the Brooks saddle with copper rails a few years ago when they came out - it’s pretty and I’d had a medicinal brandy. The perfect frame to carry it off and Argos using copper rivets on the badge was a clincher!

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I mean, really, this is so nice.

Apologies if discussed upthread but what’s the thing with the chain tug gubbins on non-track drop-outs (if I’ve read {seen?} the pics correctly)?

Thank you, it has been a labour to get right! Or right enough for me anyway. Any advice appreciated!

The chain tugs are Cyclo ‘True Track’ adjusters for forward facing dropouts (and fixed gear). Probably a bit affected but hey I am riding a 1940s bike so that horse has bolted! Theory is you get chain tension where you want it easily (like track end tugs) but also I won’t pull the wheel out the dropouts pumping my guns! I don’t really see that being a problem, but they do look cool :)

So good. They (the adjusters) look like they fit right in IMO :)