Please do. The pics you posted look interesting, but I'm having trouble visualizing how it works.aaron04 said:
Custom Home made Bike rack
3
I got tired of strapping my bikes in the back of my truck so I looked for an alternative method, I saw a rack in a magazine that looked like what I wanted so I built my own this morning. I copied a design by "Recrac". Mine is made out of cast aluminum and uses webbed straps with Velcro to attach the frame to the rack. I used lost foam to cast these parts and the aluminum I used was an old barbecue that I was throwing away. The Racrac cost about $80, mine cost me $3 an two hours of work.
These two pieces mount to the edge of my truck bed with bolts that clamp without drilling any holes, the rods are adjustable, one mounts to the fork leg and the other to the swing arm or seat tube. All the parts that touch paint will have a rubber liner to protect the paint on the truck and bike. This method of mounting my bikes in the truck should only take a few seconds for each bike with no straps or ropes to mess with.
If it stops raining I will take it out and hook up my bike and show off how it works. Once I mount it and find any flaws in my design I am going to make another pair for my wife's bike and then sand them smooth and anodise all the parts black.
![]()
![]()
![]()
These two pieces mount to the edge of my truck bed with bolts that clamp without drilling any holes, the rods are adjustable, one mounts to the fork leg and the other to the swing arm or seat tube. All the parts that touch paint will have a rubber liner to protect the paint on the truck and bike. This method of mounting my bikes in the truck should only take a few seconds for each bike with no straps or ropes to mess with.
If it stops raining I will take it out and hook up my bike and show off how it works. Once I mount it and find any flaws in my design I am going to make another pair for my wife's bike and then sand them smooth and anodise all the parts black.
1 - 20 of 75 Posts
3
I built a foundry out of an old propane tank, I cut it in half and lined it with a home made refractory made out of clay, sand and Styrofoam balls, the Styrofoam balls melt the first time it is fired and leaves thousands of little air pockets to help insulated the tank. It is fired with propane and gets up to 1800 F. It will melt a quart of aluminum in about 10 minutes. It is really fun, I have made a ton of stuff I would have otherwise had to buy and also things that simply don't exist. Here is a pic of my foundry.KevinB said:
I still havent painted it, probably never will but it works perfect. The burner is the tube sticking out the rear, the lid lifts and swivels with the foot lever sticking out the front. These pics were taken before I added the handle.
Don't want to rain on a parade, you did a nice job. For $80 I would have just bought them off the market...being a machinist / tool&die maker for a number of years I know what it takes to make castings from scratch.
From what I see you have over a dozen holes to drill of varying diameters, over half of which need to be tapped, foam shapes to make accurately and bury and pack in the sand with sprues...lets not forget firing up the crucible to melt the 3/4 pounds of aluminum and then pouring, breaking them out of the sand/quenching and then cutting/cleaning up the sprues on a belt sander before the bead blast to get the finish in your pics. I won't mention the pin imbedded in your first design that was located in your foam form, so obviously there was two iterations of the same concept.
BTW your second design is better.:thumbsup:
I see from your profile and posts that your retired and enjoy metal working...I applaud that. But seriously, saying you did all that work in two hours is stretching it a bit don't you think? I've been in the metal working industry for over 25 years, I have an idea of how long it would take to do a job like that because I have to quote them all the time and have done them. You are claiming you would have had those completed from dual concept to assembly before first coffee break?
C'mon.
From what I see you have over a dozen holes to drill of varying diameters, over half of which need to be tapped, foam shapes to make accurately and bury and pack in the sand with sprues...lets not forget firing up the crucible to melt the 3/4 pounds of aluminum and then pouring, breaking them out of the sand/quenching and then cutting/cleaning up the sprues on a belt sander before the bead blast to get the finish in your pics. I won't mention the pin imbedded in your first design that was located in your foam form, so obviously there was two iterations of the same concept.
BTW your second design is better.:thumbsup:
I see from your profile and posts that your retired and enjoy metal working...I applaud that. But seriously, saying you did all that work in two hours is stretching it a bit don't you think? I've been in the metal working industry for over 25 years, I have an idea of how long it would take to do a job like that because I have to quote them all the time and have done them. You are claiming you would have had those completed from dual concept to assembly before first coffee break?
C'mon.
"You are claiming you would have had those completed from dual concept to assembly before first coffee break?C'mon.[/QUOTE]"
Wow, thats the first time I have been called a liar about the work I've done. I don't mean to rain on your parade but if it would take you more than two hours to do what you see in those pictures then you must not be a very good metal worker.
I honestly don't care what your opinion of my work is but it did only take two hours.
Cutting out 4 pieces of foam and burying them in sand is really very easy. There are only two sizes of holes that had to be drilled, I own a drill press, it's not difficult to drill holes and tap them. Cleaning up the parts is very easy since I own three belt/disc sanders of varying sizes and an oscillating drum sander. You say you have been a metal worker for more than 25 years and you cant tell that those parts are NOT bead blasted? They are not finished to perfection (yet) There was not "two iterations of the same concept" as you say, I made them both EXACTLY as I planned on making them and they turned out exactly as I intended.
I understand you may be a little jealous that you aren't capable of completing a job of such simple design in two hours but you should not let that jealousy get the better of you and call someone you have never met a liar.
As for you thinking I should have not made them and instead spent the money and bought the commercially made model, no thanks. Like I said, mine only cost me a few dollars for set screws and a two hours of labor (maybe three by the time I get done, that is if I don't anodise them) not to mention the fact that I had fun doing it.
Golly gee, when I make the second pair I better videotape the process with a time stamp so I can verify my time with you.
I just looked at a few other threads you have been involved with, you do have a problem insulting people dont you.
[/QUOTE]"Wow, thats the first time I have been called a liar about the work I've done. I don't mean to rain on your parade but if it would take you more than two hours to do what you see in those pictures then you must not be a very good metal worker.
I honestly don't care what your opinion of my work is but it did only take two hours.
Cutting out 4 pieces of foam and burying them in sand is really very easy. There are only two sizes of holes that had to be drilled, I own a drill press, it's not difficult to drill holes and tap them. Cleaning up the parts is very easy since I own three belt/disc sanders of varying sizes and an oscillating drum sander. You say you have been a metal worker for more than 25 years and you cant tell that those parts are NOT bead blasted? They are not finished to perfection (yet) There was not "two iterations of the same concept" as you say, I made them both EXACTLY as I planned on making them and they turned out exactly as I intended.
I understand you may be a little jealous that you aren't capable of completing a job of such simple design in two hours but you should not let that jealousy get the better of you and call someone you have never met a liar.
As for you thinking I should have not made them and instead spent the money and bought the commercially made model, no thanks. Like I said, mine only cost me a few dollars for set screws and a two hours of labor (maybe three by the time I get done, that is if I don't anodise them) not to mention the fact that I had fun doing it.
Golly gee, when I make the second pair I better videotape the process with a time stamp so I can verify my time with you.
I just looked at a few other threads you have been involved with, you do have a problem insulting people dont you.
Hmmm...don't see where I insulted your work. I just thought you misrepresented how long it took to accomplish it, I call em as I see em. I really don't care how long it took you (nobody does), you did a nice job especially in a home workshop.
Perhaps if you read my post again instead of taking offense immediately you would see I complimented you twice. If I had to quote the job, it would include design, casting, machining and finishing/fitting. Each one of those steps would take at least an hour assuming you had metal ready in the pot and someone experienced to do the work. A CNC machine could do the job in about the same amount of time (4 hrs) including setup, programming, manual chucking and final finishing/deburring since it is a one off.
I don't make this stuff up, these are realities that any one of the metal working professionals on this forum can back up, you and I are not the only ones ya know.
I would challenge you to take the project to any local machine shop for duplication and competitive bidding and see what you get, but what would be the point. The industry is very competitive and I would bet they would all be very close to what I estimated. The model you copied is made from extrusions which saves a pile of time in manufacturing, I think $80 is extremely reasonable for what you get.
Look, I am all for what your doing...I think its great. I have read your project posts, they interest me because of my profession and love of custom parts. Keep up the good work and taking lots of pics, its great for the young ones on the forum who never get to see how things are made, it is becoming a lost art these days.
Perhaps if you read further into my prior posts you would see that I offer excellent realistic advice based on experience, there are a large proportion of young impressionable minds on this forum.
I never forget that.
Perhaps if you read my post again instead of taking offense immediately you would see I complimented you twice. If I had to quote the job, it would include design, casting, machining and finishing/fitting. Each one of those steps would take at least an hour assuming you had metal ready in the pot and someone experienced to do the work. A CNC machine could do the job in about the same amount of time (4 hrs) including setup, programming, manual chucking and final finishing/deburring since it is a one off.
I don't make this stuff up, these are realities that any one of the metal working professionals on this forum can back up, you and I are not the only ones ya know.
I would challenge you to take the project to any local machine shop for duplication and competitive bidding and see what you get, but what would be the point. The industry is very competitive and I would bet they would all be very close to what I estimated. The model you copied is made from extrusions which saves a pile of time in manufacturing, I think $80 is extremely reasonable for what you get.
Look, I am all for what your doing...I think its great. I have read your project posts, they interest me because of my profession and love of custom parts. Keep up the good work and taking lots of pics, its great for the young ones on the forum who never get to see how things are made, it is becoming a lost art these days.
Perhaps if you read further into my prior posts you would see that I offer excellent realistic advice based on experience, there are a large proportion of young impressionable minds on this forum.
I never forget that.
"aaron04 said:"You are claiming you would have had those completed from dual concept to assembly before first coffee break?C'mon.
.
prove him wrong.... make another set and you tube video it.... that will solve the argument
Welcome to the Interwebaaron04 said:
I was wondering why he was going after you as well, who cares how long it took? You're happy, you made something cool, good on ya:thumbsup:
Perhaps he had a rough morning with the wife, and needed to take it out on someone
Well I wasn't going to mention it, but since a "MTBR Moderator" decided to bring my wife into the discussion...why not.
What you have done Aaron04 is admitted (in writing and with pictures no less!) to infringing on Patent #'s 6196777 and 6604898 and in your words "I copied a design by "Recrac" on an international website. The company can reached here if you have any question regarding their patents, they are based in Colorado
http://www.recrac.com/contactUs.html
Now I may not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but I know when not to post information that could be used against me in a court of law on the internet regarding patent infringement...and involve http://www.mtbr.com/ in the preceedings. Not sure how the moderator involved in this thread would fair in court since he encouraged the infringement on a website he moderates but...ahhh who cares let the lawyers sort it out right?! See this is the kind of thing us "know it alls" have to deal with in the real world.
BTW the rack is $64.95 (not $80) which is a bargain if you ask me.
P.S. Educating the young members of this forum is what I am here for Aaron, making legal mistakes on the internet now counts for one of them. I am sure MTBR is well represented legally, look at all their sponsors logos on the site! I wonder if Recrac is one of them...hmmmm.:skep:
Don't shoot the messenger, I tell it like it is.
have a nice day.:thumbsup:
What you have done Aaron04 is admitted (in writing and with pictures no less!) to infringing on Patent #'s 6196777 and 6604898 and in your words "I copied a design by "Recrac" on an international website. The company can reached here if you have any question regarding their patents, they are based in Colorado
http://www.recrac.com/contactUs.html
Now I may not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but I know when not to post information that could be used against me in a court of law on the internet regarding patent infringement...and involve http://www.mtbr.com/ in the preceedings. Not sure how the moderator involved in this thread would fair in court since he encouraged the infringement on a website he moderates but...ahhh who cares let the lawyers sort it out right?! See this is the kind of thing us "know it alls" have to deal with in the real world.
BTW the rack is $64.95 (not $80) which is a bargain if you ask me.
P.S. Educating the young members of this forum is what I am here for Aaron, making legal mistakes on the internet now counts for one of them. I am sure MTBR is well represented legally, look at all their sponsors logos on the site! I wonder if Recrac is one of them...hmmmm.:skep:
Don't shoot the messenger, I tell it like it is.
have a nice day.:thumbsup:
1 - 20 of 75 Posts
