Seat back, cockpit and internal sub-frame

 

nose suspension

 Today I have spent some time on my central suspension, having previously made the sloping uprights and their brackets.

I made a sliding collar which will bear down on the main spring, once I know how much it should be compressed; it will then be fixed in place. The collar and spring will be housed in a tube which the collar has been made to fit. But I won't cut the tube until I know how much compression I need.

Next I need to make the steering block.

lash-up with new panels tried for size

 

slip rolling

 Thanks to my friend Phil for letting me use his industrial slip roller to make my bodywork.

Tortuous experiments with steering cables and chains

 

Tank cone

The cone is now much more like the proper shape, but unfortunately, getting it there has made the copper thin and now that it is this tight, it won't fit on the wheeling machine, so that it is all hammered. Getting it smooth will be near impossible unless I use filler, which would mean not being able to leave it copper coloured.

Still, most originals are painted anyway, but then why make it in copper (unless you actually want to hold liquids)?

 

tank nose cone

Not quite sure this is going to work; this one may be a practice run. But I have been making the nose cone for my fuel tank. Currently it looks more bowl shaped than conical, but I still need to raise the centre. 

This afternoon I cut up an old copper boiler and then mullered a sheet by bashing it into a small divot in the earth, then into a divot in a wooden block, before annealing it with a propane torch, then wheeling it. I annealed 4 times throughout the afternoon to keep the copper workable, otherwise it becomes work-hardened.

To pull the sides down and tighten the material I used my shrinker, which used to be manual until I turned it into a treadle tool during lockdown, meaning that now I can sit in front of it and manipulate the work, while operating the shrinker/stretcher with my right foot.

My roundest wheeling anvil is a little large and its radius may not be quite tight enough.     We'll see.