This instructable will teach you how to make a set of beautiful wooden mudguards/fenders for your bicycle.
Its a work in progress. I will finish the mud guards in the next week or so, updating as i go along.
My inspiration came from this guy.
Earlier this year, i built a bamboo bike from this instructable, although mine is a fixed gear . Now, i am planning to do some bicycle touring on it, so i need to outfit the bike in an appropriate way.
Why make fenders?
Because nice fenders are expensive. Because my bike is home made so standard fenders wouldn't mount easily. Because i like making things.
Why make wood fenders?
Because wood is beautiful, and will go well with a bamboo bike. Because i love working with wood, and am well set up to do it.
My fenders are 1.5 inches wide, and approximately 1/4 inch thick. they are designed to cover 3/8 of the diameter of my wheel. they have an inside radius of 14 inches, which is perfect for a 700c wheel with size 23-25 tires.
They are laminated (a process of gluing several thin layers of material together to form a thicker piece. this also allows the glued up wood to be bent around a form or mold and clamped until the glue dries, leaving a laminated piece that will stay curved) from three layers of wood. the top layer has a "racing stripe" pattern made by alternating light and dark wood across its width.
These plans are simple to adapt for, say, chunkier mountain bike tires.
Its a work in progress. I will finish the mud guards in the next week or so, updating as i go along.
My inspiration came from this guy.
Earlier this year, i built a bamboo bike from this instructable, although mine is a fixed gear . Now, i am planning to do some bicycle touring on it, so i need to outfit the bike in an appropriate way.
Why make fenders?
Because nice fenders are expensive. Because my bike is home made so standard fenders wouldn't mount easily. Because i like making things.
Why make wood fenders?
Because wood is beautiful, and will go well with a bamboo bike. Because i love working with wood, and am well set up to do it.
My fenders are 1.5 inches wide, and approximately 1/4 inch thick. they are designed to cover 3/8 of the diameter of my wheel. they have an inside radius of 14 inches, which is perfect for a 700c wheel with size 23-25 tires.
They are laminated (a process of gluing several thin layers of material together to form a thicker piece. this also allows the glued up wood to be bent around a form or mold and clamped until the glue dries, leaving a laminated piece that will stay curved) from three layers of wood. the top layer has a "racing stripe" pattern made by alternating light and dark wood across its width.
These plans are simple to adapt for, say, chunkier mountain bike tires.
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Signing UpStep 1: Materials and Tools
Materials
Wood -- I am using beech, a light colored wood, for the majority of the fender, and Brazilian mahogany for the darker racing stripe.
Plywood -- for making the form to bend your wood around. since my fenders are 1.5 inches wide, i used to thicknesses of 3/4 inch ply i had lying around.
varnish -- I am going to use some marine-grade spar varnish left over from another project.
glue -- normal wood glue, doesn't need to be waterproof.
screws -- for joining the two thicknesses of ply, alternatively they could be glued. make sure they are long enough to reach through to the second peice of ply, but short enough not to poke out the other side.
drill bits -- for drilling pilot holes in plywood to accept screws. size depends on thickness of screw.
tape -- masking or duct, to glue-proof certain things you don't want glued
thin (1 or 1.5mm) stainless steel sheet -- for making a mounting system. i also purchased "sheldon fender nuts" for the mounting system
Tools
drill -- for drilling pilot holes for form. dremel would work too. also needed for mounting system.
jig saw -- for cutting the curve into the plywood for the forms. could be done by hand with a coping saw. you probably want ear and eye protection with that too.
wood plane and table saw -- to cut and shape your wood to the correct dimensions. or do it the easy way (i did) and get a local carpenter to do that bit for you. also consider constructional veneers, which can be bought in thicknesses up to 2.5 millimeters, but are a bit pricy. you may still need the plane any way you do it.
sharp utility knife -- for cutting the strips to length.
clamps -- a good number. i used 10, of various types, mostly spring clamps, and a few
bar clamps.
circle-drawing device -- i didnt have a compass big enough, so i improvised with a pencil, a nail and hammer, and a length of string.
measuring tape
set square ---or triangle, to draw right angles
pencil
sand paper -- i used 80 and 240 grit, its what i had. and a small block of wood to use as a sanding block.
screw driver -- that works with your screws
rag or paper towel -- for wiping off superfluous glue
Wood -- I am using beech, a light colored wood, for the majority of the fender, and Brazilian mahogany for the darker racing stripe.
Plywood -- for making the form to bend your wood around. since my fenders are 1.5 inches wide, i used to thicknesses of 3/4 inch ply i had lying around.
varnish -- I am going to use some marine-grade spar varnish left over from another project.
glue -- normal wood glue, doesn't need to be waterproof.
screws -- for joining the two thicknesses of ply, alternatively they could be glued. make sure they are long enough to reach through to the second peice of ply, but short enough not to poke out the other side.
drill bits -- for drilling pilot holes in plywood to accept screws. size depends on thickness of screw.
tape -- masking or duct, to glue-proof certain things you don't want glued
thin (1 or 1.5mm) stainless steel sheet -- for making a mounting system. i also purchased "sheldon fender nuts" for the mounting system
Tools
drill -- for drilling pilot holes for form. dremel would work too. also needed for mounting system.
jig saw -- for cutting the curve into the plywood for the forms. could be done by hand with a coping saw. you probably want ear and eye protection with that too.
wood plane and table saw -- to cut and shape your wood to the correct dimensions. or do it the easy way (i did) and get a local carpenter to do that bit for you. also consider constructional veneers, which can be bought in thicknesses up to 2.5 millimeters, but are a bit pricy. you may still need the plane any way you do it.
sharp utility knife -- for cutting the strips to length.
clamps -- a good number. i used 10, of various types, mostly spring clamps, and a few
bar clamps.
circle-drawing device -- i didnt have a compass big enough, so i improvised with a pencil, a nail and hammer, and a length of string.
measuring tape
set square ---or triangle, to draw right angles
pencil
sand paper -- i used 80 and 240 grit, its what i had. and a small block of wood to use as a sanding block.
screw driver -- that works with your screws
rag or paper towel -- for wiping off superfluous glue
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Adie
Ezra at fastboy cycles (s\check out his fenders, they are sweet) has a system that uses a long metal ruler, which is bolted down at each end, giving similar pressure through tension.
hope the fenders worked out.
I realize that's quite wordy. if you are actually making these, and are confused, i can dig up some photos.
Adie
Eric
Now the question...How did you calculate "spring back?" That is to say, when one removes the final laminated piece, there is invariably a degree of relaxation wherein the final piece does not retain the exact curvature of the template. How did you calculate that or did it just work out? Inquiring minds want to know...
To reiterate, great job...Looks grand!
and i didnt make any calculations. i just used the radius of the tyre, knowing two things. a) that it would "relax" when taken off the form, as you said. b) that i would mount my fenders with approx .25 to .5 inches of clearance, so the "springback" would approximately match the effective radius i was after. it wasnt particularly scientific :)
--Adie
Again, good job on an excellent project...
good luck!