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Step 6Attaching the Wheel to the Trailer
Recall that I used the front fork of the castoff bike to hold the wheel in place. That was the easy part (I simply removed the wheel from my daughter's bike and attached it to the castoff bike's fork -- although I did have to increase the diameter of the hole in the lawyer lips from the junker bike as they didn't fit around the axle of my daughter's wheel). The hard part was attaching the fork to the trailer itself.
At first I decided I would drill a pair of holes in the fork stem and put two fork supports through the hole. I would then braze the fork supports to both the fork and the trailer. After further consideration, however, I figured three supports was better than two, so that's how I ended up with three sets of holes.
Once the holes were drilled in the fork, I slid the supports through the holes. Before brazing the fork supports onto the frame, I cut the conduit connectors in half and, after filing down the inside so they'd fit, slid them on the supports so one was on each side of the fork. I straightened out the fork (as best I could) and tightened each connector so that (in theory) the fork would remain straight and true with the rest of the trailer.
The fork assembly was now ready to be attached to the rest of the trailer, which was simply a case of brazing each support onto the bottom frame in the desired location. Once the fork assembly was in place, I adjusted the fork again so that the wheel would be perpendicular to the trailer (again, in theory) and then brazed the connectors to the supports. The last step in this process was brazing the fork to the supports. (As it turned out, the wheel wasn't completely perpendicular to the trailer...I guess I only measured once vs. twice.)
NOTE: You should properly prepare surfaces being brazed by cleaning them and removing any paint with a wire brush, a wire brush drill bit or wire wheel (on the bench grinder). This will not only allow the brazing material to adhere better to the metal, it will not release paint toxins into the air.
At first I decided I would drill a pair of holes in the fork stem and put two fork supports through the hole. I would then braze the fork supports to both the fork and the trailer. After further consideration, however, I figured three supports was better than two, so that's how I ended up with three sets of holes.
Once the holes were drilled in the fork, I slid the supports through the holes. Before brazing the fork supports onto the frame, I cut the conduit connectors in half and, after filing down the inside so they'd fit, slid them on the supports so one was on each side of the fork. I straightened out the fork (as best I could) and tightened each connector so that (in theory) the fork would remain straight and true with the rest of the trailer.
The fork assembly was now ready to be attached to the rest of the trailer, which was simply a case of brazing each support onto the bottom frame in the desired location. Once the fork assembly was in place, I adjusted the fork again so that the wheel would be perpendicular to the trailer (again, in theory) and then brazed the connectors to the supports. The last step in this process was brazing the fork to the supports. (As it turned out, the wheel wasn't completely perpendicular to the trailer...I guess I only measured once vs. twice.)
NOTE: You should properly prepare surfaces being brazed by cleaning them and removing any paint with a wire brush, a wire brush drill bit or wire wheel (on the bench grinder). This will not only allow the brazing material to adhere better to the metal, it will not release paint toxins into the air.
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Apr 20, 2009. 3:35 AMjpvskv
says:
Your first picture in the intro shows the fork with the bend of the fork facing away from the road surface. I would turn that around so that the bend faces down and that helps put gravity in your favor. It looks like you can do that by the way you assembled it. I am working with conduit too. I use a 110 volt welder to build a seat for a recumbent I built. I suggest using a fan or working in a breeze. Wearing a welding helmet helped prevent me from inhaling any toxins, thank God.
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Apr 23, 2009. 7:55 AM
samfelis (author)
says:
samfelis (author)
says:
Regarding the front fork, I tried it that way (e.g., with the fork pointing down), but it caused the trailer to ride at a funny angle. If you look in the 2nd picture in step 11, you can see how having it pointing up lends to an even trailer. In addition to the fan I had blowing across the work space, I also had both garage doors open and the side door open as well to create a good cross breeze.
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