Old School Chopper Frame Fabrication - Knucklebuster

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Figure 6 If you've done a good job of fitting the neck to begin with it will stay in place on the frame just from the weight provided by a long piece of tubing slipped down through middle as seen in Figure 6 above. The objective is to use the inside weld seam as a straightedge and to move the long piece of tubing until that seam aligns perfectly with our control line we scribed on the floor. To double-check just drop a plumb-bob down from the top of the 'alignment' tube and see if it hits the centerline of the backbone tube. For best results you have to 'sight' down the inside of the tube.
Figure 7 The tube in Figure 7 above is used for a variety of purposes in our garage so I painted the ends metallic green so I could find it mixed in with all other other tubes laying around and to make sure one of the occasional 'helpers' didn't chop it up. Before you tack anything together take a gander at the neck and frame from every conceivable angle. It is amazing how perceptive and accurate the human eye is. This is your last chance to change the rake and the long alignment tube will give you some idea about the final proportions of the finished bike. On this particular project I took a 'two-beer' break to conjugate and contemplate the shape of the frame and at the last minute decided to rake the neck out another three degrees to a thirty eight degree angle even though we had already bought the front forks to fit a 35 degree frame. This is just part of building choppers. Nothing should be chiseled in concrete and you should look upon the entire process of putting a bike together as a creative expression and not get stuck into the technicalities. I have spent almost my entire life dealing with precision drawings, machining, and fabrication but there comes a time when you have to leave the math behind and follow your instincts and this is that indefinable 'something' that separates humans from computers and provides the distinction between mass-produced bikes and custom built choppers. Once you're completely satisfied that the neck-piece is perfectly aligned go ahead and tack it up using a bunch of very small tacks around the perimeter of the connection alternating from one side to the other to minimize distortion. When you're done you should have a frame that's almost ready to be detailed.
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Old School Chopper Frame Fabricatio
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1. Steering head. Also called the s
Page 5 and 6:
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Page 7 and 8: Figure Error! Bookmark not defined.
Page 11 and 12: Figure 11 This cross member sets th
Page 15 and 16: Figure 15 Figure 15 shows the end r
Page 17 and 18: Figure 17 There is a corresponding
Page 19 and 20: Figure 19 I call this area of the f
Page 21 and 22: Figure 23 The slope angle of the 'r
Page 23 and 24: In Figure 3 we can see the two tube
Page 25 and 26: Figure 1 shows the basic components
Page 27 and 28: an eighth of an inch clearance betw
Page 29 and 30: Figure 6 In Figure 6 we've deepened
Page 31 and 32: Figure 2 if you look closely you ca
Page 33 and 34: angle finder. It explains is easy t
Page 35 and 36: Figure 6 In this shot I've propped-
Page 37 and 38: In case you're interested I messed
Page 39 and 40: Figure 3 Figure 3 depicts a plate t
Page 41 and 42: Figure 7 Figure 7 is another 'boxed
Page 43 and 44: Regardless of the style or type of
Page 45 and 46: Figure 13 At this point all you nee
Page 47 and 48: Figure 1 You'll no doubt realize th
Page 49 and 50: Figure 4 Actually the plate will be
Page 51 and 52: If you're building a frame without
Page 53 and 54: Figure 5 Now that the plates are in
Page 55 and 56: Figure 2 Clean the notch up slightl
Page 57: Figure 5 The frame in Figure 5 is o
Page 62 and 63: We'll now begin doing the detail wo
Page 64 and 65: The charge has been removed from th
Page 66 and 67: Some people have reported problems
Page 68 and 69: Steering Necks For some unexplained
Page 70: Figure Error! Bookmark not defined.
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Old School Chopper Frame Fabrication - Knucklebuster

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