Finished up the Ace today

[Willowbilly3]

 

[Old Iron]

[cl[cl[cl

 

[kenny c]

Love it.

 

[Tripper]

Wow... that is toooo kooool!!! [cl[cl[cl

BoB

 

[Bonehead]

Really Great!

 

[Sam_Fear]

That is Fantastic!!

 

[Skip]

Man. I'm not sure what to say. Kinda' cool. Kinda' scary. Nice work for sure. Very nice. [S[cl

 

[bob w]

Fantastic. You "Aced" it, WB.

 

[Todd]

Awesome doesn't seem to come up to the level of it. Hmmm, how about fandamntabulous

 

[Willowbilly3]

Thanks guys
I've been putting off finishing it because I wasn't real confident about getting the patina right. I did a lot of my usual tricks with vinegar, gun blueing, sanding ect. But came up with a new technique to make it look like it came out of 60 years in a shed. I swept up primer overspray and dust from the floor, put it in a salt shaker, then spray on some clear primer and sprinkle on the patina dust. Brush off the access with steel wool to the desired look. Worked pretty good. Here you can see it on top of the tank and frame tube.

 

[earthman]

I'm just stunned. What is the approximate scale? How long to create and what are some of the sources for the parts?

 

[Willowbilly3]

I'm not sure what scale to call it. The rear tire is 11' tall and the front one 10. Wheelbase is 25". I think I have around 250 hours in it. Parts come from sewing machines, tricycles, baby carriages, bicycles, other toys. Most of the tubing I get from the dump, old lawn chairs, bicycle frames. Bell housing was a gear reduction from a small briggs and the carb was one from an old stomp start briggs that I modified. Exhaust was a tapered metal table leg, heat shield cut from the front of a Warm Morning gas heater. Spark plugs I got off internet for some vintage model gas airplane engine. Most of the engine I just built from tubing, washers and flat stock, magneto is all hand made with coils made from copper wire wrapped on sewing machine bobbins. Spark plug wire is old cotton wrapped wire from a 46 Ford parts truck. The pedals came out really well, some kind of shuttle arms from Singer and the expanding shoes from a bike coaster brake.

 

[BlueNorther]

Beyond Kewlness!!!!

 

[Oldphart]

Excellent work. Thanks for sharing.

 

[bruno]

That looks like you could start it up and go for a ride. You are extremely talented.

 

[Willowbilly3]

Update; I sent a few pictures to a good friend who collects and rides nice old Harleys, Indians, Motoguzzis ect. He probably has 25 real nice bikes. He wants this thing bad. I'm not ready to sell it by any means but this is the second person who has the means and wants it. Although maybe not at a price I have in my head. By my calculations, my time with a shop and conservatively $50,000 in tools should be worth $50 an hour but even at half that times the 250 hours I have in this piece comes to 6 grand. He's not quite on board with that number,lol. Which is fine because I really don't want to sell it any time soon.

 

[jfg455]

Art sales is not about time and materials like building a shed or stair well. To quote an art gallery owner "Art is sold at a price that the market will support." She went on to explain the market is the buyer and if they want to spend $5,000 or $50,000 on a piece it is only their want and means to buy that is sustaining the sale. Also she said art is about one off expressions by the artist which cannot be estimated by normal means. Clear as mud? Good! [cl

 

[Willowbilly3]

And very often you are buying the artists name, not the object. Case in point; a friend told me he was at a gallery and there was the top torched out of an oil drum with 3 pieces of metal stuck to it and it was in a glass case. The museum guide told them how lucky they were to find an original Andy Warhol for $220,000. I guess she didn't appreciate his remark that he throws crap like that in the scrap iron at his welding shop,lol.

 

[MercuryMac]

Whoooa, Wb3, I've got one of those works of art on the downwind side of my house. It has been enhanced immeasurably by the fire blackening at the top and the iron oxide colouring at the bottom. I should take it to that art curator and get her to price it.


Sheesh, then I'd have to make another work of art to burn my garbage in.

 

[Skip]

I'm just stunned. What is the approximate scale? How long to create and what are some of the sources for the parts?

I'm not sure what scale to call it. The rear tire is 11' tall and the front one 10. Wheelbase is 25". I think I have around 250 hours in it. Parts come from sewing machines, tricycles, baby carriages, bicycles, other toys. Most of the tubing I get from the dump, old lawn chairs, bicycle frames. Bell housing was a gear reduction from a small briggs and the carb was one from an old stomp start briggs that I modified. Exhaust was a tapered metal table leg, heat shield cut from the front of a Warm Morning gas heater. Spark plugs I got off internet for some vintage model gas airplane engine. Most of the engine I just built from tubing, washers and flat stock, magneto is all hand made with coils made from copper wire wrapped on sewing machine bobbins. Spark plug wire is old cotton wrapped wire from a 46 Ford parts truck. The pedals came out really well, some kind of shuttle arms from Singer and the expanding shoes from a bike coaster brake.

I have been trying to figure out where you found a bike like this to make a rat out of.

Willowbilly3, you totally got me. After looking at the photos again I can see it. Freakin' amazing. [cl[cl