Ha! Yeah the holes won’t lighten it enough to matter, but they’re good decoration, and who ever parks a Spyder without lifting up the clamshell so’s everyone can see in? My aims here are three.

1. See if I can develop any passable skills in sheet metal forming without investing in necessary tools such as an English wheel or even a bending brake.

…

[Read more]

I stand corrected, Roy. Thanks for the science.

Only Ed would drill holes in 22 gauge aluminum to “lighten” it.  I’m impressed, but not surprised (having seen Ed’s work before)….a passion for precision.

“fealty”?  Really Ed?  I need to remember to never play Scrabble with you.

I epoxied that missing piece back into place yesterday. Today it looks as if it will hold. As that sheave is not in use all it has to do is spin. Hope it stays together at speed.

Very good. I read the blog and it looks like a unique detail.

Why is it that the most work goes into stuff you never see as it rolls on down the road?

Engine balancing:  Very difficult and complex involving dynamics of rotating and reciprocating parts as well as static simple weight differences.  That said, I possibly go overboard and always apply  the shade tree standard of if it is visibly out of balance, it is too much.  I own a very accurate scale which measures down to small fractions of…[Read more]

I don’t think that little imbalance will matter. I’d maybe check to make sure it’s not cracking up though.

Getting it done, man.

Bill, looks to me like you should rethink using the pulley as is, with the chip missing.  ….or you could make it round again with some easy lathe work.

Will that chip cause any vibration?  Or are you going to just remove the remainder of the circle?