Moving on

The Bamboo Bike Trailer Project is moving to WordPress. The reasons are pretty simple and straightforward. You can read about them over there.

This site will remain up for the time being, but all new posts and all of the old ones, too, are at the new site.

http://bambootrailer.wordpress.com.

Older ladies, postal workers and tricycles are my muses

Why bother building a bike trailer or using one? What is the point? How often will you really use it to buy groceries or run errands? In the midst of the "doing" of building a trailer, I have revisited the reasons behind it.

Rather than head to the shop to re-read the instructions for mounting and using a radial arm saw dado blade, I searched my photo files to be reminded of my inspiration for this project. That effort alone can occupy hours since I have never really settled on a naming and filing scheme that really makes finding stuff easy. But, I knew that in the hundreds of folders and thousands of digital images, there were several that inspired my interest in the bicycle at its humblest, but highest use: transportation. By that, I mean transportation that gets the user to and from a destination and serves to carry their goods for them.

The frame slowly takes shape

After finally deciding that the frame should accommodate a 24" width box, I hooked-up the shop vac to the radial arm saw dust shroud and started measuring frame members. The usual rules of measure-twice-cut-once had been followed, except for the miscalculation on the width. I really did measure several times, did the math about the beam overlaps, fenders and the like and still made a small mistake. I should have cut the frame cross-members at 38" rather than 36". This small mistake would mean a slight design problem because my cross-members would not have an extension of 1.5" over the "struts." If you're reading this, does it make any sense? (Pictured: Frame members laid out upside down)

Measure, refine, test

There are times when this project seems to make one step forward and two back. It's just that it is important to be sure you have things in order before you start cutting . . . or aligning . . . or even something as simple as purchasing hardware. Today's ongoing effort centers on a clear understanding of how this trailer will finally come together and what effects the various parts and sequence of construction will have on the outcome.

For example, I thought today would be devoted to simply mounting the wheel brackets on the frame members. A careful, or at least second, look at the jigs I created for the wheel brackets showed them misaligned. Nothing significant, but a potential problem as the trailer is assembled. One centimeter of misalignment at the beginning could result in a great deal of problems when the trailer is rolling down the road.

Read the plans carefully, then diverge

I have read and re-read Carry Freedom's plans and they are quite good and thorough. A bike trailer is a fairly simple device-two wheels inside a frame with a connecting arm. But, getting to something that works well and tracks straight is not so simple, so thank you Carry Freedom.

However, given my materials, my lack of a really good machine shop and the conditions as I confront them, I'm making some modifications.

An accounting

These are the costs in time and materials to date. In cases where I have had to purchase special tools or tools that would only be used for this project, I have included their cost. For example, I purchased Sawzall blades and knew that I would wear them out. They are included. Other tools, like drills bits and chisels, are for more than this project and not included.

Time by Activity (in hours)
Correspondence = .5
Inventory = 1.5
Material Purchase = 6.5
Fabrication = 10
Blog = 8.75
Total = 27.25

Costs (USD)
Brackets = $58.80
(metal, hardware, special tools)
Frame = $9.43
Wheels = $10.00
Total = $78.23

Things my father taught me

My father, Fred Reber, was a mechanic. When I was an infant, he worked in a government motor pool by day and officiated dirt track sprint car races on the weekend. Our family's first dining room furnishings were purchased with race track earnings.

(A finished wheel bracket)

By the time I was in school, my father had switched careers to become a lobbyist in state legislatures. He retained all of his tools and kept an exceedingly neat and organized workshop garage. He never really worked on cars after that, but I learned to use my hands and tools to repair things by watching and working alongside him. Lawn mowers, barbecue grills and my bicycles came under his care.