Monday, January 11, 2016

Bicycle Upgrade Repair

So this thing cracked, yeah we gonna fix it.
cracked bike stem extension

I decided to TIG weld it this time.  Firstly, the cracked part.
re-welded stem extension
I had a scrap piece from the scrap piece I used on Bike Upgrade 2, which makes this twice as scrap (post-pre-consumer-post-waste material).  It had some other tube welded on it to begin with, so I just decided to use it anyways.  I wanted to drill a drain/ vent hole in the bottom so I don't disobey the rule about welding on airtight containers.
drilling drain hole drill press
Interestingly, it fit in the drill press table like this perfectly.
the drain hole
What's the motto here? "When in doubt, just add more steel".  I left the extra 90° tube welded on the end of the scrap piece because I wanted the height to match where the other two pieces were welded at the top.  Probably not the best idea, but at least it will last more than 9 months this time!
welding on another tube to stem
I'm making dual-stems a fashion statement this year.  Not as cool looking as the "cactus" stem from bike upgrade 2, but it's an improvement.
cactus bike stem
The Cactus Stem
repaired stem

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