Action, Camera, Lights!

So I continue to work my way through the FJR1300 Gen III retrofit project. Previously I was able to machine the name plate and LED light holder that would eventually get mounted to the back of the Pelican case. Next it was onto building a Pelican Case mount as well as try and come up with some way of mounting a couple of Clearwater LED driving lights.

I continue to strive for professional looking results and when mounting accessories to the bike it is important to blend the mounts in with the flow of the bikes lines. Nothing looks worse then something that simply doesn’t appear to belong. Subtle and discrete is usually a good thing and the less flashy and obtrusive I make it I think the better it will look.

So as my dad and I search for a place to mount the front auxiliary LED lights to it soon becomes evident that there are not too many options, at least none that would look good. Finally settled on trying to fabricate a couple of brackets that will get sandwiched between the base of the mirror mounts and the fairing. After much looking and measuring it would appear that the odds may work in my favor. Although I wasn’t convinced the plan would come together in the end there was enough evidence presented that would suggest the efforts verses the failure ratio was one worth pursuing.

So the bike was hauled into my garage and the fabricating began. I had a basic idea of what I wanted to accomplish however the aspect that complicated it all was I was working with 3 odd ball X Y, Z, angles. The angle of the mirror mount was situated in such a way that I needed to compensate for the angles and build a bracket that would eventually be square, plumb, and level.

I stock old cereal boxes in my garage because the cardboard is good for building templates from. So I began by building a cardboard sample of the LED light bracket in order to help determine the angles that would be required. Once I mocked up the cardboard I switched over to a scrap piece of steel and build a crude mount to ensure my efforts would not be wasted. Once I determined the proper angles I began building to good brackets.

As far as the mounting of the Pelican case I simple machined some spacers to fit in place of the existing factory rack hold down hardware locations. I cut the spacers at an angle to ensure that the mounting of the case would remain parallel with the back rack.

Once everything was fabricated the complete works got a glass bead blasting and then everything was fogged with some matte black powder coating. In the end I think the completed project worked out well. The front lights look super clean and super factory looking. The matte black finishing blends everything into the bike and prevents things from standing out as thought they don’t belong. My dad is happy and has since taken back possession of his bike and has everything wired up and working. He put his first 100km on his new bike today and was happy to report that everything is working 100%. On with the pictures…

I built a cheater arbor to help speed up the set up when needing to mill a radius. The arbor is a chunk of cold rolled round bar with the same radius as I require. I center the rotary table to the mill head and then clamp down my work piece once I have my arbor lined up. It isn’t highly accurate but I would guess that I am within .010″.

Here are the results of my laziness. The radiusing of the mirror spaces work out great. They were cut from 1″ x .250″ 6061 aluminum.

Here are my roughed out mirror base spacers. The black base gasket shows some resemblance, this is good.

This is one of my good LED light mount brackets starting to take shape. I scribe my bend angles with a cut off wheel. This way I get a super clean inside bend line and it allows me to weld the exposed cut on the outside of the bend and clean it up. It not only adds strength but also looks ultra pro.

Much time was spend mocking up the brackets to ensure that my X,Y, and Z coordinates were all on even planes. Here I got within .50 degrees of level.

The lights will be adjustable vertically but not horizontally therefore the brackets need to be fabbed accurately. I used a couple of squraes and a staright edge to help determine what the “straight ahead” position.

Before I performed the final bend on the brackets I milled out the adjustment slots to allow for vertical adjustment of the LED lights.

Here sit all the LED light components minus the final bend, and trimming, of the brackets.

Final bends. All that remains is welding and grinding of the scribe lines.

In order to make the bracket look super clean I needed to be able to hide the wiring. I milled a channel into the base spacer plates and the drilled a hole in order to feed the LED wiring in under the mirror assemblies.

So here you have it, all the fabricated components glass bead blasted and ready for powder coating. I never posted pics of the Pelican case spacers however it is fairly obvious that I spun them up on the lather out of aluminum.

First batch of matte black powder coated components.

With the Pelican case plate coated I was able to epoxy on the “Iron Butt” name plates.

Here the Pelican Case spacers are installed on the rear of the FJR’s rack.

A side shot of the mounted Pelican Case shows how the angled spacers allow the case to run parallel with the factory rack. Looks clean.

The case gets bolted to the spacers from the inside. In order to accomodate the parallel fit some angled washers were machined.

This is the inside shot of the mounted name plate. The 2 center studs were machined out to allow for hiding of the LED wires.

This shows the routing of the wires in behind the mirror base. There is still a plastic fairing cover the dash assembly.

Tucking the wiring of the lights in under the mirror mounts worked great.

Callipygian

My dad is an avid motorcycle rider and has been riding Yamaha’s FJ series bikes for 20 years. He has been waiting patiently for the Gen III to come out and finally in 2013 Yamaha released the FJR1300 update. So after some wheeling and dealing he was able to score himself a new FJR to replace his previous model.

He does lots of long distance riding and is a member of the Iron Butt Association. When doing long distances there are certain modifications that get done to the bikes to help improve certain aspects, and characteristics, of the bike. One of those mods fall under the safety category. In the case of my dad’s preferences he is a big believer in outfitting the bike with highly visible LED lighting to help other motorists be able to see him. He also likes to run extra storage space and so along with the factory side cases he also runs a water proof Pelican Case on the back rack.

So what does this all equate to for me? Basically it comes down to coming up a way to mount LED brake lights, a Pelican case , and a couple of LED auxiliary driving lights to the new FJR. In addition to the required equipment my dad requested that I incorporate an “Iron Butt” license plate frame into the rear lights. He left the decision making up to me so I came up with something that I would hope meet his expectations.

I am spiltting this project up into 2 postings. The first one is the building of the rear bracket. The next posting will run you through the mounting of the Pelican case as well as the fabrication of the front LED lights. Enjoy.

Here is what I was supplied with for the rear of the bike. The Pelican case will need to get mounted to the back rack and then a the LED strip lights and license plate frame will need to be attached to the case. The license plate frame is made for USA motorcycle plates. Canadian plates are a different size therefore I will use it in conjunction with the LEDs.

I started by cutting up the license plate frame and cleaning it up on the mill.

Here I was able to square it up perfectly.

This is what is left with of the plate frame. At least now I have some badges I can work with.

With the Iron Butt name plates and the LED dimensions known I was able to draw up a master plate idea in AutoCad.

I used 3/8″ x 4″ 6061 aluminum stock to machine the LED mount from. Since the plan called for a 3.5″ width I opted to trim .500″ off using the plasma.

Once the plate was plasma cut I squared up all four edges using the mill.

Next all the corners where machined up and notched out.

My plan called for pocketing out 4 areas to inset and flush mount the LEDs and plate frame name badges.

Here the plate has been rough machined. All AutoCad dimensions worked out perfectly and a test fit shows that all components link together great.

The rear of the bracket had 4 mounting holes drilled and tapped and then another 4 holes drilled to allow for “Iron Butt” name plate removal should it be required.

I machined some 8mm mounting studs that will allow the bracket to bolt onto the rear of the Pelican Case. On the center two studs I drilled holes to allow for routing of the LED witing.

This is the roughed out bracket. The plan is to powder coat it flat black yet to help it blend into the Pelican Case. The Black will allow the name plates, and LEDs, to “pop”

Cuttin’ and Buttin’

So I was able to continue my auspuff progress on the CB160. The preliminary leg work had been accomplished and it was time to start cuttin’ and buttin’ stainless pipe together to make a structure that will hopefully represent a 2 into 1 exhaust system.

The plan was to make the “lines” of the exhaust flow with the bike and give it as much of a clean look as possible. I continued to work with the bike turned upside down as I had previously done when modifying the center stand. I am not sure how much I can say about the whole process other then it takes a lot of “looking” and “figuring” to make sure everything is just right.

I have included bonus pictures in this particular post which shows a major screw up on my part. I was able to dissect my mistake and fix it however the thoughts associated with my lack of planning still continue to haunt me. Anyway…look on and follow along as I eventually ended up with a completed exhaust system for the 65 Revive project.

Laying out and tacking up both header pipes to ensure that they are both identical.

Tacking the collector to the 1.500″ outlet pipe which will help me line things up on the bike.

Starting to piece the header pipes to the collector assembly.

Here is the “2″ into 1 section all tacked up. I placed the collector in a particular spot in order to allow access to both oil drain plugs.

And here is my screw up. I cannot believe that I did this. For some reason I neglected to presicely place my collector assembly. I have no idea why I just “guessed” at its position. As you can see the exhasut angle under the bike look hideous.

So here is attempt number 2. Good thing I only tacked the pipes together. This time I measured and clamped the collector assmebly in its proper position.

With the header pipes measured out and bolted in symmetrically and with the collector placed properly I began cutting pipe and fitting pipe in order to join the 2 sections together.

It’s already looking better. Hopefully round 2 will prove to be successful.

Way better, completely happy with the “angle on the dangle” on this one. The flow looks great. I like how the lines of the underside exhaust matches the angle of the seat frame.

With the exhaust tacked and tested it was time to perform the final TIG welds.

I back purged all my welds and they all worked out fine.

It was time to keep going with the elbow and angle required for mounting of the muffler. Here I used various supports to help hold the muffler in place so that I could stand back and get a good visual.

With the muffler angle figured out I cut and welded the remaining pipe. With the exception of a support bracket this is the final product.

Here is a shot of the completed and installed exhaust. I think the lines and shape worked out great. Don’t mind the orange elastic bands as they are only there to keep the exhaust flanges from sliding down the pipe while I was welding and installing.

And here is the final look. I still have yet to weld, or clamp, the mufller (I haven’t decided yet). I also need to install a bracket however this too has to wait for variuos reasons. My intent from the start was not to grind and brush the welds. I wanted to go for a raw and racey look so I think I am going to leave the welds exposed. I’ll let it sit for awhile and see how I feel.

What Do Pirates Weld With?

Arrrrr-gon, I was lacking a clever title so I thought I would tell one of my very own homemade pirate jokes. Here is another one. What do pirates take on vacation? an Arrrrr-V. Lets move on shall we?

I had taken on my CB160 cafe racer project as my main garage focus and continued to do little side projects in between. It would appear that my 65 Revive project is starting to become the side project as I continue to get side tracked with numerous project that seem to be taking up the majority of my time. Either way I continue to stay focused on the Honda build and still make progress using what little time I can find.

I decided it was time to tackle the exhaust. There was no reason why the exhaust was the next required step it was a decision based purely on what I felt like doing. I had already mentally designed the system and had ordered all my stainless steel mandrel bends from Columbia River Mandrel Bending as well as my muffler from Megs Mufflers. As much as I would have liked to just jump in and start seeing the system come to life there were necessary preliminary steps that needed to be performed before the `glory`work could commence.

The original header pipes had flanges bent into the tubing in order to allow for a gasket surface as well as a way to secure them to the cylinder head. I had played around with a few ideas as to how I would accomplish this on the new stainless pipes and had finally settled on machining some flange rings that would get welded onto the down pipes.

Another item that needed some attention before fabricating the entire exhaust were the factory cast finned flanges that secure the exhaust to the cylinder head studs. Since I was building a fully welded 2 into 1 exhaust system I needed to thread the flanges onto the exhaust downpipes before welding up the system. The flanges would be permanently installed onto the exhaust system therefore I needed to perform final finishing of the flanges.

So I`ll let the pictures walk you through the details. So far everything has worked out perfectly and I look forward to seeing the exhaust system take form.

These are the factory downpipes for the CB160. You can see the pressed flanges that fit into the cylinder head. The orignal set up was a dual exhaust however I have opted to change things up to a 2 into 1. Using Megs Mufflers collector size chart I opted to feed the factory 1.250″ primary pipes into a collector with a 1.50″ outlet.

In order to get the flange I needed on the primary downpipes I decided to machine them up. Here is the finished machining except for the trimming to length.

Here is a shot of the 2, soon to be, new downpipes with the freshly machined flanges ready for welding.

I machined the flanges with a very slight interference fit in order to help hold them in place while they get TIG’d on. The fit is fantastic.

Laying down the molten.

All welded from the inside, no clean up required. I love welding staniless.

Here is a shot of the factory finned exhaust collars that secure the header pipes to the cyclinder head. Since these flanges will be an integral part of the new 2 into 1 exhaust I needed to clean, glass bead blast, and powder coat them. I ordered in high temp powder coating just for this occasion.

Trimming up all the mandrell bends on the bandsaw makes the fittment so nice, all the cuts are square and the joints fit up perfectly.

Thought I would show my stainless steel wedling set up. Since stainless “sugars” so badly on the back side of the weld it is important to back purge it when it welded. This simply means that argon needs to get pumped not only on the top side of the weld but also on the back side. I built my own back purge set up. I added a Tee fitting to my argon regulator and attached a ball valve plumbed with a 1/4″ pneumatic airline.

I then run the 1/4″ pneumatic airline to a regulator and another ball valve. I made this little unit so I can clamp it to my wrok bench near by where I am welding therefore it is quick and easy for me to control the valve before and after the welding.

I use surgical tubing from the work bench mounted valve to a couple of silicone plugs. I stole the plugs out of my powder coating kit. I drilled holes through the center of the plugs and inserted an air needle used for filling up sports equippment. One plug acts as my inlet and the other is my exhaust.

Here you can see the set up in action. I simply feed argon into the pipe and allow all the air to exit the other end. Once the pipe is filled with argon the welding can take place and sugaring of the welds backside is prevented. It uses up the argon a little more quickly however it is worth it considereing the weld quality it produces.

And here it is. All the prelimary leg work completed. It may not seem like much but it is a required step on my way to getting the complete system fabricated. Now I am able to get onto the actual forming of the sytem.

Table Matters

I perform a fair amount of side jobs that I never post since they are usually either too small to mention or they are not of much interest. I decided to post the following and even though it’s not that fascinating to look at it is still representative of what goes on in my garage.

A friend of mine who does carpentry work was in need of a solution for his router table. He has a Dewalt router that fits into a router base that is permanently attached to the underside of his router table. The issue he has is with the adapter that allows bolting of the router base to the table. The universal adapter plate is plastic and is attached to the aluminum Dewalt base using, what looks like, three 4mm bolts that hang on by 2.5 threads. The problem is that the small threads can only handle a light router load as my friend found out the hard way. Placing a larger load causes the threads to pull out from the router base and then bad things seem to start to happen.

He had asked if I could build an aluminum adapter plate and beef up the bolts that secure the base to the plate. Normally I don’t get very excited about projects like this however there is a part of me intrigued by the challenge associated with improving on a manufacturers short comings and making the result look pro at the same time. I am unsure who manufactures the plastic adapter plate, it may be the maker of the router table or it may be DeWalt. Regardles I figured I would see if I can show up the original designer with some home hobby metal work. Now mind you I understand that manufacturing costs play a huge role in the kinds of products companies turn out and that is most likely why the adapter plate is plastic however…it always feels good when the little guy can step into the octagon.

I’ll leave the narration to the pictures. You will be able to figure out the process as there really is nothing complicated. It was still a 10+ hour project for me but it not only produced a successful product but it also came with a decent level of satisfaction.

The plastic adapter plate to the left is what I am dealing with. The pressed in metal nuts are what bolts the adapter to the table. The plate is first bolted to the aluminum router base with 3 small screws.

I needed to re-drill the aluminum base to allow four .250″ to be used as the main load bearing fasteners. I squared the base up on the milling machine and then used the DRO to dial in 4 perfectly spaced holes.

I needed to calculate the factory spacing of holes in the plastic adapter plate. Instead of using calipers to determine the spacing I decided I would use my DRO to perform the measurment. Turns out bolt spacing was exactly 118mm.

I opted to plasma cut a rough aluminum adapter plate out of 8″ x 3/8″ 6061 aluminum flat bar. It is about .080″ thicker then the plastic base which will allow me some extra metal for machining.

I drilled holes on the adapter plate before I machined it. I needed to use the center of the plate to base all my calculations off of. Doing it before I machine allows for quicker machine set up as well as will allow me to bolt the plate to the base for machining. I added 6 holes, instead of the original 3, for mounting to the router table. This way the router base can be positioned in 60 degree increments to allow for ideal access for tool changes.

My lathe chuck is not large enough for me to mount a 7.5″ aluminum plate to. After standing and staring at the lathe for 10 minutes I finally figured out that I could mount the plate for machining by using the router base as an adapter. Worked out great.

Here is a shot of the rough machined adapter plate. I trimmed down the perimeter and then bored out the center to match the same dimensions as the plastic adapter.

Here is what the plate looks like freshly machined.

I could have deemed the project complete at the point of final machining however I still wanted to “one up” the original design so I opted to anodize. I hadn’t anodized for quite some time so I figured I had better use this project as a practice oppurtunity. In order to get a good anodized finish I find it is nessecary to polish the aluminum first. This picture shows a very rough polishing as there are still many scratches evident however for anodizing this works just fine.

After prepping and cleaning the new adapter plate recieved a 2 hour bath in a sulphuric acid solution.

Current was controlled at 2.75 amps for the 2 hour period.

After the anodizing process was complete the adapter plate recieved a 6 minute dunking in some warmed up Red Bordeaux dye.

This is what the dyed anodized plate looks like fresh out of the dye bath. Cool!

All that was left was to seal the dye in by soaking the plate in boiling water for 30 minutes.

Finished product! Looks, and will perform, much better then the original plastic unit it will replace. You can see the 4 new .250″ bolts that will, hopefully. outperform the orignal 4mm bolts that were pulled out of the threads.

Side Effects Of No Center

So I was able to get back onto the CB160 cafe racer project. Building the monitor stand was a good break as it allowed me to regain some focus on the 65 Revive situation. I had got my way through the kick stand project and I was happy to have got that challenge over with. Building of the kick stand was a necessary step in the master plan in regards to the exhaust system.

Decided to flip the bike upside down to make the fab work a bit more accessible

The bike is going to get a full custom stainless steel 2 into 1 exhaust system. In order to accommodate the exit chamber for the CO I needed to clear room under the engine and frame. One factory component that needed to be removed was the center stand as it sits exactly where the exhaust will need to be routed. So with the side stand previously fabricated I was now able to start chopping up the factory frame.

This is the mess I am dealing with. I realize it is hard to decipher the details based on the picture however much of what you see needs to go.

With both the center stand removal and the future exhaust work required I had thought about raising the bike up onto a couple of saw horses. This would have required a second assistant but at the time I was ready to start work there was no one in sight. I figured the bike has no liquids in it, except for the shocks, so I opted to flip the bike upside down and rest it on the rear frame rails and the original handlebars. I am glad I did as it made the frame mods so much easier to execute.

I needed to get a better idea on where to chop up the frame so I started to cut tabs and supports off in order to gain a better perspective.

I had not previously brainstormed plans as to how I was going to accomplish the center stand removal and frame mods so I opted to just “wing it”. Obviously the first order of business was to unbolt the center stand. With the stand removed it was evident the number of extra tabs and mounts that were welded into the lower frame section. Part of building a cafe racer is all about cleaning up all the unnecessary equipment so the plan was to strip everything that wasn’t required off of the frame.

No going back now! I fired up the plasma cutter and chopped up the side supports then I broke out the cut off wheel and trimmed up the center tube.

One of the things to consider before chopping up the frame is how the modifications will impact getting the bike, eventually, registered and insured. I am unsure of the rules in my local area concerning motorcycle frame modifications however it is my unofficial understanding that cutting and welding a frame is a big no-no unless you have the right credentials. Anything that could be considered a safety factor when modifying a frame is something I want to stay away from. In the case of the center stand frame supports there is nothing that would be considered structural therefore I felt confident in stripping away some of the unnecessary frame.

Here is all the sacrificial metal stripped from the bike. Was able to shave off a bit of weight.

I started by grinding off the old center stand mounts, brake pedal pivot, and rear foot peg mounts so that I could get a better view of the extra frame section I was dealing with. Once I could see things in more of a 2D image was able to light the plasma up and chop off some unwanted frame section.

I had previously purchased some Moto-bits rear sets that use the mounts for the rear foots pegs. As I stared at the frame section that included the rear peg mounts I decided to clean it all up and make it look like the rear sets were not an afterthought.

Using a round section of .625” cold rolled steel I machined some 8mm threads into the ends in order to mount the rear sets to. I had already chopped off the factory rear foot peg mounts and planed to replace the supports with a solid, one piece, section of steel in order to mount the rear sets to.

Here is the mocked up support for the rear sets that will get welded and, in turn, add support back into the lower frame section.

So from here on in there is not much to say or exciting pictures to show. Basically the frame got chopped, the new section of machined steel for the rear sets was set into place and things were welded up. I think the frame mod came out very well since it really cleaned up the underside. People may never notice that the change was made however it is the small details that make the difference. Quite often it is the subtle highlights, the ones people can’t pick out, are what creates the visuals. So as uneventful as this task was it is, at least, completed and I can now move onto the exhaust fabrication.

Mission accomplished! New support rod welded into place and the side frame members got rounded, cleaned up, and finished off to give a clean look. I suspect the modification will look good when the frame is blasted and painted.

OCD PCCB LCDs

Well it was time to get into the finishing stages of the Porsche dual monitor stand project. Up until this point all the fab work had been completed and it was time to disassemble, clean, and put the finishing touches on. I admit I enjoy the fabrication work more than the finishing however there is much to be said for the satisfaction one gains from seeing the project come together in the end and reach completion.

I had a specific finish in mind for each component of the stand at time of inception and the game plan never wavered. All the components received the finishing touches that were original brainstormed. Basically it came down to three processes. Powder coating, brushing, and polishing.

All the powder coated components were glass bead blasted and cleaned prior to getting fogged.

All the components that were to be powder coated needed a good cleaning and glass bead blasting as a preliminary step prior to fogging of the powder. The stand was completely disassembled, and few welds touched up and then all the mild steel components were tossed into the blast cabinet for an exfoliation session. Once they were rid of all external toxins it was time to shower then with some denatured alcohol and prepare them for the sprinkling of powder. My powder color choice was really not a choice at all. I felt as though I had no options except to go with the flat black powder (the same stuff I used for the CB160 engine). When I look at the marketing material, and finishes, Porsche uses in the vehicle showrooms and service reception areas the presence of brushed stainless and flat black are fairly evident. As much as it would be nice to through on a splash of color I opted to stay conservative, and with the original plan.

Opted to go with the matte black powder. Ordered up 4 more pounds since this is the same color I am using on the CB160 cafe racer build.

I bolted the stand to the oven rack so that I could just slide the complete assembly into the oven. I covered up the rack while spraying to try and prevent me from powder coating it.

Just about all of the stainless steel and aluminum were finished with a brushed look. I have always struggled to try and develop a good technique for brushing stainless. It is important to achieve a constant, and even, brushed look. The crucial piece that required this treatment was the 3 inch stainless flat bar that was backdrop to the “Porsche” logo. I was starting off with a rough finished piece of stainless. I opted to install a brand new 180 grit sanding belt onto the 6 x 48 sander and proceeded to work down as much surface area as I could fit onto the sanding belt. It hard work and it takes its toll on the horsepower but in order to reach the level of finish I wanted it was important to work the stainless down as whole. The 180 grit paper was working however I decided I would see how a 120 grit approach would work. I swapped over the belt and continued to work the metal down. I think the brushed look of the 120 grit gave me the look I was searching for so I decided to go for it. In the end I was very pleased with the end result.

This is a shot of the ceramic rotor aluminum hub just before it is going into the oven for baking.

Powder is starting to flow in nicely. 15 minutes at 375 degrees PMT.

When it came to giving all the aluminum components the brushed look they all got mounted up on the lathe and all received hand sanding to achieve the look. Since the aluminum is much softer then the stainless I found a 320 grit finish was better suited to tie the 2 different metals in together.

Performed a single stage polishing of all the rotor to hub pins. The slight gleam will help them pop against the matte black.

Completed set of polished hub pins.

The pins were a bit tight sliding back into the rotor hub because of the thickness the powder coating added. A bit of persuasion was all that was required.

As far as the polishing goes there was not much to do. I always try to work in odd numbers if possible. In the case of the finishes I had black powder coating and brushed surfaces. Adding in a polished dimension would bring my even to odd and help create e a more pleasing look. I also opted to polish because of the purchased Porsche emblem. It was only available in a chrome/polished look and therefore I did not want to leave its finish all unto itself. I chose to polish all the locating pins of the ceramic brake rotor. I did not polish them to a chrome finish but opted to just “gleam” up a bit. The only other part of the project that was left with a polished look was the rim of the base aluminum disc that sits on top of the rotor. It is only about 3/32” that is polished however it is enough to add a subtle highlight.

Giving the base aluminum plate a brushed finish.

Here is the bottom of the base where it will bolt to the rotor hub. It’s not pretty but it is functional. You can see the BMW logo stamped on the bottom right corner of the plate.

I taped off and mesured out the location of the Porsche emblem install on the front name plate.

This is the stainless steel backing plate for the name plate. The top plate is the finished brushed product, the bottom plate is the finish I started with. Lots of grunt work standing in front of the belt sander.

Applied gel feet on the bottom of the rotor to help protect the desk surface that it will sit on.

So with all the components in a finished state all that was left was reassembly. As usual the reassembly takes the shortest amount of time but is also, usually, a highly satisfying part of the project. Too bad it is short lived. With it completely assembled I was able to stand back and determine if the end result beared any resemblance to the originating idea. I would say it came out better then expected. I had my doubts during the fabricating process whether or not I had possibly taken a wrong turn with the design. I was not sure the “Porsche” nameplate was going to blend. In the end I think it all came out fine. The combination of straight lines, flat black, and brushed highlights brings it all together. I can only hope that the dual monitor stand will meet my friend’s approval. As for me it is time to clean up the shop and regroup. I think it is time to get back onto the 65 Revive project. Not sure what will be next, perhaps I will be in the mood for some exhaust fabrication. For now I will leave you some pictures of the finished project.