I wanted to add a little flair to a track fork crown for the project I am currently working on. My first idea was simply to cut a line around the crown to create an accent. I had seen some really nice crowns by older builders like Brian Baylis and Peter Weigle, and also a few by younger guys like Chris Bishop and Mitch Pryor. After sketching out a couple ideas and staring at the crown for a while I figured that I could not only turn the crown into twin plate-esque piece, but the lines that already existed within the fork crown could itself create the form.
Without a mill or any real machinery this was predominately down by hand. Other than a few starter holes started with a hand drill and a little work with a dremel, most of the carving was done with small hand files. Kinda like a long day out on the bike, you just zen out and get on with it, and other than your body aching its over before you know it.
Here’s some pics:
Scribing out the design. Sharpie, the poor man’s layout die
Starter holes drilled.
Lots and lots of hand filing. When I finally stopped and left the work bench it was 2014. Happy New Year!
Cut out done
Everything brazed up. Came together really nicely and had most of the finish work/clean up done pretty quickly. Maybe a tiny bit more before paint.
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