Diamond Jubilee

So this week our beloved Monarch celebrated 60 years on the throne. Crikey, if I sit on the throne for more than a few minutes I have one of the kids banging on the door wanting something. No such peace in the smallest room in our house. According to my spies in the old country, She enjoyed a little trip on the Thames accompanied by a few other boats. We even sent over a real Waka, Te Hono Ki Aotearoa, rather than a tupperwaka. Apparently, the men in suits with clipboards, didn't believe that such a vessel was actually capable of being paddled on the tidal Thames. I guess it must have been a really calm day when Kupe got itchy feet.

But I digress. I have rather appropriately celebrated by spending my shedweek making a little crown, the rear fork crown. But it's mine, She can't have it. A series of pictures will explain the process much betterer than I can.

Start with a medium sized billet of hot rolled 1045 and skim the scale off.

Rough out the outer profile including the correct 

angle for the fork legs and then bore out the excess.

This will be where the tyre runs through.

Rough out the shoulder and part it off.

Flip it around and machine the tapered bore for the backbone.

Then tidy up the shoulder profile.

Mark where the fork legs will fit and then hacksaw

away as much of the excess as possible.

Mill the legs to the correct dimensions.

Treat yourself to a new file and prepare to get...

...sweaty.

File the tangs elliptical and fit the fork legs.

Finally start to tidy up the transition from crown to tube.

Close, but not quite the crown jewels.

Next week, I'll make the fork tips, they're not drop outs because the wheel won't. More later.

In other news, yesterday was the transit of Venus. The day before, the weather was wasome and then yesterday this happened:

Not transit of Venus watching weather.

We had the first snow of the year which made everything very exciting for about 5 nanoseconds before everything stopped or closed. I'd driven to work for only the second time in about a decade and the drive home featured many interesting adventures. A highlight would have to include watching a couple of excellent 4WD drivers discovering that physics does still apply to them. Most people, however, were generally more courteous and careful than usual. I was pleased to get home and breakout the medicinal whiskey.

My son had previously invented this thing. He calls it a skidge for obvious reasons. It is lethal.

A skidge, yesterday.

Today, of course, the weather is wasome again. I'd rather hoped that Her Majesty would have had a little word with Her Boss and put it off the transit for a day so we could all observe it. Apparently it doesn't work like that though.