Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Recycling Bike parts


I saw this picture on-line, and I thought I would like to try and make it. So I found a bike wheel, a few extra axles, and I was given two pieces of rectangular tubing with flattened  ends, pre-drilled bar tabs attached. They were superfluous to one of the traveling Broadway shows I work with, so they left the pieces in the bushes for me.
  So I planned it out, cut it up and welded it at Ben's Bikes, on W. Broad Street, where I rent shop time.




I have been brainstorming what kind of tubing I can use to line the gutter channels I built that can be plumbed to collect and divert rain water for use. I decided to try using re-cycled bicycle inner tubes. This is just a test patch, but it works. I can cut the tubes and clean them out real good and then use some epoxy to glue them into the aluminum of the gutters, and use the same kind of rubber cement I use fixing flat tires to join the sections of tube to one another.
 
I have left this out in the weather for a while to see if it will stand up to the elements. I don't doubt that the sun will eventually corrode the tubing, but at least I can rest assured there will most likely always be more used bike inner tubes I can use to make any needed repairs.

These are stainless steel parts from the inside of brake assemblies. I have started collecting them to use as hanging clips to run the mc cable wiring through, under the floor joints.



2 comments:

  1. Hi! I could just kick myself for not hanging onto the bottom rack of a recent-recycle-dishwasher!! Since reading this post about them, I have come up with a couple of ideas for them, like small appliance storage in a pantry. Shelves are good for books, but everything else needs to be in a drawer!
    Thank You!

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  2. One thing I like about working on a project with so many active components in the design/build is it gives me an excuse to hord stuff that looks useful until a later date when it might be just the thing....or if I don't have enough of something, say, yoga mats, at a given time I can just work on something else until 5 more show up! If you find anything good to cover up the nasty edges of the cut metal tines let me know! Cheers!

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