Frame Restoration

[Steve Little]

Hi Ric. Thanks for you'r input.*
Back in the 80,s I was a foreman in a large steel fabrication shop. We fabricated steel beams and plate girders for large steel building projects, (power stations, long bridge beams etc, etc).*
I,d had enough of that industry by the late 80,s and started planning my next career move. I saw an opportunity here in Australia for a dedicated, vintage Harley frame restorer, and designed the jig on paper. I roughly knew how I wanted to hold the frame to work on it and I tackled the job with the experience born from my Trade.
I found a off cut from the end of a 310 UC columb ( a thick flange universal columb) and had it surface ground and then sent it through the tape controlled drill at the factory (this was a fancy bit of German engineering back then) and it drilled and taped the holes along the beam.
I sat the beam on a couple of pieces of 600 beam to make it a comfortable, sturdy, working height.
All the frame holding fixtures where built out of necessity, and as needed.*
The fixtures that bolt to the beam have been revamped and redesigned quite a few times over the years. This was done for a number of reasons, sometimes because of warpage due to the continued use of high temperature heat during brazing, sometimes due to a better design being realized from usage.
For example, my front engine mount fixture has had 3 incarnations over the years, and the axle carrier fixture has had 2, etc and I believe we have settled on the best, solid, and most usable fixture, about 8years ago
Sometimes a change was due to a better design being realized, but to be honest, mostly because of a head strong tool room machinist that works for me.
*My Trade qualifications are biolermaker/welder and structual steel. Standard *working tolerance in my Trade is half a millimeter.*
Toolroom tolerance over 6 foot is 0.000-0.003.... No comparison really!
Between my ideas of operation, and his exceptional machining capability and experience in making jigs that guaranteed high quality repeatability, we came up with a jig that guaranteed exact fitment every time.
It took all the thinking out of the work, and is easy to use.*
I am not sure if you realize that we manufacture jigs and sell them.*
We have sold a jig to a client from the US (Craig Clack from Tennessee) and also (Oceanbeetle manufacturing from Japan).
A *3rd company in Germany, *had ordered a jig which is nearly complete, but they have become victims of the world economic downturn, so there is an opportunity for an enterprising European *business.*
Craig Clack, and also, the consortium from Japan, have traveled here to Australia at different times to learn the correct techniques on how to manufacture frames and also how to restore frames correctly.*
Craig is now into full production and has just informed me he has completed a batch of frame restorations for customers and is now 16 frames into a 30 frame production run.
Oceanbeetle manufacturing in Japan, is still in setup mode, but expect to start soon.
That's probably a longer answer than you expected.*
I,m still working on my short answer skills.

[ricmoran]

Steve there was no shop manual produced for the period 36 - 40. There was a riders guide which is an owners how to of MC operation. My guess is that back in the day if the front end was damaged, they would salvage what they could that was usable and then order replacement parts or a complete new front end.

Bending chrome molly is like trying to herd cats. I'd be thinking about the stress and how to relieve that when the material is bent, it would seem otherwise the memory of the bend would naturally re-occur over time once the bending pressure has been released.

One question I meant to ask earlier, did you design and build your frame jig for frame work?

[Steve Little]

Howdy Kyle. Thanks for the input. I will eventually make the time, and pull the foreword sweep springer off my 37 and check it in this jig as well. When I do, I will post the findings here to help make an evaluation, but I think you may be right.

[koanes]

Steve, I wonder if the early forks used the same stem center line offset as the VL fork. I measured the best looking fork I have for my early projects, a late 38 fork, and came up with the same forward offset as the VL forks. The stem center line to rocker stud hole line is 15/32". I checked out a couple of 36-early 37 forks and they were in the neighborhood, but both had a little trouble in their life, so they were a little crookedy. Years ago I had my 39 fork "straightened" to a point where the stem hole center and stud center met with no offset. Whoops.

[Steve Little]

Extra holding fixture

Applogies for the delay. I have decided to manufacture a couple of extra mounting fixtures for these springers, and I also took this time to send a enquiring email to a trusted source of information. Thanks for the info Bill

My question was:
The workshop/service manual that I have, offers no method of straightening a springer, and in fact has a precautionary note, suggesting that I should send my damaged springer to a shop with the correct equipment.
The information listed in my Harley Davidson workshop manual is for checking measurements of springer alignment only.
A quote from Harley workshop/service manual as follows:
(This method of checking fork alignment is recommended only in connection with emergency repair. Except in emergency, fork straightening and aligning should be referred to a shop where any needed straightening equipment and more accurate aligning gauges are available)

This information intimates that there are some kind of gauges and straightening equipment.
Can you tell me if HD had some kind of written information to go with this tooling?.
Perhaps these springers where straightened with special mandrels and jigs that fitted on the standard Harley Davidson frame straightening table.

Does anyone have the original booklet that was supplied with the original Harley Davidson straightening table?

[Steve Little]

Perhaps I should rephrase my question: Is there such a thing as a Service manual for 1936-1940

[Steve Little]

Thanks Chris. In my dalliances on eBay, one of the items I have kept a sharp eye out for was a original early workshop manual that would compliment my 37, but have never seen one.
I just assumed no one let them go or they where super rare. I guess I,ll stop looking now.

My original intent of asking about early workshop manuals was to find out if it had information about straightening the early style "forward sweep" springers.
What about Shop Dopes, or factory literature like they had for official frame straightening centers.
Has anyone seen official literature on straightening any of the three styles of springers?

On a side issue Chris, who was/is John Nowak?

[Chris Haynes]

Thanks Eric. I,m away for the weekend so I won't be able to post any more pictures until Monday. Does anyone know if Harley produced a workshop manual for the period of 1936-1940??

I have never seen or heard of one. The first Knuck/U model manual I know of was the one that John Nowak wrote in 1947.

[Steve Little]

Thanks Eric. I,m away for the weekend so I won't be able to post any more pictures until Monday. Does anyone know if Harley produced a workshop manual for the period of 1936-1940??

[exeric]

This is a great series Steve, thanks for sharing it, and the trouble you have taken to post such graphic photos.

[Steve Little]

These pictures show the pressed end section of the spears. The early spears 1936-1940 had a forward sweep in the rear leg, meaning that there was a left and right side to this production of springer.

On the contrary, the 1941-1946 production “Inline” springer has a universal spear. Meaning it can be used on the left or right side."Perhaps the reason for this was refining the production cost"

About 25 years ago I was vending at the Ballarat swap meet here in Australia. A guy walked into my site and was looking at my frame parts and casually asks if I have seen the guy a few isles away who has the new springer legs. I didn’t understand what it was that he was trying to tell me and it took a few more minutes of discussion before I understood.
I ran off in a cloud of dust in the direction he had pointed and hunted them babies down. It turns out they came from the Ballarat munitions storage. Along with a heap of other NOS stuff, radios, camp stretchers, tents, gas masks, etc etc.
I came back into my site clutching these 3 spears like they where my first born.
I kept them for about 10 years and then bartered them to one of my mechanics, who had been trying to get them and a rusted out offset springer out of me..
I didn’t know the difference between a forward sweep and inline spear back in those days so I don’t know what they where. We agreed on a weeks wages. He was happy and I never sell anything so I needed therapy.

[Steve Little]

I decided to address the twist in the spear ends, rather than the aligment issue.
The twist in the spear ends is probably been there since original construction.

On a side note, (as a manufacturer of frame parts myself) I noticed the the pressing on the end of the spears has the same offset. Meaning HD or whoever HD subcontarcted construction of the spears out to, did not have a left and right die for pressing the flattened section on the end of the spears. I will take a picture of this later and post it.

I believe that a lot of pressure will be involved in twisting these ends straight so I will do it first so as not to upset and other adjustments.
Twisted spear ends 013.JPG Twisted spear ends 009.JPG
It took a lot of psi to make these move. The sprears on all springers are chrome moly and if you have ever tried to form this stuff you will know it is god awful to work with.
They eventually came around to my way of thinking

[Steve Little]

I followed the HD method to the letter, screw steering dampener nut into springer. Insert rod through bottom of springer up through nut.
Measure from edge of rod to the tip of each springer spear.
The measurement HD has listed is 3.703” from the edge of the rod to the inside face of each spear.
My springer measures 3.867” on the right side and 3.977” on the left.
Twisted spear ends 005.JPG
Twisted spear ends 004.JPG
The flattened ends of the spears where out in both directions. Rule on flattened face of spear, Square on washground surface of jig. The runout is easily visible.

Twisted spear ends 007.JPG Twisted spear ends 008.JPG
This method was achieved by placing the square on the wash ground bed of the jig, with the blade of the square on the face of the spear. The white paper behind each job is a common way to better see a gap between two straight surfaces.

[Steve Little]

I dutifully read the 33 lines of instruction (that was hard work, as I dislike reading instructions) and ordered in the 7/16" and 5/16 round silver steel.
I turned down the end of the 7/16" to fit in the steering dampner nut. Perfect! Then I set it all up like they say in the manual. Then I found the whitest dust coat I could find, a set of horn rim glasses, and sqauted down and gave that springer my best intense look, (like the guy in the picture of the manual). Nothing worked, until I realised that I had not jutted my jaw out like him. So a little more jaw jutting and it came to me.... I need to be more serious or this springer isnt going to get straightened. I tried to scan the picture of the guy but I cant work out the scanner at the moment. If someone else is more adept at it, load up a picture...its comical.

[Steve Little]

Bob and Ric, you are right.
Straightening a springer fork is a job I have never had a go at.
I have three springers that need checking. And I also have a 46 springer that I bought at Davenport 3 years ago that has one rear leg that I can see needs adjustment, so I have been thinking about doing it since I bought that springer. I know!!...I'm a slow mover... but I like to think things through.

This jig is at the stage that I can use it, but since I started working on this springer yesterday, I can see that I might manufacture a couple more attachments for it.
I printed off the 1/2 page instruction from my HD workshop manual.
They clearly write that it is a rudimentary method of alignment for "emergency repair only"

Does anyone have an original 1936-1940 workshop manual?
I would like to know if it has anything written about fork straighten and alignment?
Anyway... into the job.