These are some of the components to John's Schwinn Tandem that are in for restoration. Only the wheels and fenders where shipped in for the work. The wheels are from the larger 5 speed Schwinn Tandem with the rear drum brake hub. I always find it fun working on drum brake hubs.
The components where a little rougher then expected, it has taken a good deal of soak time to remove the rust. The rust removal solution I mixed had to be very gentle with the Schwinn Rims because if it just a little strong I have had it eat away the Schwinn rim steel and spoke nipples.
I have been moving from one part to the next as I am able to remove rust but to keep the website post a little ordered one part at a time will be listed.
The rear wheel rim had the most rust of everything, it has been soaking on and off for weeks. There a good deal of chrome pitting which I will apply a rust inhibitor to. I think overall the rear rim came out pretty good considering the amount of deep rust. I like working on drum brake hubs because I don't get to often.
I have polished as much of the rear wheel hub as I can with out disassembling the wheel. The aluminum rear hub is deeply etched from the years of dust and maybe picking up chemicals from the road. With out breaking down the wheel and using the polishing wheels this is about as good as the wheel hub will get. Some thought will have to be given in breaking down the wheel because a good amount of the spokes are frozen and may break in removal. The spokes in the rear wheel are very large gauge so replacements would not be cheap.
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| John's Schwinn Tandem Wheels Restoration Rear Wheel Before |
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| John's Schwinn Tandem Wheels Restoration Rear Wheel Hub Before |
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| John's Schwinn Tandem Wheels Restoration Rear Wheel Hub Before |
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| John's Schwinn Tandem Wheels Restoration Rear Wheel Rim Before |
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| John's Schwinn Tandem Wheels Restoration Rear Wheel Hub - Freewheel Removed |
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| John's Schwinn Tandem Wheels Restoration Rear Wheel Hub Broken Down |
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| John's Schwinn Tandem Wheels Restoration Rear Wheel hub - Old Grease & Bearings |
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| John's Schwinn Tandem Wheels Restoration Rear Wheel Hub - Old Grease & Bearings |
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| John's Schwinn Tandem Wheels Restoration Rear Wheel Axle & Brake Pieces |
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| John's Schwinn Tandem Wheels Restoration Rear Wheel Hub Drum Brakes |
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| John's Schwinn Tandem Wheels Restoration Rear Wheel Hub Pieces Before |
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| John's Schwinn Tandem Wheels Restoration Rear Wheel - Rust Removed & Polished |
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| John's Schwinn Tandem Wheels Restoration Rear Wheel Rim Rust Removed & Polished |
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| John's Schwinn Tandem Wheels Restoration Rear Wheel Hub - Polished |
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| John's Schwinn Tandem Wheels Restoration Rear Wheel Hub - Polished |
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| John's Schwinn Tandem Wheels Restoration Rear Wheel Hub Polished - Still Deep Etching |
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| John's Schwinn Tandem Wheels Restoration Rear Wheel Hub Polished - Still Deep Etching |
The front wheel the rust removal was a lot easier, it took only a day of rust removal soaking. The front wheel hub and rims cleaned and polished very nicely. When the new bearings and grease are installed the front wheel will spin very easy.
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| John's Schwinn Tandem Wheels Restoration Front Wheel Before |
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| John's Schwinn Tandem Wheels Restoration Front Wheel Hub Before |
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| John's Schwinn Tandem Wheels Restoration Front Wheel Spokes Before |
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| John's Schwinn Tandem Wheels Restoration Front Wheel Rim Before |
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| John's Schwinn Tandem Wheels Restoration Front Wheel Rim Before |
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| John's Schwinn Tandem Wheels Restoration Front Wheel Polished |
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| John's Schwinn Tandem Wheels Restoration Front Wheel Hub Polished |
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| John's Schwinn Tandem Wheels Restoration Front Wheel Rim Polished |
The fenders where a little rough to start with. The fenders are done soaking in the gentle rust removing solution. I currently have the fender struts masked and primer drying. The fender struts need new paint. Photos soon.
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| John's Schwinn Tandem Wheels Restoration Rear Fender Before |
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| John's Schwinn Tandem Wheels Restoration Rear Fender Before |
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| John's Schwinn Tandem Wheels Restoration Rear Fender Before |
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| John's Schwinn Tandem Wheels Restoration Rear Fender Before |
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| John's Schwinn Tandem Wheels Restoration Rear Fender Before |
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| John's Schwinn Tandem Wheels Restoration Rear Fender Before |
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| John's Schwinn Tandem Wheels Restoration Rear Fender Before |
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| John's Schwinn Tandem Wheels Restoration Rear Fender Before |
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| John's Schwinn Tandem Wheels Restoration Rear Fender Before |
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| John's Schwinn Tandem Wheels Restoration Rear Fender Before |
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| John's Schwinn Tandem Wheels Restoration Rear Fender Strut Before |
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| John's Schwinn Tandem Wheels Restoration Front Fender Before |
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| John's Schwinn Tandem Wheels Restoration Front Fender Before |
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| John's Schwinn Tandem Wheels Restoration Front Fender Before |
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| John's Schwinn Tandem Wheels Restoration Front Fender Before |
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| John's Schwinn Tandem Wheels Restoration Front Fender Before |
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| John's Schwinn Tandem Wheels Restoration Front Fender Before |
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| John's Schwinn Tandem Wheels Restoration Front Fender Strut Before |
At this point I went back to work on the wheels. I was not happy at all with the rear aluminum wheel hub. It was so etched I could just not get it to look they way I wanted. I decided to break down the rear wheel so I could work with the power polishing wheels. Many spokes where frozen so it probably was need just to true the wheel. I used every thing in my knowledge tool box and was able to break free every spoke with out breaking one which is actually pretty amazing.
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| John's Schwinn Tandem Wheels Restoration Rear Wheel Broken Down |
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| John's Schwinn Tandem Wheels Restoration Rear Wheel Hub Before |
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| John's Schwinn Tandem Wheels Restoration Rear Wheel Hub Before |
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| John's Schwinn Tandem Wheels Restoration Rear Wheel Hub Before |
With the wheel broken down I was able to make the rear wheel hub shine probably better then it was new. I am absolutely thrilled with the results!! I love this stuff!!
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| John's Schwinn Tandem Wheels Restoration Rear Wheel Hub Polished |
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| John's Schwinn Tandem Wheels Restoration Rear Wheel Hub Polished |
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| John's Schwinn Tandem Wheels Restoration Rear Wheel Hub Polished |
I then relaced the wheel. Its very straight and balanced now other then the curb dents in the rim I was not able to completely remove.
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| John's Schwinn Tandem Wheels Restoration Rear Wheel Laced |
The rear hub brake polished very nice and cleaned and lubricated well.
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| John's Schwinn Tandem Wheels Restoration Rear Wheel Hub Pieces Polished |
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| John's Schwinn Tandem Wheels Restoration Drum Brake Assembled |
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| John's Schwinn Tandem Wheels Restoration New Rear Bearings Packed |
The freewheel was dirty and gritty. I gave it a good cleaning and a good flushing. With it flushed I worked a lot of lubricant into and it sins fairly smooth now.
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| John's Schwinn Tandem Wheels Restoration Freewheel Before |
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| John's Schwinn Tandem Wheels Restoration Freewheel After |
I think the completed rear wheel after working on the polishing wheel was so worth it. I am very proud of it. It is not perfect by any stretch with the curb dents and pitting and rough spots but It is so much better then it was.
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| John's Schwinn Tandem Wheels Restoration Rear Wheel Complete |
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| John's Schwinn Tandem Wheels Restoration Rear Wheel Complete |
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| John's Schwinn Tandem Wheels Restoration Rear Wheel Complete |
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| John's Schwinn Tandem Wheels Restoration Rear Wheel Complete |
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| John's Schwinn Tandem Wheels Restoration Rear Wheel Complete |
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| John's Schwinn Tandem Wheels Restoration Front Wheel Complete |
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| John's Schwinn Tandem Wheels Restoration Front Wheel Complete |
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| John's Schwinn Tandem Wheels Restoration Front Wheel Complete |
I started packing up the fenders and I was just not happy with them. I soaked them for weeks in a very weak rust removal solution so the rust was mostly gone but the looks where just not where I wanted them. I ended up spraying a rust reformer on the under side of the fenders and sent the struts through the blasting cabinet. With the rust reformer and primer applied I went and sprayed the struts and the underside of the fenders silver. The struts turned out amazing. The under side of the fenders look a thousand times better. The undersides are not perfect, they are not the smoothest surface but they are the underside and will be so much nicer then they where. The top sides of the fenders are not perfect by any stretch but they look great and have character. I am very proud of the fenders and they should look great on the finished tandem.
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| John's Schwinn Tandem Wheels Restoration Fender Struts Before |
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| John's Schwinn Tandem Wheels Restoration Fender Struts Before |
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| John's Schwinn Tandem Wheels Restoration Fender Struts Before |
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| John's Schwinn Tandem Wheels Restoration Fender Struts Before |
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| John's Schwinn Tandem Wheels Restoration Fender Struts Before |
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| John's Schwinn Tandem Wheels Restoration Fender Struts Blasted |
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| John's Schwinn Tandem Wheels Restoration Fender Struts Blasted |
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| John's Schwinn Tandem Wheels Restoration Fender Struts Blasted |
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| John's Schwinn Tandem Wheels Restoration Fender Masked & Paint Complete |
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| John's Schwinn Tandem Wheels Restoration Fenders Painted |
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| John's Schwinn Tandem Wheels Restoration Fenders Painted |
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| John's Schwinn Tandem Wheels Restoration Rear Fender Complete |
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| John's Schwinn Tandem Wheels Restoration Rear Fender Complete |
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| John's Schwinn Tandem Wheels Restoration Rear Fender Complete |
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| John's Schwinn Tandem Wheels Restoration Rear Fender Complete |
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| John's Schwinn Tandem Wheels Restoration Rear Fender Complete Underside |
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| John's Schwinn Tandem Wheels Restoration Rear Fender Complete Underside |
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| John's Schwinn Tandem Wheels Restoration Rear Fender Complete Underside |
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| John's Schwinn Tandem Wheels Restoration Front Fender Complete |
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| John's Schwinn Tandem Wheels Restoration Front Fender Complete |
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| John's Schwinn Tandem Wheels Restoration Front Fender Complete |
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| John's Schwinn Tandem Wheels Restoration Front Fender Complete |
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| John's Schwinn Tandem Wheels Restoration Front Fender Complete |
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| John's Schwinn Tandem Wheels Restoration Front Fender Complete Underside |
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| John's Schwinn Tandem Wheels Restoration Front Fender Complete Underside |
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| John's Schwinn Tandem Wheels Restoration Front Fender Complete Underside |
John
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ReplyDeleteAwesome work! Your first tandem restoration was the whole reason I got a tandem bike. Glad I am getting my bike worked on by the master!
ReplyDelete