Chopping up the pedals

In order to get the pedals to fit in the axle of the wheel, I have to cut off the sprocket and some washers with the angle grinder.  Once they were cut off, I tried to put the pedals in the wheel but the axle had too sharp of an angle to fit.  I cut the pedal in half and now it can fit through.  Monday, I need to shave down the with of the pedal axle in some areas and then weld the axle to the wheel.  I also have to find a way to attach the fork to the wheel without have it rotate with the wheel.

Cut off sprocket

Removed the Pedal

This is the last week before finals week and I am falling behind on the unicycle because of the stuck pedal.  I asked the other guys in class for help but we were still not able to remove the pedal.  We then decided it would be best to remove the right pedal instead of the left.  Since we removed the right pedal, I'll have to use the angle grinder to cut off the sprocket and possibly one or two bolts.

After the pedals are removed I will spend the rest of the week welding them to the wheel.  Hopefully, I'll finish welding by the end of the week.  If there is time I would also like to weld the seat to the wheel's fork.  I may have to cut down the seat post if it is too long.  After that, all I need to do is attach the fork to the wheel, inflate the tire, and ride.

Right pedal removed

Dylan, Fed, Jeremy, and Jaret helping to remove the pedal.

Trouble with the Pedals

This week I almost finished deconstructing the bike.  The wheels have been removed and I took out the bearings from inside.  All I need to do is slide in the pedals and weld them into place.  The only problem is that the actual plastic pedal can't be removed.  The rod holding it in place is severely rusted and we just can't get it off.  Next week we'll try heating it up so the rust will burn off.
Meanwhile, I will look to see if there is an old bike that I can use for pedals if the pedals on the current bike remain immovable.

Wheels with bearings removed

Rusted pedal

Bike is no more

So far this week I have completely disassembled the bike.  It is down to the frame and tires.  Since it is a short week I will have to do the bulk of the work Thursday an Friday.  On those days I will see if I can connect the pedals directly to one of the wheels and if it is possible to attach the seat post to the front fork without welding.  It might be possible to not have to weld for this project but I am prepared to do so with Jaret's help.

Bike frame with chain

Wheels with front fork

Not a lot of progress

This week has been a short and unproductive week.  I have only worked on the bike Monday.  Tuesday and Wednesday there was no class, and Thursday and Friday we were in the portables.  Since not a lot of progress was made on the unicycle this week, I will have to work extra hard next week to get myself back on schedule for finishing before the end of the year.  We also did a current event assignment Friday.

Friday's current event assignment.

Working in the portables.

Got the Bike

I have brought in an old bike from home to use for parts of my unicycle.  I have two ideas of how to approach the project. One is to remove the front wheel and weld the seat to that spot and shift the pedals to the center of the frame. I hesitate using this method because the unicycle will be extremely tall making it hard to ride.  The other method I was considering was to take the front fork and place it on the back wheel.  I would then take the pedals and connect them to the wheel where the gear and chain are.  I will probably use this method because it will create a direct drive unicycle which is easy to ride.
So far I have only begun stripping down the bike of unnecessary parts.

Some stripped off parts

Old bike from home

Project Unicycle

For the rest of the quarter, my project will be constructing a unicycle.  I decided not to pursue a camera based project, simply because I cannot come up with a suitable application at the moment.  I would, however, be able to use the unicycle as a means of transportation.  Since I will not be bringing a car to college this fall, I will have to use some other means of getting around.
Most freshman bring a bike to ride a class, so I thought, "Why not a unicycle?"  With a unicycle, I will definetly be the coolest kid on campus.  This weekend I will find a bike frame and some other materials so I can start building next week.

Unicycle with chain

Unicycle with pedals directly one the wheel