31st August no responses · Blog

We have updated the Roughboy blog with a new look and many new features, including our Products and Services pages. There is still work to do updating many of the images in the older posts, but the essential features of the site are functioning. If you run into any problems with the site or have [...]

30th August no responses · Real Life

During our recent move to the mountains, the legs on my model bench were broken. The bench originally belonged to my grandfather, a watchmaker and has long been one of my prized possessions passed down through our family. I repaired the legs, then decided that I needed to replace the top on the bench. I [...]

29th August no responses · Modelwork

Finally got the time to finish the superstructure drawings and renderings for the 15″ gauge Heywood Brake Van in 1:24. The construction of the roof is based on information gleaned from the original van before it was rebuilt in 1981 for the Minimum Gauge Exhibition at the National Railway Museum in York, UK. The present [...]

30th July no responses · Bike-building

Take a look at this beautiful creation from SE Service of Sweden. Built over a period of eight months, the bottomend of the engine is Harley Knucklehead and the entire topend is homemade. According to their web site, “the cylinders were cast in bronze and the heads in aluminum. The cylinderheads are of the semiradial type [...]

30th July no responses · Bike-building

Check out these amazing 3dsMax renderings of a Harley Knucklehead by Amir Glinik. Not only has he mastered the 3dsMax application, he has a finely developed graphic eye and a sound understanding of his subject matter. These are truly outstanding. To see a lot more of his work visit his site Industrial & Art 3d. It’s [...]

24th July no responses · Bike-building

Copper is beautiful. Over the years I’ve seen and admired several bikes with copper components and details, but have never come across a bike made entirely of the luscious metal. Until now… Following are some photos of a copper bike built by artist Urban Engström of Sparreholm, Sweden. Built around a 1947 JAP engine, this [...]

8th May no responses · Real Life

Regular visitors to Roughboy will notice that there haven’t been any new posts or updates for a while. This lack of activity will continue for a couple of weeks as we are deep into the joys of packing and moving. After searching for nearly ten years we finally found a place in the Sierra Nevadas, [...]

15th April no responses · Bike-building

My son recently brought over his ’82 Ironhead for me to sort out some mechanical issues. Initially the problem was the carburetor, in this case an S&S Super E Shorty. The bike wouldn’t keep running, wouldn’t idle, backfired constantly. The carburetor was completely out of tune which was something of a puzzle because it had [...]

24th March no responses · Bike-building

Check out these sweet machined Sporty Primary Plugs. Came across these on the Noot blog. The only credit given is they were turned by “Peedro The Mad Machinist.” I’ve contacted Noot for more info, would like to give credit where credit is due. Rocker nuts to match would seem a logical next step. 

24th March no responses · Bike-building

Motorcycle blogs seem to be a dime-a-dozen these days. Every once in a while you come across one that stands out for originality. Such is the case With Chris K’s blog, MCart/Motorcycle Art, “the bike art blog.” Check it out, you’ll be glad you did…  

21st March no responses · Modelwork

Back in the 80s I bought this pair of Alvin #450 Proportional Dividers. Made by Alvin & Company, the dividers are machined duraluminum with steel points. Alvin makes two sizes 7 1/2″ and 10″. I have the 7 1/2″ pair and have never found any need for the larger. A precision tool, they are pricey [...]

20th March no responses · Modelwork

Just completed the drawings and renderings of the bench assemblies for the Heywood Brake Van. The floating panel doors underneath each bench give access to storage compartments under the seats, just enough room to store a stout Mackintosh, a ploughman’s lunch and a pint. The doors are hinged on a cross member that runs between [...]

23rd February no responses · Prototype

According to the Eaton Estate web site, there will be no Steam at Eaton Event in 2010.  It’s anticipated that the next one will be held in 2011. However, trains are expected to be running during this year’s three Open Garden Days as follows: Sunday April 4th, Sunday May 30th and Sunday August 29th. Gates [...]

20th February no responses · Bike-building

Earlier this month we were finally able to retrieve some of the key items for the Iron Lady of Pain that had been stolen just over two-years ago. Among these were the frame and springer front end. The frame is a vintage Jammer product that I had previously modified for a rear disk brake with [...]

15th February no responses · Modelwork

As promised in the post about his 1913 Indian 700, here are some photos of Pere Tarragó’s 1920 Henderson K. A professional model builder who specializes in 1/6 scale models of classic motorcycles, predominantly European marques, be sure to check out his web site for more information and photos of his marvelous models. — • [...]

14th February one response · Modelwork

Check out these photos of a beautiful 1/6 scale model of a 1913 Indian 700 built by Pere Tarragó from Spain. Pere is a full-time professional model maker specializing in classic motorcycle models, predominantly of European marques. On his site you’ll find photos and descriptions of some of his other models of such prototypes as [...]

13th February no responses · Bike-building

Exotic is probably too tame a word for this piece of work, a supercharged and heavily engraved Sportster Ironhead engine. Photos came from the Den of Sportsters blog. Unfortunately there was no information published on the engine itself or the builder. If you have any info on this, please send it along.

13th February no responses · Modelwork

First discovered this project a couple of years ago and thought it about time I included it here. Jerry Kieffer is building a fully-functioning 1/8 scale model of his 1947 Knucklehead. Yes, the engine actually runs and is started by the diminutive kick-starter. The pictures below will serve as an introduction to this incredible model. [...]

4th February no responses · Bike-building

Or is that a SportyKnuckle engine…. Not sure, but this is certainly an interesting project. These photos came from the Den of Sportsters blog and unfortunately there is no information on this build, just the photos. Sure am curious as to who’s doing the build and what’s going on here, other than some engine-building madness. [...]

31st January no responses · Modelwork

Just a quick update on the Brake Van project. Cad work is completed on the basic superstructure framing for the Brake Van. The first drawing below shows the seven primary components of the cab framing. Basic components of superstructure frame Drawing below shows detail of joinery work between main components plus the ship-lap planking on [...]

24th January no responses · Modelwork

Over the past week I made some changes to the structural design of the Heywood Brake Van after review of some detail photographs and discussion with Mike Decker (Deckers Trains) concerning the joinery aspects. On the joinery between the sole beams and end beams, I’ve replaced the double mortise and tenon joints with a single [...]

17th January no responses · Modelwork

The Sir Arthur Heywood 15″ gauge Brake Van built for the Eaton Hall Railway is one of the current model projects I’m working on in 1:24 scale. My primary sources for reference material on the van come from Mike Decker (Deckers Trains) and his excellent drawings from 1997, published originally in issue 32 of the [...]

5th January no responses · Modelwork

As mentioned in the previous post on the various Radiating Axle systems, I accepted a challenge to build a 1:24 scale operating model of the Heywood Radial Axle. One of the early stumbling blocks I had to overcome was a scarcity of dimensional information and contemporary drawings to use as reference sources for my CAD [...]

31st December no responses · Modelwork

This is a follow-up to my previous article (A Sticky Subject) on creating accurate joints in scale models. I use a Preac Micro-Precision Table saw for cutting most of the materials for my modelwork. The Preac is an excellent miniature saw, but to make it easier to use for cutting joints with absolute accuracy I [...]

9th December no responses · Blog

At some point on Monday, December 7th, the Roughboy site was hacked by  an individual identified as FaLCoN with email address MailGuard(‘L6r’,'hotmail.com’). The hacker replaced the index page with their own. Our hosting service tech support department was able to restore the site by late Monday night. According to them, the hacker was able to [...]

20th November no responses · Modelwork

As with the Marking Knife article elsewhere in this blog, this article is an updated version of one published in the Narrow Gauge & Industrial Railway Modelling Review back in July 1997 (Issue 31). It was one of a series of articles in my column At The Workbench. Recent questions and interest from online forums [...]

15th November no responses · Prototype

Following are several photographs of the Katie reconstruction taken at recent Steam at Eaton events, 2007-2009, at Eaton Hall. Regrettably I don’t have full photo credits for each photo, so if one of these happens to be yours, please let me know and I will post the credit. Katie ready for passenger excursion run. Photo [...]

8th November no responses · Bike-building, Obsessions

Don’t know how I missed this one but, check out El Diablo Magazine, a “kustom kulture” Flash web magazine and blog from Barcelona. Site design, graphics and photos are outstanding, well worth an extended look. Issue #6 has just been published… Be sure to check out the Walt Siegl article for some seriously fine rides.

2nd November no responses · Obsessions

This seems like a very appropriate image to post here… Image comes to us from Chopper Daves Loud Fast Rules.

24th October one response · Modelwork

As an aside to the 1:24 Katie project, I’ve become interested in the Heywood Radiating Axle while waiting for some of the Katie research materials and references to arrive. Katie, being an 0-4-0 was not equipped with these but they were in use on 0-6-0 Ella and 0-8-0 Muriel. I’m working on a 3d CAD [...]

24th October no responses · Bike-building

Well finally some good news. After a two-year long legal battle with our former partners, we have finally won. I received a letter today from our attorney and an agreement has been reached. They will be returning all of my personal items (including the frame, front-end and pipes for the Iron Lady) plus a selection [...]

17th October no responses · Modelwork

This article was originally published in the Narrow Gauge & Industrial Railway Modelling Review in April 1996, Issue 26 as part of a series called “At the Workbench” which examined basic tools and techniques for fine craftsmanship. I have updated the article and prepared new illustrations for republication here. A Marking Knife is quite simply [...]

7th October no responses · Modelwork

Looking for a Ferrari to display in your living room — check this out. Jeremy Clarkson of Top Gear introduces us to Pierre Scerri who has built a fully-working 1/3 scale model of a Ferrari 312PB. He spent three years preparing the necessary engineering drawings from photographs and another twelve completing the actual fabrication. Equipped [...]

7th October no responses · Blog

After what seems like several months of searching, trials and testing, we’ve finally come up with a blog layout that suits all our needs. We’ve been looking for a simple, non-traditional layout that included all the functions we feel are important for a blog, namely the ability for visitors to register and contribute commentary to [...]

21st September no responses · Modelwork

Just came across a couple of photos of one of a series of transport cases I made a few years ago. This particular case was designed to carry a 1:48n3 Kodama K-27. Unfortunately the image quality is less than ideal. These are scans of prints made from 35mm transparencies, however you should get the general [...]

20th September no responses · Prototype

The video below, shot in August 2005, shows the reconstructed Katie at work on the Eaton Hall Railway during one of its yearly open days. The video, © G A Cryer, comes originally from the Rail Diaries site, Eaton Park page. I’m particularly fond of the waggly-bit valve gear, which shows quite clearly in a [...]

9th September no responses · Modelwork, Prototype

For the past 30+ years I’ve been working in 1:48 mostly North American narrow gauge prototypes and the time has come for something completely different. For several years I’ve been collecting information on British industrial and light railway narrow gauge with the long-term view of building a small operating diorama in a larger scale. My [...]

5th September no responses · Modelwork

Continuing to resurrect posts from the old blog, this one presents a technique I use for making running boards on 1:48 locomotives. The running boards for the 1:48n3 Lima Shay documented in another series of posts here will be made using this technique. Running boards are often easily damaged, especially on operational models that receive [...]

29th August no responses · Modelwork

Continuing with the pilot beam bracket assemblies, in this installment I’ll describe how I made the scale square-head bolts that connect the pilot beams to the brackets. I didn’t have any correct-size square-head bolts in my parts bin and rather than try to locate and purchase the correct bolts, I opted to produce my own, [...]

25th August no responses · Bike-building, Real Life

Labor Day weekend, Saturday September 5th, 8 pm till it’s done, at San Souci Cocktail Lounge in Ventura. Sponsored in part by Hero Clothing Co. For more up-to-the-minute info check out the DicE Blog. Hey, why not, you’ll have an extra day to recover…

25th August no responses · Bike-building

Keep on truckin… September 18th, 6 pm till the heavin’ starts at the Matchless Bar in Brooklyn. Be sure to check out the DicE Blog for updated event info.

23rd August no responses · Modelwork

This is a short update dealing with finishing the pilot beam brackets and mounting them to the ends of the frame rails. In order to locate and mount the wood pilot beams securely to the brackets, a scale bolt will be used which will pass through the pilot beam and terminate in the bracket. A [...]

23rd August no responses · Modelwork

In this installment in the series of articles covering the construction of a 1:48n3 model of Mich-Cal Lumber Co. shay #2, I’ll cover how I extracted the pilot beam brackets from the original PSC pilot beam castings. These pieces could have been fabricated from scratch, but I felt it was less work to adapt those [...]

22nd August no responses · Modelwork

Early in 2008 I began publishing here a series on the construction of a 1:48n3 Lima Shay #122. The series was lost in a subsequent server crash and coincidental hard drive crash. I was able to reclaim the images, however the text of the series is gone. I have had several requests to restore and [...]

16th August no responses · Modelwork

If you want to see some truly outstanding model-building check out these photos of  models built by Francesc Pulido. Pictured here are a selection of photos of his 1/10 scale 4 1/2 litre Blower Bentley and a Bugatti Type 57 Corsica. The Bentley is complete, the Bugatti is a current work in progress. For more [...]

15th August no responses · Blog

For regular visitors to the blog, you will notice a significant change. We have returned to a more conventional blog format. There are several reasons for this, but primary among them is the need for a blog with more interactive functions that promote open dialogue between the blog and its readers. Though we were very [...]

2nd August no responses · Blog

You know, somedays, this is just how you feel…

29th July no responses · Obsessions

Here’s another classic cartoon from the pen of Hal Robinson. Given the rank commercialism of Easyriders today, it’s hard to imagine a time when such a sentiment held relevance. This harkens back to the early days of Easyriders when it was a publication with a mission beyond commercial success, in the days before political correctness [...]

29th July no responses · Bike-building

If you happen to be in OZ, you probably want to check out this show, Chops ‘n Bobbers II at the Kustom Lane Gallery (8 Luton Lane, Hawthorn), or if not, at least check out their site – lots of cool rides. Sponsored in part by DicE.

29th July no responses · Obsessions

They wreck each other’s wheels and steal each other’s girls! From 1969 comes Wild Wheels, written and directed by Ken Osborne and starring Robert Dix and Casey Kasem (yes, that Casey Kasem). Osborne also directed Cain’s Cutthroats (1971), The Ballad of Billie Blue (1972), Women Unchained (1974) and returned to directing in 2008 with Hollywood Confidential. [...]

22nd July no responses · Bike-building

For the Iron Lady of Pain rebuild, I’m considering splitting the rocker covers. Having never previously attempted this, a little research was necessary. I found the following post on the Crime Scene Choppers site and thought it worth sharing. So far, it’s the best step-by-step I’ve found for this undertaking and am curious if anyone [...]

22nd July no responses · Obsessions

From 1971, written and directed by Burt Topper and starring (if that’s the right word) Robert Fuller, Sherry Bain, Tony Russel and William Bonner. Topper produced other such drive-in classics as Fireball 500 (1966), Thunder Alley (1967), Devil’s Angels (1967), Wild in the Streets (1968), The Devil’s 8 (1969) and C.H.O.M.P.S. (1979). By all accounts, [...]

16th July no responses · Obsessions

For all those who have been asking, here she is in all her glory… Hal Robinson’s Miraculous Mutha, arguably one of his more endearing characters. This small sketch of her was published in the Easyriders memorial article to Hal in their June 1984 issue.

5th July no responses · Blog

Photo comes to us via. Biltwell Inc.

4th July no responses · Obsessions

“Big men with throbbing machines and the girls who take them on…” Tag line for another biker classic from 1971, produced and written by Jonathan Demme, directed and written by Joe Viola and starring Scott Glen, Gary Busey, Gilda Texter and Gary Littlejohn among others. Jonathan Demme has an extensive credit list as writer, producer [...]

28th June no responses · Bike-building

Sometimes you just get lucky… picked up this Snap-On air-powered valve spring compressor for a song at a local flea market. Tool currently retails for $378 from Snap-On (part no. CF700B). I picked it up for $10. It looks a little worse for wear, obviously been well used, but it seems to work just fine. [...]

28th June no responses · Bike-building

While the legal battle continues for the return of the Iron Lady’s frame and fork legs, I’ve turned my attention to a few of the individual components. The original front end was a 70s era springer. All the pivot points in the rocker plates and fork ends had worn out-of-round and become sloppy so it [...]

28th June no responses · Obsessions

Here’s another Hal Robinson cartoon, once again from the memorial article about Hal in the June 1984 issue of Easyriders. I’ve gotta admit, there’s been a couple of times I’ve felt like doing just that…

26th June no responses · Obsessions

Here’s another wonderfully raunchy Hal Robinson cartoon. “Piece Now” is typical of some of his more complex works, it’s crammed with details and jokes hidden everywhere. It takes an investment of time to truly appreciate his work and it’s well worth it. His well-known Red Rider character is included and no doubt Miraculous Mutha is [...]

24th June no responses · Obsessions

Often granted mythic status, Hells Angels on Wheels from 1967, is considered the classic biker movie from the late 1960s. Directed by Richard Rush, who among his other credits directed Getting Straight (1970) and Freebie and the Bean (1974), the screenplay was written by R. Wright Campbell whose other writer credits include among others Man [...]

24th June no responses · Obsessions

“The Cycle Jungle of Hot Steel and Raw Flesh“… Devil Rider from 1970, (also known as Master’s Revenge) directed by Brad F. Grinter, written by Brad F. Grinter and Carol McGowan. Grinter directed other memorable wonders such as Death Curse of Tartu (1966), Scream Baby Scream (1969), The Love Pirate (1970), Sometimes Aunt Martha Does [...]

17th June no responses · Bike-building

The 1926 water-cooled Scott Super Squirrel, restored by Von Dutch for Steve McQueen hits the auction block this week. The ahead-of-its-time liquid cooled vertical twin two-stroke produced in the 1920s & 30s is a pretty impressive piece of motorcycle engineering. This particular example is literally over-the-top. Restored by Von Dutch it found its way into [...]

17th June no responses · Obsessions

Poster from the 1970 classic, Angels Die Hard, written and directed by Richard Compton who later in his career directed episodes of Hill Street Blues, The Equalizer, Miami Vice, L.A. Law, Babylon Five and Sliders among many others. Curiously enough, when the movie was released in Europe, its english title was Rough Boys! “Chopper Outlaws!… [...]

17th June no responses · Obsessions

This is one cool tat… artwork by Nik Pew.

15th June no responses · Obsessions

Here’s another classic, Rebel Rousers from 1970, starring Bruce Dern, Cameron Mitchell, Harry Dean Stanton, Diane Ladd and Jack Nicholson. Film was produced and directed by Martin B. Cohen.

14th June no responses · Obsessions

Another classic, Hells Chosen Few from 1968, produced and directed by David L. Hewitt, written by John K. McCarthy and David Prentiss and “Filmed in the streets where it actually happened”…

14th June no responses · Obsessions

Another classic biker movie poster, Angels From Hell from 1968, a Fanfare Film directed by Bruce Kessler and produced by Kurt Neumann. Film promised to “tell it like it is”…

12th June no responses · Bike-building

This is a beauty, clean and simple, black as it should be Ironhead chop photographed at the Street Chopper party on May 30th at Henry’s in Garden Grove, CA. So clean, it looks like it hasn’t seen any road miles. Nothing fancy here, just an understated, basic ride. Very nicely done. Unfortunately I don’t know [...]

10th June no responses · Obsessions

Here’s another classic editorial illustration by the late Hal Robinson, this from the December 1979 issue of Easyriders illustrating a fictional piece called Finder’s Keepers by Richard Bennett. I’ve started going through my collection of old rags digging out these gems, so will be publishing more here over the next few weeks. Enjoy…

9th June no responses · Bike-building, Obsessions

If you’re looking for some vintage Ed Roth, check this out… six scanned issues of Roth’s Choppers Magazine. The hi-res scans were done by Sumo from VintageChop.com and posted by Bill Bryant from Biltwell on his Flikr page. Self-published by Roth between 1967 and 1970, these mags are now as rare as an honest politician. [...]

9th June no responses · Bike-building

I don’t know about you, but I think a machine-gun is a must-have road accessory… Mad Max 1918 style. Photo was taken in New York on May 16, 1918 by George G. Bain and comes to us via. Shorpy Photo Archive (an excellent site if you’re into late 19th and early-to-mid 20th century photographs). A [...]

5th June no responses · Bike-building

Here’s a sweet ride. Love the copper color, barrel oil tank, exposed primary gear, petcock & fuel line solution, wrapped shorty pipes. About the only thing that seems off is the rainbow seat cover. Not sure where I came across this photo. I apologize for not publishing a credit. If the photo or the bike [...]

5th June no responses · Bike-building

Mark your calendars… Saturday July 18th, Eldorado Hotel in Vancouver,  for the DicE Magazine Issue 27 Release Party and DisasterDaze bike and car show. Check the DicE site for more info and updates.

4th June no responses · Bike-building, Obsessions

If you don’t know Deadend Magazine, you owe it to yourself to check it out… some of the best rods, customs, bikes and without-a-doubt the best photography I’ve ever seen. You can see a mouth-watering preview at their site. Enjoy… Oh yeah… and here’s that sweet Ironhead in the thumbnail. Bike is a ’73 Ironhead, [...]

4th June no responses · Obsessions

Another obsession is biker movies…. bad biker movies, low-budget monstrosities. What more can be said? I just wish we could find more of these at the local library… Killers on Wheels was a 1976 Shaw Brothers production from Hong Kong directed by Kuel Chih Hung and written by Sze To On.

4th June no responses · Obsessions

One of my obsessions is editorial cartooning. In the same vein I admit to a fascination for graphic novels and animated films, but more on those later. Here’s a classic cartoon by the late Hal Robinson from decades past. Hal created the unforgettable characters Miraculous Mutha and Red Rider published in such magazines as Easyrider, [...]

1st June no responses · Bike-building

Talk about cool. Check out the blown glass velocity stacks available from Bare Knuckle Choppers. The stack kits are available for S&S Super E, G, B and SU carbs and include chrome mounting base and rubber mount. Available colors are: red, green, yellow, orange, blue and clear. Just be sure you don’t lay it down [...]

1st June no responses · Bike-building

Photos show earlier version of the Iron Lady of Pain, once again a work in progress. Last two pics show bike in state just prior to recent tear-down. A custom ’76 Ironhead, bike had original vintage Jammer frame and springer front end. Unfortunately both frame and front end were stolen. We’re in the midst of [...]

23rd May no responses · Blog

We’re back with a new look, new direction and new content. Most of our previous content was lost in a server crash (though we were able to rescue all of our images from backups, the text is gone). If you were a registered user, you don’t need to re-register. All content on the blog is [...]