My assignment in Greensboro is coming to a close so I figured I better get back to work on Nixon. I made some time to build a stand to hold the wheels so that I can adjust the spokes and get them true and also to help me paint them. In true low-budget fashion I snagged some scrap wood from some shipping containers at work and found some random bolts, screws, nails and washers in my dad's garage and threw this baby together. Actually, I designed about 4 months ago, I just haven't had a chance to build it. It has a couple cool features. Since the wheel hubs are different widths, I made the upright post spacing adjustable. The picture below shows the narrow front wheel. I put little spacers down at the bottom of the posts. So, to mount the wider rear wheel, I will just take the upright posts off, turn them around, and bolt them back on and BAM! They are 1.5 inches wider. There is also what looks like a random screw sticking through one of the uprights. That thing is actually there so that I can see how true the wheel is. I screw it in until it almost touches the rim. Then as I spin the wheel, I can easily see how much it moves side-to-side with respect to that screw. Simple. Now all I have to do is find the spoke wrench I bought and figure out how to use it. I haven't quite figured out how I am going to paint them yet. The rims and the part of the hubs between the spokes will be satin black. The hubs will get the brushed finish. I haven't decided what to do with the spokes yet. They are pretty cruddy, but may clean up with the proper tools and some elbow grease.
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