If you can't find it... Shockstop 'honking' rubbers

[Clydesdale Scot]

I wanted a set of the elusive Shockstop 'honking' rubbers.
Shockstop produced these in the late 1940s for use on brake levers to cushion the riders hands when using brakes such as the GB Hiduminium, especially when working hard ('honking' for the British riders) up a hill.
The originals are extremely hard to acquire, and all attempts to find some reported reproductions were unsuccessful.
Mario aka 'Silverlight' said he had an original set.
He generously loaned them to me to measure and try to have them reproduced.

The rubber has hardened and has splits. It is unlikely to survive installation onto the brake levers.

After exploring various methods of making a master, we settled on a aluminium version. A mate machined it for me.

I identified the font, then in a series of steps in Illustrator, arrived at the desired single stroke, and ensured the kerning closely matched the original. This provided the path for the engraving.
But finding someone to machine the text around the master was difficult. It is not often done nowdays and the pantographing machines and skilled operators around immediately following WW2 are long gone. A local business was willing to try, and it took three passes on each side to achieve the required depth.
Another local business was confident to make the reproductions and after making the mold from the master, a number of compounds were trialed to achieve the combination of being able to be installed, being durable in use and providing the required level of cushioning.
A small production run, at one per day, was commissioned.

There are sufficient differences to allow no confusion as to what is an original and what is the reproduction, and that is desirable, starting with the use of a modern compound and not rubber.
A special set was made for my Spearman.

PM me if you are interested in a set for a late 1940's bike.

GB introduced the Superhood brakes in the early 1950's and these incorporated rubber cushioning to the brake hoods, negating a future market for these 'honking' rubbers.

It has been a satisfying journey, particularly this afternoon when I was finally able to provide a set to Mario, as a token of my thanks. Great forum this!
I hope this inspires others.
Philip

[toolonglegs]

Nice work...good that there are still small business around willing to give you a hand as well.

[ldrcycles]

Very cool story, and a great looking result!

[RobertFrith]

Great work.

For a few short years I had in my care a Citroen DS Safari. Despite their reputation they are a durable car and most parts are readily available at a reasonable price. The supply of gear lever shrouds for RHD vehicles had long since dried up and a member of a local french car forum commissioned reproductions. The naysayers had a (fairly mild) field day until the repro rubber was delivered.

Repro parts for classic cars are big business now. From memory I think you can pretty much build an MGB from repro parts...
I've been into old cars and old motorbikes. Pushbikes are simpler and cheaper to work on. Looking at the prices of certain perishable items climbing on that popular auction site must certainly be an incentive for people with the right skills gird their loins... Mafac half hoods anyone??

[rkelsen]

Repro parts for classic cars are big business now.

I'm not sure if the OP wants to produce these on any sort of scale, but I'm sure that there would be a world wide market for these hoods.

It's a nice, easy business model. Set up an online shop, [or an account on everyone's favourite Auction site] and I bet you'd sell a tonne of these to customers from all around the world.

[WestcoastPete]

Great work mate. I love that people are out there doing this kind of stuff...

[silverlight]

hi All
These look absolutely amazing, All done with great detail and material.
Ive added it on to my Hetchins and the appearance looks great.
Folks if you have GB brakes then dont miss out on this.

Sliverlight[code][/code]

[Clydesdale Scot]

I'm not sure if the OP wants to produce these on any sort of scale, but I'm sure that there would be a world wide market for these hoods.
It's a nice, easy business model. Set up an online shop, [or an account on everyone's favourite Auction site] and I bet you'd sell a tonne of these to customers from all around the world.

The local manufacturer can do as many or as few as I require. They are set up for it.
I would be delighted to see these on the period bikes, and perhaps recoup some of my setup costs.
I was looking for feedback before possibly making these more widely available.

[Ferrovelo]

Great work mate. I love that people are out there doing this kind of stuff...

Here here.

[ghostpoet]

Definite signs of insanity there....
Well done, amazing passion to undertake such a task. Count me in for a set!
Does a 1949 5 Swan qualify?

[Clydesdale Scot]

Definite signs of insanity there....

The current project is to custom make copper rivets, to go on custom formed leather which will go on a Brooks saddle frame which will have the cantleplate custom reshaped. The rivets need to be longer than the Brooks ones as I use thicker leather than the thickest Brooks. And the rivet heads may be a little larger than the largest of the Brooks.

PM sent re repros.

[Mulger bill]

Definite signs of insanity there....

The current project is to custom make copper rivets, to go on custom formed leather which will go on a Brooks saddle frame which will have the cantleplate custom reshaped. The rivets need to be longer than the Brooks ones as I use thicker leather than the thickest Brooks. And the rivet heads may be a little larger than the largest of the Brooks.

Oooh, this I gotta see.

[Clydesdale Scot]

Oooh, this I gotta see.

just tidying up, the saddle work is at this thread
"Oooh, this I gotta see. " Brooks: reshaped and new cover

[spirito]

I hope this inspires others.

you rock !!!

Proud of you and a job very well done

[flyingdutchman63]

Clydesdale Scot, do you have any more of these "honking" rubbers available for sale?
I'm needing some for my early 50s Dawes Courier:
http://s1203.photobucket.com/user/flyin ... o%20photos

Thanks
Tim Potter
Okemos, Michigan, USA

PS: Sorry, couldn't figure out how to PM anyone through this forum.

[WyvernRH]

That's a very pretty bicycle, is it NOS? I don't think I've seen one of those with all the original paint and transfers in such good condition.
Richard

[Clydesdale Scot]

Clydesdale Scot, do you have any more of these "honking" rubbers available for sale?
I'm needing some for my early 50s Dawes Courier:

yes, always available. I will PM you with details.

[old steel Bikes]

Just letting people know I have sourced a set of original Shockstop handlebar plugs. I have past these on so they can be reproduced by our mate in South Australia

Danny

[Clydesdale Scot]

another project; is it possible to reproduce the Shockstop bar end plug?

As noted above, Danny has already supplied a set of used originals.
bar end plug 2 by philip.knight, on Flickr

These have the overall height and body thickness but lack some of the detail of the original, particularly the ridges to hold it in place.
I happen to have the c1956 Shockstop brochure. These brochures are extremely rare (not even in the V-CC library).
bar end plug 1 by philip.knight, on Flickr

Using the dimensions of Danny's original, together with the profile found in the brochure image, I should get something I can work with.
I will draw it up in a 3D program (another new skill to be acquired) and then get it checked by friends who know about these things, then get a master 3D printed.
That master can be used to make a mould for casting copies using urethane.

I will seek advice as to the merit of trying to do the text, as it isn't seen when they are in use.

Unless anyone can suggest a better workflow (which is the point of posting this!)

[find_bruce]

Using the dimensions of Danny's original, together with the profile found in the brochure image, I should get something I can work with.
I will draw it up in a 3D program (another new skill to be acquired) and then get it checked by friends who know about these things, then get a master 3D printed.
That master can be used to make a mould for casting copies using urethane.

I will seek advice as to the merit of trying to do the text, as it isn't seen when they are in use.

Unless anyone can suggest a better workflow (which is the point of posting this!)

Just a thought, is it possible to 3D print the mould ?

[Clydesdale Scot]

Just a thought, is it possible to 3D print the mould ?

I think the cleaning up of the printing ridges would be troublesome. Easier to put the printed master into a lathe and use fine sandpaper.
But that is based on watching Quang's work on the stem cap
viewtopic.php?f=23&t=89389

but happy to be guided by anyone with experience.

[QuangVuong]

With FDM printing ABS, a smooth surface can be obtained by using acetone vapour, however some detail will be lost. Although I wonder how long the mould would last before needing to reprint another. Making a master plug then making a urethane mould sounds like the best way forward. If you want the writing a master would be made in a CNC lathe with live tooling, although this would bring up the cost by a huge amount.

I'm happy to help with any 3D modelling questions. The main thing you need to get your head around is that you start with a 2D profile and then you can extrude it to the final 3D shape. In this case, it is a cylindrical shape, so you just draw the outer figure of half the part, similar to this. I drew it in the XY plane.


Then this profile is extruded/revolved around an axis or line, in this case being the x axis as marked by the orange line. The clear yellow is a preview in Solidworks on what the extrusion will look like.


And you end up with the final part. This took me about a minute to do drawn up to look about right, not to any dimensions or anything. As I know you're pretty good with Illustrator, you can start off in Illustrator and save the outline as a DWG or other compatible format to open in the 3D modelling software and all you will have to do is extrude or revolve the outline to end up with the 3D model.

[Clydesdale Scot]

just some playing with the original

[Clydesdale Scot]

rendered model by philip.knight, on Flickr
my first render.

brown bros by philip.knight, on Flickr

[Clydesdale Scot]

good news, bad news and ....

Last night I searched for more Shockstop handlebar plug images, and clicked through and found some NOS sets on evil bay.
They certainly looked NOS.
But no postage to Australia. The seller was in Connecticut, United States.
But the seller DOES post to Albania, Andorra, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bermuda, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria [that is enough typing, it is a long list].
But not to Australia. I emailed the seller and asked "Do you post to Australia?"
His reply "Im sorry i do not post to austrailia."

I didn't want a set posted to austrailia. I wanted then to be sent to my address in Australia.
I might have overlooked his failure to use a possessive apostrophe, the lack of capitalisation of the personal pronoun, and the lack of capitalisation and (presumed) wayward spelling of Australia IF the seller was prepared to post.

I had some correspondence today with an American collector (who can spell, and is very friendly to deal with) and he understood my plight and has purchased a set and will forward them to me in Australia (I hope the evil bay seller does not work in the US postal service). Thanks Rudi.