Part 4: It’ll Cure What Tails Ya
The tail frame starts off as wood core panels like the rest of the project
They all get an initial layer of flax
A bunch of laser cut parts are assembled into a set of chain tensioner mechanisms, which use captive screws to slide the rear axle back and forth
The tensioners are secured to the swingarm panels, and bolted to the wheel to ensure correct spacing
The bearing block forgings are glued onto the swingarm, in situ again to ensure correct alignment
And so the swingarm is tacked together
The empty spaces get boxed out and the entire thing goes in the vacuum bag, for 1 more layer of fabric over the arms and 4 more layers around the center bridge
Came out slightly wrinkly but whatever at this point, it was pretty hard to consolidate such a weird shape in the bag
The shock mount needs to be in a specific location relative to the pivot, so I jig it up with foamboard
The mount plates then get some big ass epoxy fillets and some carbon tow to transfer the load into the arm
And finally, the main frame gets a matching mounting lug for the shock, consisting of a couple plates of 3mm plywood for the little fork, 4 layers of flax fabric laid over the frame to spread the load, and a heap of epoxy/sawdust filler to join the two.
