[Research] Bicycles

[Deleted]

Niklas was tired of having the game's world systems stop him from using his expertise carried over from the real world in the game. So much as trying to fiddle with the mechanics of the cars littered throughout the city would make the parts explode in his face while trying to make menial repairs. His patience was at an end. So he needed to start from scratch and get this mechanic level number up. He couldn't do that by messing with engines, though, so he needed something simpler. Something simpler, but something that he knew very little about. The conclusion that he came to was still a method of transportation, though. Hopefully this wasn't too advanced for the game's world. He would design and build a bicycle. It would be a good method of getting around the city without needing to deal with the summoning thing with the horses. He understood the basics of how bikes worked, but he hadn't touched a bike since he was a child.

First, a little trial and error, he needed to know he could make something like a bicycle without ending up wasting any materials or his time. So he would commit to making a tricycle first. Then he'd just give it to some Person of the Land's child when he's done.

He needed materials. In the three weeks since he'd been forced into this world, he had been collecting scrap without end, to the point where now his bank is full of stuff. The bankers are refusing to let him deposit any more and were even threatening to take his stuff if he doesn't get it off their hands and move it elsewhere. The problem with that is that he has no where else to put everything.

Within his bank, they allowed him to look through things under the condition that he takes things out of storage instead of depositing things, he picked out some rusted metal tubes that might have been part of an old chain link fence he disassembled, some thicker wires, a few parts from what was probably scrap in the basement of old houses outside of the city, several screws, more piping, rubber hoses, bolts. He packed up what he could carry and left the guild hall to head for St. Pancras Station, where he knew of some areas for free use to crafting and research.

Walking with materials in a sack through the city caught little attention from the local adventurers. Perhaps this was a more common occurrence than he thought? He would always get dirty looks while carrying loads of scrap in his truck in the real world. The culture of this new world was radically different than in the real world, or is that because these aren't Germans? Not only is he not from this world, he's not from this continent either.

The station was packed with other adventurers mostly making tools and weapons for use outside of the city. Here we was coming up to build a bike for a child and there they are building tools of war and magicy stuff that he didn't understand.

Niklas found an empty table nearby a public use welding torch with tools hung up on the walls and strung out over the table. He'd better get to work.

[Deleted]

The frame was probably the most important part that he needed to make. That's what the rusty pipes were for. The bag of his materials sat on the ground next to his feet while he pulled several pipes out of said bag. Some in worse condition than others, but even the worse would probably hold up to the weight of a small child. Future attempts at making bicycles, especially for adults, will have to be made from new metal parts, commissioned from blacksmiths. But he was low on funds at the moment. All he had were the parts he could scrap. That's one of the downsides of his main class choice. He didn't know at the time, but the enchanter class was pretty much useless in combat on its own. It excelled in groups.

After measuring out about how long he thought he would need to make the frame, he started to cut a long pipe down to size. This would be the main part of the frame that connected the steering column to the rear axle. There must be something around here to scrape the rust off... Then he saw a grindstone. A little overkill, but next to it was a smaller hand grinder that looked like it was specifically made to rip rust off of old parts. This must be another common thing here, scraping rust off of old materials. He borrowed that and took it back to his work area. He would use it after he had gotten enough pieces cut, first. Next, a smaller pipe that would become the handlebars and steering column...

This was becoming a much more hands-on project than he thought at first. Of course, in the real world he could just find all of these parts already cut and ready to go... because they used to be parts from tricycles themselves. But here, it's everything from scratch or have someone else make it for you. His problem was that he had no idea how to work metal and even if he did, the metal would probably explode in his face like it normally did because that is how things work here when you try to do things outside of your skill level. He had no skill in blacksmithing, but he did notice that he got a little experience in his mechanic skill just by screwing around thinking about how to go about making this tricycle.

He put some of the pipes back in his sack and would instead focus on what he thought he could do, and make the tricycle's wheels. He would ask a blacksmith to help him with the tricycle frame later. He figured he could make the wheels by cutting the pipes in half, flattening them, and bending them into circles. A sound idea in theory, but could he put that into practice?

Positioning the hacksaw at the top of the pipe, he started the long task of cutting the pipe in half down the middle. If he slipped up, whatever child he gave this tricycle to later could be hurt, so he needed to keep it straight as he could. A half hour later, and covered in sweat, he finally cut down through the pipe. Now with two halves, he needed to grind it down some. First to remove the rust, and secondly to remove any imperfections and sharp parts in the metal. The grindstone was perfect for this, so he hoped he didn't need to be a blacksmith to use it. Sitting at the stone, he started kicking the pedal to get it spinning. When it got to a good speed, he started running the pipe across the spinning stone surface. The metal under the rust was starting to shine through. Another half hour of this and he was satisfied with both pipe halves. They weren't shining perfectly, but they were good enough. He took them back to his work table.

Now he needed to bend them pipes into circles. First, though, a little math... He took a measurement of pipe halves and did a little math to figure out what the diameter of the wheels would be. One pipe half would be enough for the big wheel. Then he could cut the other pipe half in half to make the back wheels. Now the hammering. He grabbed a heavy mallet and headed to an anvil. Again, this was blacksmith work, but he hoped that because he was making a wheel that the game would let him work the metal... Several hammer strikes in and the pipe was already starting to flatten and curve. His pace accelerated when he was content that the game world wasn't going to piss him off yet again. The wheel wasn't going to be perfect, but it was going to be round enough. The rubber hosing he would use to wrap around it should smooth out the bumps. It was round now, but needed spokes now. Nothing that he had on him would have been strong enough to support much weight, though, so he would have to just make the spokes our of flat metal plates. Three narrow plates, crossing three times in the middle of the wheel, would give it six spokes. He welded the wheel together and bored a hole through the middle for, what could be called, the front axle to go through. He lifted the wheel up on one hand, stuck a metal rod through the middle, and spun it to check the balance. Good enough. It spun freely. Now he needed to do the same, but smaller, for the other two wheels.

Repeating the same thing twice, but smaller, he now had three wheels for the tricycle. But without a frame, he won't be making a tricycle any time soon. Are there any nearby blacksmiths he could ask for help?

[tzuf23]

I was working in the train station trying to improve my blacksmith skill as much as I can. it will be useful when I need to repair my gear although as I haven't gotten out of the city yet i don't need that urgently. I start hammering down on the makeshift sword i'm making from some scrap metal I found and dip it into the cold water. back in the real world my dad was a computer engineer and although he tinkered with computers he also loved tinkering with other things such as cars and bikes and electrical engineering and I loved it to. it was a good choice for this world the class of a blacksmith. always ready to repair and construct new things. I continue making my makeshift sword when I suddenly hear someone saying "for the tricycle frame i'm going to need a blacksmith" it immediately peaked my interest and I walked towards the  germanic looking young man and said "hi you need a blacksmith i am one my name's tzuf and if you're building a tricycle like i think you are i'm in" for the second time today I prepare to walk away if no was the answer.  

Tags: @dreme
WC:202

[Deleted]

A boy in black clothing walking toward Niklas and offered help. Did Niklas say something out loud when he wasn't thinking? Well, that was possible. He usually worked alone in his workshop at his home in real life and even when we was working on cars and trucks during his day job. If he talked to himself was something that never really occurred to him and if he did, he didn't seem to bother anyone with that. No matter, it worked out to his favour in this case. "Ahhh, yes," his accent would betray his ethnicity and his voice might even give the impression that he was much older than his avatar seemed, which was true, "I'm vorking on building up my mechanic skill level, so I zought to build bicycles. It is somezing I have never attempted back home, not even to vork on zem. I have ze vheels made, vell just about, I still need to add ze tires. But zat's no problem at all. My problem now is zat I need bicycle frames made. I started on making a tricycle because my level is so low, but I vant to make bicycles as vell. Vould be a good vay to move about the city, I zink." He moved to his sack of materials and pulled out several rusty steel pipes. "I salvaged some materials from old buildings near ze city limits. All abandoned, no vorries. I don't steal from anyone."

He pulled out a piece of paper from the bag, as well as a stick of graphite. "It doesn't have to be too fancy, ze frame zat is. I zink ze most complicated part vill be ze... how you say..." he stopped for a moment to think of the word, "handlebars, yes. Zough I am still uncertain as to the lengzs needed." He started sketching a bit on the paper to try to put his thoughts onto the paper with the graphite. "Sorry, my zoughts are all over ze place. My name is Niklas." He held out his hand to shake the hand of the boy named Tzuf who had offered to help, "Zough I suppose my name is Dreme here."

He took a moment to rearrange his thoughts, then he spoke again. "I am just going to give the tricycle to a child after it is done, so it doesn't have to be perfect, just not a death trap. After I get some experience, I vant to try to make bicycles and mountain bikes. Like I said, different way to get around, maybe better, all a matter of opinion. But! One step at a time. Help yourself to anyzing in my material sack I brought here. A lot of it is rusty, but I've just been grinding the rust off of it vith ze grindstone over zere. Oh, and as for payment... I'll zink of somezing. I don't have much yet. But if ve're successfull, ve can make a bicycle for you as vell! Is it a deal?" Niklas held his hand out to Tzuf to shake on it in agreement.

[tzuf23]

I shook his hand when I suddenly realized he asked me a question "deal" I reply with excitement over this new found co worker. finally a friendly face. I help myself to the bag and look inside. in it were some old pieces so rusty i couldn't use them and some I could use. I looked around in it until I found a few metal plates and pipes that were good enough and started heating the metal. i used some of my already prepared molds to make some better looking straight and rounded pieces. after I finished smoothing it out I connected two straight pieces into the main wheel frame and connected it to the main pipe I smoothed out earlier. then I connected two other plates together and made the back wheel frame and connected that to the pipe as well. when I finished what came out was a nice looking tricycle frame that was not dangerous and more importantly it worked. I gave niklas it back and said "I can make more of these just remember the second bike's mine".   



Tags: @dreme

WC:182  

[Deleted]

Niklas watched the blacksmith work for a few minutes, but turned back to his bench to work on the next part that he needed to build. He pulled out some clean steal rods from the bag and measured them up, putting the largest one aside to use as the rear axle. The second to largest one would become the rods for the pedals. He took them over to the anvil and started to beat them into shape. No heating really required for these, just a strong arm. He bent the piece into a large S shape, though much more squared. It was obvious how these pieces would work. The wheel would be in the centre of the S shape and the pedals would be on the ends of the S, for to propel the large front wheel.

If this was going to be a perfect job, he would have the tools to thread the axles, thread the pedal drive, make everything removable and fixable later on. He didn't have those tools at his disposal at the moment, and if they were around here somewhere, he didn't know where they were. And he didn't know how to use them anyway. Building the parts is something he's never had to do. All he's had to do in the past is figure out what's broken, call in for replacement parts, and replace broken parts. Yes there was the occasion where he could mend a bad part, but that was not often. Perhaps that's what the game system was trying to tell him when he tried to fiddle with the broken cars in the city. He could fix them if he had the parts, he needed the parts first, though. He learned how to run by standing on the shoulders of those who came before him in the real world, but this isn't the real world, this is a new world. There were no shoulders to stand on. This tricycle won't be very fixable if it does break. If that does happen, he could make a better one in the future.

His partner returned with the frame. About as good as Niklas's own work. The blacksmith probably wasn't any better at his craft than Niklas himself was with the mechanic craft. The frame was simple enough, and there were spots that could be drilled out for the axles, so that's good. "Alright, just need a seat for it now, I'll add the veels to it now and make extra fixes." Niklas then turned to look at the boy, well down at the boy. Niklas was considerably taller than him. "And, I keep my vord, friend. You don't have to remind me. Ven ve build the bicycles, ze second one is yours."

Niklas turned back to the workbench and started to piece things together. First, he wrapped the big wheel in the rubber tubing. He didn't care to inflate it, it was more to just keep the child from scraping the metal off the stone streets. Though, how to get proper tires made for bicycles would be another story. This project might take more than a few days to complete and get down to a science. After he was satisfied that the tire wasn't going anywhere, he positioned the wheel under the wheel assembly on the frame. He snaked his pedal fixture through the axle holes on the frame, through the hole in the wheel, and out the hole on the other side of the wheel frame. Then, he welded the pedal assembly to the wheel. Taking some nuts, he rolled them up the pedal assembly ends and positioned them as close to the wheel frame as he could without restricting the spinning of the wheel and welded them in place. The wheel was not firmly attached.

As for the rear axle, that was much more simpler. He drilled holes in the frame to fit the axle, pushed the axle through one hole and out the other. After that, nut on each side, welded in place, then on go the wheels so they can freely spin on the axle, nuts to hold them onto the axle so they wouldn't come off, welded those on. Now the tricycle is about done. "All that's left now is the seat and the handlebars."

[tzuf23]

I watched niklas as he worked. you could see he knows a decent amount about tinkering from the real world. although his craft in game was still decent at best just like mine. I respond by saying "I can make both just tell me the length of the handlebars" after a few seconds and some writing on paper he hands me a small note with the diagrams for both the seat and handlebars "thank you" I respond. leaving to my desk to start working. to make the handlebar I will need to make two straight pipes and connect them to the central pipe. I think to myself about how I will achieve it and then start working. first grinding the rust of the rustier parts with the hand grinder and then using my hammer to straighten it out. after a few rounds of battering the metal I get two decent pipes and start adjusting them so they could be moved lightly. by hollowing them out and connecting them to a hollow part of the main pipe. after that I start working on the seat. attaching three different plates together to make a seat like surface and connecting it to the main pipe. I once again go to his desk and give him the ready frame and saying "well wasn't that fun". I think about how he will respond and try to make the best of the moment. of being able to really make a tricycle. to invent or rather reinvent something. to make something no one in this world made before. that is my goal I now realize, I chose blacksmith and now I hold the duty of making the old world exist here with my so beloved technology and science. that is what i'll achieve, what my legacy here will be, what everyone will remember me for, what i'll remember until I die. now and forever.     

Tags: @dreme

WC: 317

[Deleted]

Handlebars and seat ready, Niklas continued his work on the tricycle. His focus was mostly on the welding of the forward wheel assembly and the attachment of the seat, but he also pondered how he was going to go about making bicycles next.

He started to test the tricycle, spinning the wheels, turning the steering, it was all a bit of a mess. Beginner's work usually is. He grabbed some grease and tried to force it into the parts that would need to move. Although it, helped, it was still a rattly mess. He cleaned off his hands and grabbed a piece of paper to make notes about how the design could be improved, such as specific areas where the measurements need to be exact and how to improve the spinning of the moving parts.

"I can't in all good consciousness give zis to a child. But it was the first thing I used my mechanic skill on to make, so perhaps I vill keep it for sentimental value." He was talking to himself, but also so Tzuf could hear him as well. "How about ve take a break. I need to clear my head a bit and zink about how ve can proceed from here. How about lunch? My treat."

tzuf23

[tzuf23]

“Sure” I say to him thinking about where he’ll take me. Understanding that our work was crude and unusable in the end. Although it would be nice to make something better we may not be able to make anything more then that especially if it was barely functioning like it did. I also tell him I agree by saying “I wouldn't be able to give this to a child in good consciousness either we need to get better at this if we’ll want to make a real bicycle” waiting for his response I start walking to the exit with him.

Tags: @dreme
WC:110