And the stem is out!

Artwork at MicycleN4

The blue Indy 500 had been somewhat reluctant to give me its stem. Admittedly, my first attempt wasn't as successful as I'd hoped for, but that was entirely my fault. A little deflated, I'd left it with the guys at Micycle to return to it later. If you're following this blog, you'll know that I'll not declare defeat until I declare defeat, and that never happens. You can call me a lot of things, but definitely not a quitter when it comes to bikes. In my defense, when I worked on loosening the stem first time round, I was extremely tired. Due to some issues going on in my life, I have some trouble sleeping and tired + workshop challenge = silly mistakes. Nothing that couldn't be solved (bent forks back), but stupid nonetheless. I've watched Noah doing the fork-in-vice trick a few times, hence my knowing it works a treat. So today, I went back, grabbed the fork with the frame attached, and decisively marched into the back room to get this bloody stem out once and for all. And, most importantly, without causing any damage. I knew it would work because, as I said in my other post, the stem had moved a tiny bit.
With a generous amount of rust dissolver sprayed into the fork (from underneath) and resting for two minutes, I let out a deep sigh and clamped the fork--clad in rags--into the vice. I then unscrewed the bolt until it was about 1cm out (a bit less than half an inch), took the big hammer and gave it a good ol' whack. The bolt sank in and I went to move the handlebar back and forth and up at the same time. Didn't take too long and the stem was freed. No damage done whatsoever. Happy days.
After that much hard work, I needed to take a break and went for a brief ride on the blue Viscount Aerospace Sport. Besides, now that I've built that beautiful red flash, and learned to appreciate a new-build, I've decided to restore all my bikes. Yes, I know I said that before, but I didn't really want to get them stripped and re-painted (powder-coated). On the other hand, it's a good thing to look at the frames when they're 'naked' as any damage to the fillet brazing will show. I may not be a fan of helmets and high visible clothes, but I also don't want to go downhill with my frame coming undone as it happened today to my friend Cusqueno on his way to work. Thankfully, he's okay; just a dent in his heart, for one of his bikes is unridable now. The frame of his Aerospace Pro broke where the seat tube meets the bottom bracket. Unpleasant, to say the least. Viscount/Lambert lovers and owners are well aware of that risk, but it doesn't keep us from riding them; to be honest, I'd even ride a bike with the death fork -- I kid you not. Just not for a daily commute--even I have my limits.

I certainly did some work

Right, sorry for rambling, what I wanted to say is that the blue Indy frame is now ready to be re-build, but I'm still unsure what I'm going to do with it. Today, I've learned that the BB is rather low -- no harsh corners then, eh? I still haven't ridden a fixie yet; it'll be the next challenge. This bike will be more of a training bike for me, if I mess it up, then be it, you know? The hubs were the most precious about it. Not that I think I will, but I'm still a 'young' mechanic and need a lot more experience. Since I've chucked the rather rusty handlebar, I'll need new ones (probably straight?) and I'll build new wheels (exciting!); the headset needs a touch of brass brush and the frame needs some anti-rust treatment and waxing to prevent more corrosion. It ain't going to be a pretty Viscount, but it's going to be rather functional. If riding fixie doesn't agree with me, I can always change to single speed. Perhaps I should look into flip flop hubs -- even if only for the name.
I'll keep you updated, but it'll take a while on that project. Apologies for the lack of pictures of the process of stripping the bike and the method of getting the stem out, I'd left my phone at home. Maybe it's a good thing at least the head's attached, although that doesn't always help either. Never mind, my wonderful leg in dirty jeans will have to do for now.