Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by UV Metal Arts - Powder Coating on April 8, 2009 at 4:40pm

Here's what my friend Adrew Gregg at http://www.bikefurniture.com/index.html makes with tubes rims and tires.

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Permalink Reply by Alan Lloyd on April 9, 2009 at 4:17am

John said:

I like the armband idea - I have enough trashed tubes to make a couple dozen for the ride. Tubes do make excellent, very grippy bar tape as well.

Easiest way I've come up with so far is to cut the (presta?) valve out of a skinny 27" or 700 tube, cut what's left into 4 equal lengths, cut each piece lengthwise to open it out, leave middle 11" full width and taper rest down to about 1/4" within an inch and then carry that 1/4" width to the ends - two skinny ends to tie together to hold onto arm - phew!

...............----------
............./
-----/
----- .................Sort of like this (this is just one end) if you see what I mean?
............\
..............\------------

The dots were added to (try to) 'format' it, spaces didn't work ...

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Permalink Reply by Alan Lloyd on April 9, 2009 at 4:21am

It is important to clean the rubber patches you've made thoroughly.

You can also get small jars, with brushes in the lids, of rubber cement or rubber solution from arts or craft shops (EG: Hobby Lobby).

UV Metal Arts - Powder Coating said:

yes you can Don, I'm speak from experience. Just use the Thin black rubber ones, not the thick gray ones.

Primitive Don said:

I saw some tubes of vulcanizing cement at REI for like a dollar. Can you can make patches out of old tubes?

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Permalink Reply by John on April 9, 2009 at 4:42am

Thanks Alan - the tie design sure beats gluing it and then pulling it up your arm ;-)

Ah, rubber cement. If it weren't so useful for bikes and art, it would join mucilage as another obsolete adhesive of my youth.

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Permalink Reply by UV Metal Arts - Powder Coating on April 9, 2009 at 5:30pm

You can also cut up some inner tube rubber bands. And how about those nipple pasties that Aurora used to make by cutting out a circle around the stem? Anyone have photos of those in action?

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Permalink Reply by Chucko on April 10, 2009 at 3:02am

I use cut up pieces of tube to go over my commuter coffee mug so it doesn't splash out when I'm riding. Also, the steel support pipe I lock my bike around in the basement has a few tubes wrapped around it so I don't scratch up the bike while it's locked up.

Also, a few pieces of mountain tube can make good mud flaps for road bike fenders.

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Permalink Reply by RodimusPrime on April 10, 2009 at 5:14am

is there some way you should prepare the diy patches?? besides cleaning them of course.

Alan Lloyd said:

It is important to clean the rubber patches you've made thoroughly.

You can also get small jars, with brushes in the lids, of rubber cement or rubber solution from arts or craft shops (EG: Hobby Lobby).

UV Metal Arts - Powder Coating said:

yes you can Don, I'm speak from experience. Just use the Thin black rubber ones, not the thick gray ones.

Primitive Don said:

I saw some tubes of vulcanizing cement at REI for like a dollar. Can you can make patches out of old tubes?

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Permalink Reply by Lee Diamond on April 10, 2009 at 6:53am

Tubes have a perpetual use in my shop and have for some time now. I have a general flow for how it works. First things first...light repairs are done pretty much as long as the tube can endure it, so if there is a small hole, followed by another small hole, both unrelated to one another, for sure i am going to keep fixing them until they are spent....each new bike build gets new tubes of course, as do new wheels and tire changes.

Here is my top 10 list for things I have used/do use old tubes for:

1 - Ties....For power cords and compressor hoses in particular. Their rubber material is perfect for quick ties....cut them into 10 inch long pieces and they are quick and easy to use to keep lots of cords organized.
2 - Stay-fast shims - Think of tubes as the perfect shim material for metal tubing. Once you wipe out the talc, they are very grippy, so they grib both sides of metal. They also shield the metal from scratches and marks. In this way, I have used tubes to better adhere lights, water bottle cages and a variety of clamped on bike doo-hickies. I also have two of them on my son's wheelchair used this way.
3 - I have a 2/3rds broom stick with a tube slipped over it like a condom. - This is my wheel-wedge. It is used to achieve a comfortable lever to use when putting rear wheels in single-speed and fixed bikes I build. This gives a nice damage free end to wedge between the tire of the rear wheel and the frame to get the maximum safe chain tension to tighten the wheel.
4 - I save the presta valve parts that unscrew from tubes for stem breaks.
5 - They serve as tie-downs on my touring bike's`rack - the cyclist's bungee cord.
6 - They work as a nice grip and guard in my various vices.
7 - they are perfect for protecting parts from scratching when needing to hold/bend/secure somerthing with a`wrench or pliers.
8 - they are glued on to various things as no-slip feet - mostly carpentry jigs, but also mt truing stand tray, and a variety of things i deemed would be better with a no slip bottom, including one of Jackson's switch adapted toys, a bouncing Tiger.
9 - In my basement, it serves as a pipe hanger in our furnace room....i mean...no it doesn't!
10 - jar opener.

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Permalink Reply by Alan Lloyd on April 23, 2009 at 3:48am

I think the piece I'd read suggested cleaning the 'patches' with hexane (rubber cement cleaner & thinner, for example) and they had some method of punching out small circular patches in the first place.

I've not had much success myself and wonder if the lack of the 'feathered' edge you get on 'real' patches is a disadvantage?

I also wondered if these home-made patches would work better if you coated them with rubber cement and let it dry?

RodimusPrime said:

is there some way you should prepare the diy patches?? besides cleaning them of course.

Alan Lloyd said:

It is important to clean the rubber patches you've made thoroughly.

You can also get small jars, with brushes in the lids, of rubber cement or rubber solution from arts or craft shops (EG: Hobby Lobby).

UV Metal Arts - Powder Coating said:

yes you can Don, I'm speak from experience. Just use the Thin black rubber ones, not the thick gray ones.

Primitive Don said:

I saw some tubes of vulcanizing cement at REI for like a dollar. Can you can make patches out of old tubes?

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Permalink Reply by UV Metal Arts - Powder Coating on May 2, 2009 at 6:05pm

Here is a welding helmet that I modified using an inner tube. I have a welding helmet that has a unique chin operated flip lens shield. When I weld with my face facing down, the shield opens up a little letting in harmful burning UV and IR rays. Using a propane torch I heated a pin tool and pushed it through the helmet and inner tube melting holes, which allowed me to sew telephone wire though it to create a durable light proof seal.

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Permalink Reply by Matt R on May 2, 2009 at 9:31pm

Alan Lloyd said:

A friend and I also tried to make our fortunes by making (2nd-generation) iPod Nano covers from sections of used inner-tubes, see http://bitubes.com/, but needless to say we're both still poor.

The 3rd-generation iPod didn't really lend itself to a cover made from a piece of gash inner-tube, although the 4th-generation may be a candidate - although we haven't done anything to date.

Try some of the links at http://bitubes.com/links.htm to see what others are doing - but, unfortunately, my favourite at www.wheels-on-fire.nl appears to be blank or broken? Some of the work by Jan Willem Van Breugel can still be found at & http://www.designspotter.com/product/2007/05/wheels_on_fire.php & http://www.picassomio.com/jan-willem-van-breugel/exhibition.html (click on any of the three images for a larger picture & more details)

How much different are the first and second gen nano's shape would this fit snuggly on a first gen nanner because thats all I've got.

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