Positioning the Bikes

Using my sketches as a starting point, I had decided that a second bicycle frame should mounted vertically in front of the one the viewer rides upon, positioned so that the rear wheel becomes a film shutter. Up until this point, my experience with most kinds of metal work (welding, cutting, bending) were minimal. Because of this, I built a temporary structure out of 2 x 4's to position the bicycles properly. I suppose I could have fashioned most of the project out of wood, but I wanted the piece to appear to have some kind of industrial look, as if it was fabricated on an assembly line in the 30's or 40's. Also, wood is a very unstable material to make machinery from, as it can be prone to warping and splitting.

I would soon find out how much work it was to manufacture metal parts for a kinetic sculpture, which involved very tight measurements and tolerances in some areas.