Dynohub and Rust Removal: Restoration Day 3

I got out bright and early yesterday morning (more like 10:00) to start working on the bike.  I started out by trimming the bottoms of the fenders by about a centimeter because they were rusted thin.  I planned to install mudflaps to help protect the ends from future damage, but the openings were a bit too small so I had to trim them.

Used  roughly one Dremel disc per fender.  They were tough

This is roughly how they're going to fit; I ended up trimming the outer part of the slot so the outer tip of the fender would be protected as well.  

The main part of yesterday was rust removal.  I first used vinegar to soak some parts overnight.  Following some advice that I gathered from other bike blogs, I proceeded to scratch it off with a pre-1982 penny.  Because copper is softer than steel and chrome, there's no need to worry about scratching the finish.  Pennies made before 1982 also have more copper content (post-'82 pennies are like copper foil over a zinc coin, as I discovered in a 6th grade science lab).

Don't worry, I still remember where all of these go ... I hope

The biggest difference was the gear cable pulley, shown here before soaking and after penny-scratching.  

Next was the Dynohub generator.  I did some research the previous night on how to disassemble it.  

Great information was from Sheldon Brown's site as usual.

WARNING: Do not remove the armature (inside, black) from the magnet (outside, silver).  Doing so will result in immediate loss of magnetism, even if removed for only a split second.  By the way it felt when it moved around, I think the black part can fall out if you're not careful about it.  It is only okay to remove the armature if you have a "keeper ring" for the magnet but I've heard very few people actually have their hands on a keeper ring.  Also, a warning of my own: be careful not to let the magnet retainer nuts and washers fall between the fingers.  I lost a washer today and couldn't find it until I packed my stuff up six hours later.  

Front wheel generator and bearing parts shown here before cleaning.  

The bearings and races are in far better shape than I thought.  There are a few dimples but I've seen far worse in other blogs. I figured if these parts lasted 56 years already, they should at least last until I'm able to get actual parts for this bike.  

Done with WD-40 and a penny.  This makes me very happy.  

(This was taken before I cleaned out the bearing)

I finally got around to boiling the water for the kickstand.  Because steel and aluminum attract water when they're together, they are notorious for corroding to each other.  You can't just weld or bolt them together.  The kickstand is not attached in those ways; however, the bolt going through the aluminum kickstand to tighten it to the frame is made of steel.  My friend Nikolai tried releasing the bolt with fire on the first day and that didn't do the trick so today, I poured boiling water all over it to try to get the aluminum to expand away from the steel.  It didn't work.  Oh well, I guess I'll have to work around it this time.  

I sprayed both wheels with WD-40, waited a little while, and completely scratched them down with the penny.  Magical. 

The rest of the day was spent applying the same treatment to parts of the stem that were chromed.  I worked for about ten hours today, not including lunch time.