The empty canvas, AKA “tabula rosa”: 
You’d probably guess the task will be to put some sort of useful container on the sidecar’s bare frame, but actually the box will just cover the wheel and extend over the right side of the sidecar- The space between the sidecar wheel and bike’s will be left open so the outfit’s carpenter owner can transport materials. Jigging up the pieces:
Yup, that’s aluminum, and not a riveting tool in sight! I’m a welding virgin (save for spot welders) and the bikes owner, Florida Air Marshall Kevin Reimer, welded up the sturdy steel frame. But Roger is the best and maybe only aluminum welder in our Florida Airhead bunch, so Kevin rode the hack down to Roger’s shop in Naples to build and install the aluminum cargo box. Which is now beginning to look like a box:
Interesting to see the quality welding that can be done with a modern consumer grade welder, operated with some considerable care!
The not quite finished product:
The aluminum sheet intended to be the lid was a bit small, and the supplier, a sheet metal shop that supplied the aluminum scraps on the cheap, was called off to a job out of town. The fender? Kevin’s making one out of fiberglass. But the box was complete enough to mount, install the tail lights on, and Kevin rode it homeward via an Airhead Tech Day on the other end of the state.
Being new to aluminum fabrication we took our time, measuring twice and thrice before recalculating and finally cutting. Thus the project took us four days filled with the frequent and lengthy breaks you’d expect of a bunch of retired gear heads. But it was worth every minute to produce a unique product and have a bunch a fun in the process!
GearheadGrrrl 