DIY Birfield Bottle Opener

[35inchoverdrive]

First off, Mods, if you feel the 40/55 tech section isn't the right home for this thread, feel free to punt it to wherever...

There are quite a few Cruiserheads out there that have done disc brake conversions on their 40's and 55's but don't have the heart to toss those sweet looking coarse spline birfs. A recent edition of Beer Friday at Forge Specialties led to some innovation and a nifty use for those crusty old birfs.

***I do not advocate the destruction of all coarse splined birfs. I'm saving a couple in my own stash, because somebody will need them someday. They'll sit right next to my ten 3spd transmissions until someone comes looking for them.***

Step 1:
Grab a birf

Step 2:

Remove balls, cage & tulip from birf

Step 3:

Grind down the two largest openings on the cage. You can see the original thickness on the left, in comparison to the ground cage on the right.

 

[35inchoverdrive]

Step 4:

Cut the cage in half. You only need one of the ground sections to make a bottle opener, but save the other half of the cage to make your second one, because your friends are going to steal this one from you.

Step 5:

Place the 1/2 cage into the empty birfield bell and put 4 heavy tack welds at the contact points. Line up the bottle opener with the flats on the bell so that you can look like you know what you're doing with you pick up a beer and open it with a birf.

Step 6:

Open a beer...after the welds cool down.

The underside of the finished product looks like this.

With minimal practice, it works REALLY WELL because of the weight of it. You set it down on the bottle and barely rock it forward and that cap is OFF.

 

[Tysano]

That's very cool, but you have way to much time on your hands. (thanks for the engineering)

 

[skidplate]

Or you could use a bottle opener. Cool design non the less.

 

[Stumpalama]

I like it!

 

[yotafj]

Nice

 

[antFJ]

I just use my teeth

 

[Spike Strip]

There's a thread in Chat about re purposing Cruiser parts. You could use this cool thing to bump it.

Repurposed cruiser parts

 

[35inchoverdrive]

There's a thread in Chat about re purposing Cruiser parts. You could use this cool thing to bump it.

Repurposed cruiser parts

Good call!

 

[BigRed40]

Very innovative. Now to find me an intact birf cage.. Doh, they are all blown to pieces!

 

[brian]

Or you could use a bottle opener. Cool design non the less.

or a can of dip, or a cheap plastic lighter, or the edge of a table

 

[35inchoverdrive]

@beno made a video of the bottle opener in action during Logan's Run, put on by the Olde North State Cruisers this past weekend.

 

[JohnnyC]

I just use my teeth

I use my friends teeth... Dental bills are astronomical these days

 

[Von Hayek]

I'm glad that Onur drank a proper Virginia beer with that Virginia-born bottle opener.