Raleigh touring bike update

 I have finally finished the setup of this bike 70's Raleigh commuter bike.  On Sunday the changes I made, well , made my day!

I installed in the past year:
fenders
racks
dynamo
wiring
voltage regulator
700cc front rim
brooks saddle
modern brake pads
smaller chain ring
besides redoing all bearings.

However the rear wheel was still the odd 28inch rim, worn 5 speed cassette, worn chain.  the chain was so cheap it really wore out with all the soil off the road.  I have some skipping i was just living with until i could change rear wheel and chain.  I found a 700 wheel with 6 speed shimano cassette but the axle was solid and bad cones.

 It got worse and worse, and i lived with it, then Friday my tyre wore through, and a spoke broke and i limped home.

Sunday noon i started.  I had a too long axle, and as the rear wheel is dished it took me awhile to figure the right length, where to put the cone.  I almost called someone in but by 4pm it was coming together.  Then i took an old mtn derailleur, modified some pulleys.  I found a 7 speed chain , re dished the wheel, trued the wheel, moved the axle back and forth and tested about 5pm.  NO skipping!  shifting was never better.  made some final adjustments and went for an hour test ride at 6pm.  What a difference.

Again on the commute today I enjoyed riding a good machine.  One final adjustment and everything worked. 

However not sure where I am going to be getting the cassette when i need one.