First braze on frame #001

I finally was able to get things moving along on the frame. I got the alignment table (cabinet) home and the granite top on it. I still have to drill the hole to mount the BB post. I also still need to make drawers for the cabinet but I will get there soon. I took some pictures of the process. At the end of this post is a link to see them. Next up is the hockey stick. This is the head tube / down tube joint. I will get these parts cleaned up and miter the joint. In the mean time I will also work on getting the post mounted on the granite so that I can check these joints for true. I will also start considering brazing the rear dropouts to the chain stays.

This is the link to see the pictures. I have you right in the middle so just click to the right on the slides to move forward. Thank you for looking.

pratice braze #3 complete!

These are the post braze picture of the sleeve lug I made after soaking off the flux. I was able to see the silver flow completely through the joint. I was so excited that I added too much silver and when it was pulled through it pooled at the bottom. The first two photos make it look as if it's not that bad. The shorelines are a little heavy.



Then this next picture shows a huge glob on the back side of the joint. It's like a fillet. It is going to take some elbow grease to get this removed.


Here are some shots with just a little clean up. If you can control your silver, it doesn't take much at all to clean it up nicely.

Here is the "blob" of silver. I will start the clean up with my Dremel. Power tools are a must when it comes to certain tasks and the right tool for the job makes everything go smooth. A lesson learned in furniture making. If I don't seem to be getting too far along, I may try to re-flux and put some heat to the "blob" and remove it with a wire brush. Something I feel is also a good technique to possess.



Next up will be some cleanup of this silver. I will work on making it near perfect as if it were to be used on a frame. I will then do two more practice brazes and if they both turn out nice, I will go ahead and braze up my seat tube / bb shell joint on frame #001. I will also work on getting the lugs for said bike cleaned up a bit. I never got to that a couple of weeks ago.

It is Christmas week and it is sure to be full of activities but I will try and continue to move forward on this project. Thanks for looking!

Fear not the file...

...but the hand that wields it! I started to sharpen some design and technique skills by cutting a lug from 4130 and shaping it. I would like to create some bike frames that use handmade lugs created by fillet brazing sections of tubing together. So I drew a design on the tube and roughed it out with a cutting wheel (those things burn up fast in .058).



This is what it looks like cut right from the tube:


And after a little bit of time and a lot of filing, you end up with this:


The nice thing about custom work is that you can make up and even change your mind as you go. I liked the long point but I decided to take it down and go for something a little different.



And the following pictures is what it looks like pre-braze. My daughter is having her birthday party today (she is turning 8!!!). I will work on getting this brazed on Sunday. I will clean it up and hopefully I like how it turns out. If not, I can always just start over, right?



This is a scaled down version (due to the size of the tubes) of what would be a seat tube with lug. There would be another lug section fillet brazed to the front of this above the point for the top tube and the area on the back would allow for the binder and fastback style seat stays. I almost believe that all of this will be easier in full sized tubes that will actually be used for a frame. We'll see!

Fear not the torch...

...but the hand that wields it! The torch is a tool and it is an extension of your capabilities. It does exactly what you ask of it. Below is a practice braze with 56% silver on 4130 steel. They both have a .058" wall thickness therefore a 5/8" tube slips into a 3/4" tube with a perfect gap for brazing. This is after it is all cleaned up.



And the shadow line that is at the center of the picture where the two tubes join is the only area where I did not pull silver all the way through the joint. It is hard to see through the flux and I didn't see this area until after I soaked it. I am very please how this joint came out. No wasted silver! I will now move on to some more practice joints that require a multitude of skills.



Stay tuned!

Happy Holidays!

We are starting to finally get some winter weather around here. I haven't been moving along quite as much as I wanted to lately but I have made some progress. I have my bike building area setup in the basement. My alignment table should be wrapped up by this weekend. I will then be able to get my stone on it and mount the BB post. We have holiday pictures to do tonight, so it will be Tuesday or after before I pick back up. I hope to either get some more lug clean up done or fire up the torch and get some brazing done. We'll see how it goes. Thanks, Wil

BB Shell cutout

The bottom of the shell is a good place to use for not only making a stamp for a serial number, but also a place to add a little art to the frame. Since this bike is dedicated to my mother, I decided to make a cutout of a teddy bear. My mom was crazy about them and I thought this would be right at home on the bike. It took about two hours, start to finish. It was amazing how connected I felt to my mom while carving this. It was as if she was holding my hands to help me.



If you are interested in seeing the sequence, you can see it in the Flickr set "#001". Click here!

New Jig!

I did some layout for a jig to hold the seat tube/BB shell joint while brazing.

I used a piece of MDF as the platform and stiffened it up with some aluminum angle.

I drilled a hole near the bottom and brought a 1/2" bolt up through with a 2" washer underneath.

I put another washer down on the topside and then place the shell on that with another washer topping it off with a nut.

The tube is then put into the BB shell at its proper location. Then the nut is tighten to lock it down.

I will add a toggle clamp that will hold the tube into the tube block.

There is access through the back side to heat and braze the side that would be blocked from the jig. If this turns out to be a good setup, I will remake this jig out of aluminum to be used more permanently. I will let you know how it works out!

Weekend work

I managed to get a few things done this weekend.

Worked on another drawing.

Made some tube blocks for mitering tubes. I made them in 1", 1 1/8", 1 1/4", 1 3/8", and the one with the two holes is for 5/8" and 3/4". These are a must have!

I will see if I can get in gear and start fitting up some parts for brazing.

Sizing things up

This is a quick shot of some dry fitting. I had to clearance the ports in the BB shell a bit (not uncommon) to get the right fit for the tubes.

Time to get crakin'

Tomorrow night I will spend some time prepping for some brazing. I will work on mitering the seat tube at the bottom bracket shell. Also, the miter for the down tube/head tube joint. These will be the first two joints that I braze. This week I will make a crude jig to hold the BB shell/seat tube for brazing. I haven't decided if it will be made to complete the whole joint or if it will be just for tacking the joint and then finish it up in a stand or vise. I am also going to work on getting my chainstays fitted to the dropouts and get them cleaned up a bit. I will post some pictures as I go along.

Big Plans

Things are moving (some what slowly) forward around here. There are thoughts flying left, right, and every other direction about so many things. The final result is yet to be determined. Either things are going to explode (in a good way) or I am (for just trying to sort it all out). I have big plans in the works for frames, marketing, advertising, eventing (not a word) and expansion. The last one is especially somewhat silly, I know, since you kinda have to have some sort of mass before there is even a possibility to make it grow. We will see. Who knows what to expect? I do know that I will not feel bad for chasing a dream. Thank you for the few that are in my circle that continue to support and believe in me. Without constant encouragement, I find it hard to achieve anything.

Thank you so much,

Wil

full size drawing of Frame #001

I now have a working drawing made up of the frame that I have started. This allows for a reference to be sure that the tubes are at their proper angles to each other. I will get my surface plate setup real soon so that I can also check that everything is straight on center.

BB Post

Joe Bringheli made this post for me. The quality is unbelievable. I can now get my alignment table setup. I should have it setup in a week. Once that is done, I will have the means to check that everything is correct off of center. I need to make up a few more jigs for brazing. They will be used until I am able to get a frame jig. After seeing this tool from Joe, there is a good chance that I will be getting it from him too.

Progress Report II

Frame #001 is getting close to have some brazing done. I have spent some time to ream the ports in the lugs. I still have several hours in front of me to clean them up with files and emery cloth. I also want to make the shorelines and little crisper. I should have the BB post in a couple of days so I can get the alignment table setup. I will post some pictures as I get some of this further along.

Progress Report

Frame #001 is now going to be a tribute bike to my mom. There was some discussion between her and I about the color that she would like to see it. I regret that she won't be able to. I have thought of a couple touches to make as a constant reminder to myself of how much she means to me and the way she influenced my thoughts to always believe in myself.

for my beloved mother

My mom passed away on the night of September 11th. She will be missed greatly and thought of often. This is something that we knew would happen. She had accepted it even before the rest of the family did. You can never truly prepare yourself for things like this. You can never really know what to say when the phone call finally comes. My mom was absolutely selfless. She would do anything to help the people in her life and that is just what she did. I will keep her legacy alive by continually striving to be like her. May she always be in peace!

lugs for single speed 'cross bike

These are Pacenti artisan lugs and fork crown. I am going to use these with a Dedacciai tubeset to make the all weather single speed that I talked about. I hope to be able to run up to a 35mm tire, but I am unsure with this fork crown. Hopefully I can get up to at least a 32mm. Therefore, I may not be using this crown for the fork. I will cross that bridge when I get to it. I also plan on using a pair of Paragon sliding dropouts (pictured below). Because it will have canti brakes, I will just cut off the disc mount.

updated features

I have made some changes on the blog. In the right hand column you will find contact information for me. I also made a link to my Flickr page that will become a great resource and catalog of the frames that will be made and their details. Stay tuned to see it all develop.

Thank you, Wil

frames in queue

there are some frames that I will be making this fall/winter. The purpose of the builds will be to see how certain styles play out together and also to be used as promotion for business. After frame #001:

1.) Single Speed Cyclocross (all weather bike)
2.) team eight zero two CX prototype frame (plans for a 2010 'cross team)
3.) OS lugged road frame (for me to ride)
4.) touring frame with breakaway (travel bike)

frame #001

I have acquired the parts I need for the frame. The original wishbone will be saved for another build because the seat lug I am using takes a 16mm connector. The dropouts are stainless so I can polish the faces. I like this much better to save from the ungodly look of paint getting destroyed by the rear axle.

parts ordered

I have parts on order for my first build. I already have a rear wishbone that I will be using. The tubes are on their way from Nova Cycles and the rest is coming over from Ceeway! This bike will be a single speed track-style frame. It will have stainless steel track dropouts, the above mentioned rear wishbone, and no braze-ons. I will eventually build a fork for the bike, but will most likely use a carbon fork to start. I will run a front brake only on this bike and will probably run straight bars instead of drop bars. This will be an urban runner. Below is a picture of the investment cast wishbone. It is from Andy Newlands at Strawberry Bicycles. It is a very quality piece and I love the look of it.




I hope to use this same wishbone on a cross frame. Although, I have to do some more layout to see if it is feasible. The width at the bottom of the cast where the seat stays join is only 36mm. I would have to raise it up quite a bit from the tire to be able to run a 35mm CX tire. Technically, it won't matter because a cross bike uses cantilever brakes. So it won't be a problem that the brake mount on the wishbone will be higher. I just need to see if it is going to look fine with the extra clearance above the tire.

I will post some more pictures when the other components come in.

alignment table designed

So I believe I have a feasible design for the cabinet that makes up my alignment table. It is probably more than I need. There are not too many tool and accessories that go with this system, but it will allow me to keep other framebuilding tools and jigs to be stored away neatly. Above are a couple of drawings of said cabinet. I think that I am just going to build it paint grade and brush some color on it. After all, it's just supposed to be utilitarian.

part 2 of 2009

We are now into the second half of this year. Originally I had hoped to iron out all the logistics for the business and be well into some projects by now. That isn't the way it has been but I won't let that discourage me. It just means that I have to do both in the remaining months. I don't mind! Lately, I have become quite adapt to the ability of segmenting my time for different things. I will be building the cabinet for my alignment table and will have some tubes coming shortly.

what coming up?

I have a nice piece of granite that I got a great deal on from a local top guy I know. It is about 25" X 50". I am going to get Joe Bringheli to make me a bottom bracket post for it and then I will have a very nice alignment table. Being that I am a cabinetmaker, I see no problem finding someone to build a cabinet to put under that top with a layout that will suit my needs.

My first bike will be one that I will never sell! I wouldn't be able to justify it in any way. It is going to be a lugged single speed with track dropouts and a wishbone seatstay rear. It will be silver brazed and I hope to also make a fork for it as well. I will keep you posted as things more forward.

802 Cycles it is

Well, I received my certificate in the mail from the state. They have registered Eight Zero Two Cycles as my tradename. As of June 1, 2009. Seems like a long time coming, but well worth the wait. Time to pull together all my lose ends and get things moving forward. There will now be a lot more post here on the work that I am doing. Stay tuned....

moving forward

on April 28th I will be sending my application in to the state to see if I can get Eight Zero Two Cycles registered. If they do not approve it, I will have a secondary choice on there in hopes that one will fly. It is Pomegranate Cycles. I thought this one up well after the original but it has grown on me so much that I have been beating myself up on trying to decide. Every time I thought that it was possible to get either name, I hesitated because I couldn't pick one over the other. So, I have decided to put 802 Cycles as my primary and Pom Cycles as my secondary. This was reach based only from the order in which they became possibilities for me. Pomegranate is such a cool name. The fruit is great. It has so many benefits as well as many symbolic meanings. Just like cycling! It is harder for me to think of a reason not to use it than all of the reasons why I would want to.

Therefore, fate of the name will be decided and hopefully solved before May 1st.

STAY TUNED!

an epiphany of sorts

A little life lesson to carry with me on my journey in frame building:

My daughter had a pot luck lunch for the parents at school to celebrate the classes first success at writing a story. They were all individually made up and written by each of the students.


(warning: you have to turn it up to here the story, but beware of the clapping at the end.)

As I listened to my daughter's story, I started to realize that there is a lesson to be learned in the innocent thoughts of a seven year old. She told of a jewelry store that she owns and make beautiful pieces that she would hope that everyone would want to buy. She then continues to say that know one does because they are too expensive. What causes prices to go beyond standard comprehension? Why do things that are seemingly the same cost so much different from different sources? After the story was over, I said to myself that I can solve that problem for her. She would just have to find a different way to offer her jewelry to her customers at a less expensive price if they were going to be able to buy them.

Thus, my epiphany! I want to be able to sell my frames to people. I want them to be able to afford them. How? There has to be a way. Everyone that builds frames has the potential to source things from the same companies. This makes it surprising to me that so many different builders can demand such different and elevated prices. Don't get me wrong. If you can do it, it just one more reason that we have such a great country. The real question is why would you want to spend more. No one drives around looking for the most expensive gas to put in there cars. Everyone is always looking for a better deal. There is no real reason that if you love what you do, that you would need to make people pay exorbitant amount for those people to have it. I am a furniture maker and cabinetmaker by trade. I only build custom, one at a time, designed for the purpose intended. I will take that mentality with me into building custom bikes and not at the expense of any of those people that may wish to have something a little bit more than ordinary.

bikes not pipes

man, I did some plumbing tear out in our house a little while ago. I had such the time with capping just TWO pipes. I am pretty sure that I just wasn't getting it hot enough. But, I hope that I have better starting luck with building frames than I did with this project. This is the better looking of the two. Bottom line: I am not interested in plumbing at all!