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.