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!