some good cleanup

I got to finish up the lower head lug joint. I have one more area that I want to clean up a little more but other than that I am really pleased with it. Right here will bring you up to date to where I am. I will be working on getting the miter and prep done to the joint of the down tube to the bottom bracket shell next. I will be tacking this joint on the alignment table with the framing sitting in V blocks. After it is tacked, I will put it in the stand or vise for final brazing.

A farewell to a great friend!

This is Spaz. He has been in my life for 16 years. He had recently been showing signs of getting old. Unfortunately the day came where I had to lay him to rest. My wife called me home from work because he had lost control of his back legs. We went to the vet and they said that it is a cat's version of a stroke. I knew in my heart that this little guy should not suffer any longer. I will miss him dearly and remember him for being so loyal to me for all those years. I love you Spaz.

The "Hockey Stick"

I built another jig that held the head tube / down tube joint so that I could braze it. It was designed very similarly to the first jig I made that was used for the seat tube / BB shell joint. The tubes were positioned into there 72 degree angle and the tube blocks were mounted to the plate (MDF). I stiffened the back with aluminum angle as the other jig. I cut out a section near the lug so that I could access both side of the joint as well as the top and bottom. Below is a picture of the braze right after I turned off the torch. I can't tell how well I got it. I will know more after I soak it. I think I have some globbing on some of the shorelines and I see a problem with the bottom of the lug lifting from the down tube. This problem is solved with a c-clamp but it was tight when I started. Unfortunately, I think this joint has to come apart.

New Happenings (and a shout out)

I have noticed on my Feedjit Map that there are plenty of hits on my blog. I was hoping to see if anyone will read this and send me a comment. This blog is designed to be a "journal" of my business as well as an avenue for people to see my work and as a reference for future designs.

I have ordered the tubes for the SSCX. This bike is going to be nice! It is sort of a prototype bike for several designs that I have in mind. It will incorporate several design elements that I want to test. It will be a favorite of mine and I plan on using it a lot. Once I get more components in, I will post some details of this frame.

Thanks for reading, Wil

Next assembly to prep

I have the head tube/ down tube joint ready to braze up. I thought that I would get a few more setup before I light the torch.

The next one to prep is this joint. This is a wishbone rear. I think this is my favorite look for the seat stays. The top tube is straight gauge 4130 that will be brazed to the wishbone and mitered at the top to meet the back of the seat tube. The seat tube lug has a socket to receive this joint. The seat stays are 14mm that taper to 12.5mm at the end. They will get cut down considerably and brazed to the lower legs of the wishbone. I will have to take my time and really think through a good way to jig this up for brazing. I assume it will be done very similar to that of a fork.