Re-braze

The seat tube to BB shell joint was not adequate for my desires so I stripped the primer of it, cleaned it up, put some fresh flux on it and added more silver. Wow, how perfect it turned out. I am very pleased at the shorelines and how just the right amount of silver was pulled through the joint. Next up is the down tube.

Ready!

A slight delay from working on this frame. I am back on track and will show real progress over the next week. I have prepared the down tube to BB shell joint for brazing. I lined the tubes up over my drawing with the down tube in the socket. It is then scribed to the miter and then cut by hand. This miter doesn't need to be perfect because the taps will clean up any extra little bit.


Every thing is lining up like it should. I hope to have this front triangle together soon.


Next, I will clean the primer off the BB joint and add more silver to the seat tube joint. I wasn't quite happy with it. You can see alot with primer on it. I will then tack the down tube into the shell above the drawing and then finish brazing it in the vise.

new happenings!

Hello there. NAHBS has come and gone. I missed it (again) but got to see a bunch of it through the grace of all the coverage that you can find on the internet. It has been announced that the 2011 show will be held in Austin, TX. My plan is too make it. Not only do I want to go to the show but I hope that I am in the position to show my work there.

I have updated my Flickr to reflect some of the new things going on around here. I have to keep in mind that I do this as a sort of journal for myself to look back on as I grow and change.

I am working on some headbadge designs and you can see them here.

I also have made an attempt at working on some TIG welding for a design that I have in mind for a future build. For what it is worth, you can read about it here.

And last but certainly not least, I have some more details on the SSCX that is coming up next. I have put a lot of thought in how I want this to turn out and I think it is going to be great. Go here to see the latest details.

I have to get some more tooling setup here to more forward but I will keep pecking away at what I can. All the little processes add up to the big process. When that happens, you have a frame!

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