As you’ve probably noticed from the pictures I post on here, I don’t have the super-fancy workshop that a lot of other builders have. There’s not $20,000 of Anvil fixtures laying about, nor racks full of tubing. I don’t post nifty pictures of freshly-TIG’ed titanium. There’s not a lovingly cared-for Bridgeport mill in the background.
No, I make do with what I’ve got and can afford. I’m…
1. I am seriously considering doing a limited-run, semi-stock cyclocross frame over the winter. Would be lugged steel, horizontal dropouts with a derailleur hanger so you could run single or multi-geared. Would include a single-color powdercoating. Available in 54, 56, 58, and 60 cm — geometry would be fixed, but you’d have the choice to go with a disc tab ($10 extra, rigged for mechanica…
So yeah, as you can probably imagine, things are more than a little bit crazy. Minnecycle continues to dominate my planning/needs.
In the near-term, I’ve got a few small projects that need to be tended-to, as well. I need to get up to Wyganowski’s and get some time on his lathe, if he’s so inclined — I need to turn down and tap a mounting post for my Bringheli fixture so that I can toss it…
If you’re serious about learning the craft of framebuilding, you’ve probably already done some footwork. You know that UBI offers a course, that a large number of builders will teach you how to do it, or that you can pick up the Paterek Manual and teach yourself (not recommended).
Knowing bicycle design theory, brazing (or TIG welding), mitering, and so forth is all well and good, but there’s…
I used to cringe when I heard the title of this post spoken aloud — mostly because I visualized old retirees in Florida in plaid pants pulled up to their armpits taking short, sharp hacks at the ball with their pitching wedge and throwing turf everywhere. As you might guess, I have no fondness for golf as a sport — for me it’s more of a drinking game than anything else, and I’m…
As you may or may not know, I work at a small local shop in the Twin Cities. Last night, I had my first encounter with a racing wheelchair up-close, as one was brought in for repair. At one point, I had noodled around with the idea of trying to build one, but it was almost immediately back-burnered, simply because I have enough ideas that need to be dealt with.
Now, though, I’m curious.
1. I’m taking my first true crack at carving lugs. So far, so good. Roughing the cutouts with a drill and a Dremel, and then going in with the needle files to do the final clean-up.
2. Also building a set of lugs from scratch. Interesting process. Going to allow me to make some really cool designs. I’ll be posting pics in the near future, in addtion to some from #1, above.
3. New…
• It’s things like graphene super paper that make me interested in dabbling in carbon frames. Will I? I can’t say “no,” but I can say that it’s “highly unlikely.” I do plan to branch out into titanium in the coming years, though — the plan is to take the UBI TIG welding class and get a bunch of scrap titanium to practice on before building myself a couple of prototypes. Obviously,…
• So as you’ll probably notice, I’ve gone back to the old logotype. I’ve decided that I really like it, and it’ll work. I’ll probably be hungry for change in 3-4 years, at which point I’ll redesign the logotype and the head badge.
• Great leaps forward on Andrew’s 29er this weekend. The seatstays are on, and I got the bottle bosses taken care of, too. There’s a sneak peek of it…
So the personal workshop is underway! I won’t be the traveling/space-and-equipment-renting framebuilder anymore! Or at least, that’s the battle plan. Tomorrow, I pick up my torch, regulators, and hosing. And I order a bunch of workbench parts from Enco, and buy a set of files. I’ve also put a “purchase plan” in front of my wife to buy an Anvil Journeyman 3. We’ll see how that goes…