Stan & Jude - tubes in, bikes out.

Ahhhh - high gloss black. much like the proverbial "little black dress" it leaves little to imagination & hides even less........every imperfection jumps right out at you, but this frame is smooooth. just waiting on silver decals to send this gem to WI.

i really tried to blend all the fillets perfectly & i'm proud of the effort.

man, that looks cool in the snow. we got more snow & we have drifts that i estimate at 10-12+ feet with an all over coverage of around 4'.

fillet brazing sure is allot of work but worth the end results are distinctive & worth it.

here is Jude's 650B fresh out of the dunktank this morning. gonna put in a good pull on polishing it up today & get it off for a coat of Turquoise ASAP.

i have been really getting in the groove brazing. a hot fast pre-heat with a huge flame & then detail work with a smaller precise flame.

FFF = fine fresh fillets.

Security Force!

that's it for now dedicated readers {all 85!} thanks, all - Garro.

Stan's frame finished, Jude's coming right along / finally got out!

Stan's completed frame. a very straightforward sweet rig.

a nice, fat strong fillet.

while it seems that blending the two fillets together would be less work, it's actually more work to polish - go figure.......

Jude's bike, 1st sub assembly. seattube sleeve made from an 8' length of 4130, seattube cut to length & mitered, H2O holes drilled & ST tacked to the BB shell. still need to drill the vent holes for the down tube & toptube and the seat tubehole and slot. it's the "spine" of the bike - make it good.

BAM! front triangle all tacked.

I got out for my 1st exercise in over two weeks. damn, that was a long two weeks. trails were *perfect*.

dropping ledges with Annie. i sure love it when my old mtn biking friends take time to go out riding with me!

Dry Creek was flowing crystal clear & ice cold. the pebbles in the stream bed were very pretty and the dogs were very stoked.

damn, this is a huge Arizona Cypress. one of my favourite trees.

Nice!

our cat Gus-Gus has issues........good taste, but issues nonetheless.

that's all for now, happy February, y'all. Garro.

kinda jacked up.........

i jacked up my left wrist polishing so i've been moving slow the last few days - i can hardly do shit with only one good limb to my name! still, i was able to prep Eric's frameset so he could come build it - dark ford blue, a fine color. i went to acupuncture & massage and i'm feeling better about my wrist, it's coming around. i'm constantly treading a thin line on the edge of overuse.

all built! quite the eclectic gruppo. ready to go around the block or around the world, no problem.

stoked guy leading his new pony home.

going to get back on Stan's frame today & wrap it up. wrist feels up to it - i need a color!

this kinda thing is what works you - repetitive motion.

nice!!

ditto.........

lastly, curving top tubes.

that's it for now, ya'll. next time i'll be back with Stan's finished frame & Jude's in process - Steve.

2nd biggest winter storm ever / Stan's frame.

here is the view from the office - whoa!

Glad i married good Wisconsin stock! that's an 8' ladder behind the pole. there's still allot up on the roof, too. Denise is pretty worn out. i'm kinda worthless at helping, so i'm just working - i figure that i can at least make money while she is shoveling.....

Shop view.

checking out Stan's frame. good!

starting out on seat stays. this is just a raw 8' length of 4130.

done - i've put allot into these, enough that i consider much of it proprietary any more.

after mitering i'm checking to see what i have - all good.

final alignment check before i install the seatstay brace & braze it all up.

setting up to braze. i like having things like this all set up like a little ceremony to the brazing gods.......

Pow! all brazed up.

this is why i am now offering un-filed bikes for less $$$$ now. i can just send this to paint & it looks just fine & rides the same as a "signature" model filed to a ultra-fine smooth radii junction.

BB junction.

that's it for now, ya'll i'll keep you all posted on progress. Steve.

holding in there.......

one of the top three snowfalls ever recorded in Flagstaff, with more to come. can't see out of the windows anymore. this was yesterday afternoon, and we got 12"+ more, with up to double that expected, still on the way. damn.........

snow days!

Stan's bike is coming right along!

checking the tolerances. if all your parts don't fit then all the frilly bits in the world don't make a bit of difference.......

Yes, we have some snow............

front view - and, this is only the first of three storms - WHOA.

how deep? not sure..........

just a check-up on things - snowed in & getting work done. i'll keep you posted. Steve.

Stan's frame, last ride before the storm........

and so it starts: Stan's bike, a 29er off to Wisconsin.

all fluxed up: brazing the seat tube sleeve on.

sub-assembly. #1 - seat tube/bottom bracket. checked for straightness - onward!

front triangle all done. "BLO" - bicycle like object.

random shop shot. widget drawer.

got a last ride in before the storm - it's dumping snow right now - up to 4' forecast.

not bad views, either.......

a tiny, tiny cactus - about as big as a quarter.

dropping in on lost watch!

don't let a soap yucca poke your eye out!!

i thought this looked cool - the dry rain falling over the Verde Valley with cockscomb in the foreground and snow covered Mingus Mountain in the background.

NW 1/4 section 34, Township 18N, Range 5E. you can find this exact spot on a Coconino Natl' forest map - it says "Yavapai" so i thought it was the border with that county & Coconino, but on the map it shows the border as being about 2mi. east of here.......i think i believe the surveyors more then the map. you? that's it for now, thanks all for reading, Steve.