making stuff from scratch.

{please note: i was sooo tired when i posted this that all the pics are totally disorganised! sorry! hope it still makes some sense - steve.} to me, there's two kinds of custom frames: those made with stock components, and those where the builder takes raw materials and some creativity and flair and makes something totally their own that stands out from the crowd, things that make your bike unique. now, i'm not saying that there's anything wrong with assembling pre-made pieces into great riding bikes, just that for some reason i've go to great lengths to try and make my bikes into what my vision entitles even if i have to make it all myself. now, i used to bend my own toptubes, but that's something that i've had to farm out to another well known builder since i've had to build in a chair. {i hope all of this comes out making sense, i'm sooooo tired right now} but here's some stuff that i do make myself. first, here's a pic of a seattube sleeve and a chainstay brace next to the pieces of raw 4130 crome-moly steel they started as. i can mass-produce the sleeves, but each brace is unique, and each bike has two. next, here's a series of photos of what i did today, made custom seatstays. they are custom created for each bike, there is no template, just my eye and sense of balance and form. they each start out as a piece of 1/2" and a piece of 5/8" 4130, which i then braze together, clean, bend, miter, spearpoint and drill ventholes in. i'm pretty proud of these when they are done, they take me almost an entire day, and every 5th pair or so doesn't meet my QC and goes into the recycling bin - ouch. but, man i like the look of the finished product! i'm going biking tomorrow, and then i'll braze allan's frame together on monday. also, trent's bike showed back up from paint, i'll have some more pics when i get it all prepped. i'm going to go lay down now......... steve.