first steps: design and tubing prep - just getting started

first: tubing selected for the design. i don't go into design here, there's just too many variables and each builder has their "secret sauce".

checking the raw lengths to see how much material i will just hack off and throw in the recycling bin before i even start.

here i have marked where to cut & what gets tossed.

into a bucket of hot, soapy water. i'll clean the tubes inside & out and inspect for creases, dents, bad seams, anything at all that may make the tube a reject before it gets any farther along in the building process.

cut to raw length & squeaky clean! here you can see the different lengths of the down tube, top tube and seat tube in descending order. yes, it is going to be rather petite.

marking the bowing in the tubing......

and then the actual butt lengths. the chart is for pure theory, the actual butting may vary, so you gotta measure!

all the vent holes are drilled in the seat tube sleeve, the bottom bracket shell, and the head tube, which has also been faced. the other marks are "witness marks", showing where the intersecting tubes will go.