Friday, February 25, 2011

working right along Ed's frame done, Hanna's off & going.

Ed's frame all wrapped up but for paint. It will go out Mon. Shiny metal - yeah!

Scoping out disc clearances. I like to make sure stuff works.

Polishing away - almost there.....

That there is a mighty stack of work, folks - three 700c frame/fork combos - I have deliberately grouped them together as to be less confusing for me, as they all share spacing, stays, ect.

This is going to be a really cool project - stay tuned on this one.

Hanna's frameset at the get-go.

Checking out the fork & brazing the dropouts on.

"Limpets" from Darrell at Llewellen cycles.

That should do it for awhile.

The mountain looked cool just now.

Hey - just checking in. very busy with metalwork, but with winter setting in again there is going to be plenty of time to get it in. Some really sweet builds coming up, I'll be working on these three frameset for awhile and they are all going to be different - let's see how long these take me. - Steve.

Saturday, February 19, 2011

Ed's frame, 36hr. fishing trip

Ed's frame has been cruising along just swimmingly. Here, checking to make sure the seat tube has stayed straight after adding a bunch of tubes to it - man, nuts on.

Rear axle centered in regards to the BB shell, the seat tube & the head tube. I really do not see how you can make straight frames without an alignment table. I did 100+ without and even your "concrete" measurements with string, rulers & guessing can only get so close.

Detail shot of the fillet where my two-piece seat stays meld together. No filing, that's just the surface tension puddle left after filling the sleeve that has been hit with some 80 grit.

Scoping it out - don't touch! they are just sitting there. Some may have noticed that I use single bends on the Paul dropout setup, you need the lower portion of the seat stay to come into the dropout straight for the disc mount to fit in a way that you can braze it effectively.

Dry fit - just checking it out, just about there......

.........The other end.

the end of the stay, "spearpointed" - this, like many {most} of my operations is performed by hand with a files, a hacksaw and a hand drill. I actually enjoy doing many of these aspects by hand as it keeps me "connected" with my works, at least in my head.

All tacked, ready for the final alignment check, having the seat stay brace added, one last peek at alignment & brazing.

Checking component compatibility. With the chain tensioned it should fit a 2.5" as it fits a 2.35" handily all the way forward in the drops.

Smooth brazing, still hot. On to polishing!

It's snowing now outdoors & it is likely to continue in a renewed bout of winter, so we got out for a 36hr fishing trip to get some trout for the freezer. It was a beautiful trip, but the 22,000+ CFS flows had them a bit confused. Big water!

Another beautiful Arizona Strip sunset.

Nice 'bow!

Some geology for ya.

D. bringing in some dinner.

A quick "howdy" before it goes back in the drink. See-ya.

I love this place. I have been coming here for 35 years!

I'm shootin' the gap.

D. got a nice new sombrero.

9am - checking out the biggest flows I've ever fished here. A mellow two hour drive away.

That's it for now, polishing Ed's frame down over the next few days & then starting three 700c frame & fork sets with semi or full builds and all with hand laced wheels by me - that's allot of work. - Steve.

Monday, February 14, 2011

biggest blog post ever? Kenny's frame, Pete's frame, Ed's frame / lots of various things & goings-on.

Kenny's frame all done & off to TX. That's a damn nice frame if I do say so myself........

Beautiful flowy lines, orange & sparkly.

Really smooth, too.

Pete picked up his 29er.

........I think he was pretty stoked......

Ed's bike off to a start, a 29er for VA.

Front triangle knocked out.

Chainstays on, alignment checked.

Wheel with cassette, disc & a panaracer 2.35" rampage all mounted up. All good. Leaving in the morning for a 36hr fishing trip to make sure our new 2011 fishing licences work while we can still trade them in.

I got D.'s 26" gear bike all going. It's been awhile since this saw dirt, but man - it's seen allot. this thing was hammered.

Doug passing the torch to son Ian. Making 20" wheels for a canoe/kayak trailer.

Ka-Pow!!!!

I was cruising around the shop taking random pictures.

This machine has seen duty with Hunter Cycles & Rock Lobster Cycles and made many frames here. This machine has knocked out thousands & thousands of miters.

No Fun.

Flux is your friend!

I like this shelf.

Measuring tools.

I love old comparison tools, especially tiny metal rulers - go figure.

Weird little widgets.............

Dummy axles.

Ripping some slickrock in Sedona.

Fun stuff!!!

Pretty, too. It was actually pretty damn cold.

It must look pretty zany to see a guy ripping one of these around, huh?

Cathedral Rock.

Clear Creek - this hill was grim, but I made it.

Very near our Camp Verde house. Check out the majestic sycamore trees.

Petito on the Rio Verde just down the street from our house in CV.

there's a river beer up there........still closed - bet it's ripe!

Petito on Beaver Creek.

A different Sedona ride.

And off in the Dry Creek drainage.......

And we got allot of work done down south. It's going to be beautiful when everything starts to green out.

Well that will have to do for now - LOTS of stuff going on. Continuing Ed's frame on Thurs & then I'd like to start Hanna's bike if we get the parts all sussed up. See you all in a few days! - Steve