1:4 scale Ritchey P20, this is going to take a while...

[novocaine]

some nice work on the soldering, especially where multiple tubes join. the printed jig is a must then.

 

[LumPi Panda]

some nice work on the soldering, especially where multiple tubes join. the printed jig is a must then.

Many thanks. I've never really done much soldering like this before, so I'm chuffed to bits with the results.
You're absolutely right about the jigs, I was terrified that sticking one bit on would make another one fall off. This is also why the dropouts are 3D printed. No way would I have been able to keep them in one piece while soldering.
As for 3D printing, I think I may be mellowing in my opposition to it. I still find making things "properly" infinitely more satisfying, but I'm warming to the possibilities that 3D printing presents.

 

[novocaine]

Many thanks. I've never really done much soldering like this before, so I'm chuffed to bits with the results.
You're absolutely right about the jigs, I was terrified that sticking one bit on would make another one fall off. This is also why the dropouts are 3D printed. No way would I have been able to keep them in one piece while soldering.
As for 3D printing, I think I may be mellowing in my opposition to it. I still find making things "properly" infinitely more satisfying, but I'm warming to the possibilities that 3D printing presents.

It has it's place. the problem is that it's a lot like a hammer, once you have one, everything is a nail.

I did some car parts this weekend, I could have spent a few hours in the workshop making them from aluminium which would be total overkill for it, or I could spend half hour in CAD and leave the printer working away while I did other things. Guess which one won? I now have a bright orange sun visor bracket I have a black one too, but orange was in the printer while I was refining the design, and now it's in I can't be arsed to swap it to the black one I made. the phone holder is printed, yer it's not complex, but I see little satisfaction in making a channel with some holes in and a bit sticking out to fit in the air vent.

It's completely daft, but you do find ways to use it in projects, things like jigs, holders and such are great, they are dimensionally accurate (if you set your printer up) and stable, you aren't spending your time making them, instead you are making the parts that the jig is needed for and if it's not right, it takes seconds to fix it and walk away back to something else.

I don't think I'm about to make a model like this with one, but it's a tool to make the process around the model go smoothly.

out of complete geek interest, what temp solder did you use? did you use different temps as you progressed so the heat wouldn't melt other joints? I guess you used an iron rather than a flame. as a future time which will do a few nice things for you, clean and flux the joint (for this I'd use plumbers flux, but for silver solder it's borax cone and dish) then drop a small pellet of solder into the tube and make up the joint so the solder falls into the joint rather than away from it. Apply heat and be amazed as the solder suddenly appears in the joint and forms a delightful fillet.

I always knew it as sil brazing, but I'm not sure that's the right term now, and it's possible that it wasn't the term I remember.

 

[LumPi Panda]

it's a tool to make the process around the model go smoothly.

You talk a lot of sense. This, and your point about treating machines as apprentices that you made in the Yeti build are bang on.

As for the soldering, it was done with a butane pen. I looked into different melt solders for exactly the reason you suggest, but impatience and experimentation got the better of me. I did a practice run with whatever solder it was Alan at work had left on his bench when he went home. It worked, I got excited, stayed back late and got the front triangle built. After that I figured that the jigs would keep everything together during subsequent joints.
The soldering isn't perfect by any stretch but it's not going to fall apart and much of it will be covered when I figure out sculpting 1:4 scale welds over it.

That solder pellet technique sounds good. Next build will make use of it. That's likely to have brass dropouts too, but I don't want to give too much away...

 

[novocaine]

You talk a lot of sense. This, and your point about treating machines as apprentices that you made in the Yeti build are bang on.

As for the soldering, it was done with a butane pen. I looked into different melt solders for exactly the reason you suggest, but impatience and experimentation got the better of me. I did a practice run with whatever solder it was Alan at work had left on his bench when he went home. It worked, I got excited, stayed back late and got the front triangle built. After that I figured that the jigs would keep everything together during subsequent joints.
The soldering isn't perfect by any stretch but it's not going to fall apart and much of it will be covered when I figure out sculpting 1:4 scale welds over it.

That solder pellet technique sounds good. Next build will make use of it. That's likely to have brass dropouts too, but I don't want to give too much away...

I'll try to do a little how to movie at some point.

 

[Frankenorange]

I love this thread. The Yeti build was amazing but this is taking it up a notch. The skills, knowledge, and patience will never not impress me.

Have you any plans for the 1:1 P20 frame? Looks like a dent on the top tube, or?

Is there a scaled down road bike circulating around in your mind?

 

[CTK]

I absolutly love this!

I personally would have more chance of inventing a shrinking ray gun than doing this

 

[LumPi Panda]

I love this thread. The Yeti build was amazing but this is taking it up a notch. The skills, knowledge, and patience will never not impress me.

Have you any plans for the 1:1 P20 frame? Looks like a dent on the top tube, or?

Is there a scaled down road bike circulating around in your mind?

Thanks Frankenorange.

The 1:1 frame is going to get resprayed sometime soon as a favour from a mate of the bloke. The dent is a result of the incident that finally put the Ritchey out of serious service and opened the door for my Kevin Winter custom hardtail. It has spent the last ten years as a single speed commuter which is an absolute blast for commuting. I'm tempted to get the dent sorted out before the respray.

There is a Ritchey Road Logic counterpart that I'm going to get sprayed at the same time in the same colours, but the other way up. A 1:4 scale version of this, and many other things, are always circulating in my mind... At the moment something a bit more retro and purple is jostling for next place.

 

[LumPi Panda]

I absolutly love this!

I personally would have more chance of inventing a shrinking ray gun than doing this

Thanks CTK.

Shrink ray gun?






shhhhhhh. don't tell anyone.

 

[LumPi Panda]

In other news, I've started filling the tapers on the stays.