It's been a minute..
But as the saying goes "good things come to those who wait"
I got my frame back yesterday from my welder buddy, I was fortunate enough to watch his amazing work as well (he even had a second welders mask for me to wear).
A little refresh of what he was up against:
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A similar crack along the bottom
A choice was made to remove all the bad metal and fabricate a "patch" from a spare chainstay my buddy has possession of. Since leaving Rocky Mountain he'd work in the aerospace industry welding and had made such a repair before successfully.
Below are pictures of the whole process, note the custom bent copper tube used to purge the inside of the chainstay with argon gas which prevents oxidization and maintains corrosion resistance (or so I'm told

)
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See the "patch" piece sitting on the work bench
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After the TIG welding was completed I agreed to complete the filing/sanding myself, I spent a good couple hours and really took my time ensuring to be careful and not remove too much, my buddy feels confident the welds have good/deep penetration.
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Chainsuck? What Chainsuck?
I'm hoping to complete my painting plans and build her up in the next 2-3 weeks and hit the trails