frame building - has anyone done it?

[AndyPA]

I've built a few using clamps, chocks and lots of careful measurement. Mine have all been plain mild steel and MIG welded. I could imagine if I were going to build a number of frames a jig would come in very handy because you can just set up all the tubes onto it and braze away.

A jig is for tacking on and shouldnt be used to fully weld a frame,the point im making for a one off diy builder is dont get stressed about not having all the posh kit
You can make a show quality frame with a vice and simple tools.

 

[pondlife]

Naa, jigs aren't necessary, i built my first frame on top of the tumble dryer in the conservatory, although it did had a flat tabletop on it

Hmmm advice... now that should be given by someone with more experience than myself.......but..... don't pick the fancy lugs, and take your time, you'll never forget where the imperfections are.

 

[orbeas]

frame building

its ok building frames , but the big question is how safe are they to ride ???
Remember a certain frame builder here having problems with front forks, with several local riders ending up in the road !!!!
Overheating the tubes will lead to failure !!!!!!

 

[pondlife]

i draw the line at forks! frames only

 

[Citoyen du monde]

I still have the first frame that I ever built. It now has over 80K miles on it and still goes well, but as stated by pondlife, you will always remember your errors. All of my frames were built over thirty years ago before the internet and all the how-to videos and descriptions. They were built free-hand, i.e. without jig or other fixtures, using little more than a vise, files, hack saw and oxy-acetylene torch. To align the frame, I used the grout line in a tile floor. After about 10 years of use, I finally got around to checking the alignment and it was spot on (how is that for luck?).

I can't begin to count the number of people who I know who have a half finished frame building project in their cellar/garage/storage locker/closet... If you can't afford to buy a custom frame from one of the less expensive builders, you would need to either have plenty of available time that you do not value too highly or you are likely better off to not start with the building. To better understand this, calculate the cost of the framebuilding items that you would need from Ceeway and subtract that amount from what you would pay for a custom frame (they start from about £500 on up from experienced builders using suitable butted chro-moly tubing). Then realize that it is virtually assured that a first-time builder working alone will make at least one noteworthy error during building and you quickly end up with a considerable outlay of money without any benefit. (you can see one of my errors in the photo of the BB of my first bike here below. I rippled the chainstay when I went to set the rear triangle. To prevent any subsequent nasty cracking of the stay, I thought it best to reinforce the area with a fork tang)

 

[Lenton58]

Pondlife - I've commented how gorgeous your frame looks. How was it painted — or coated?

 

[pondlife]

thanks
i get all my frames wet sprayed (is that the term?) by Ken Baker in Colchester Essex, he's a auto sprayer by trade and i believe chairman of Colchester Rovers

 

[foz]

Thanks for all the input so far! I'm starting to think about not actually building a frame, but looking for a cheap one to modify (nothing drastic, just removing braze-ons, maybe changing the dropouts to track ends, etc). That shold save me a lot of time and money, and while not being exactly what I want, it should be a reasonable compromise.
For future knowledge, can anyone recommend a decent frame builder that can do fillet brazed frames for reasonable prices?

cheers, Andy

 

[one_bad_mofo]

I was fortunate enough to be able to do a frame building course at Swallow Tandems many years ago. I learnt that I'm not a frame builder!
The feature that I wrote about my experience, for Cycling Today, can be seen below.

 

[foz]

I didn't get chance to read the article yet, but will definitely find time to do it soon! It looks like an interesting read

thanks, Andy