My bender is made from ground-score UHMW so the only expense was $0.83 for the screws.
“yet” being the key word there
just something to think about when you are sticking do-hickeys all over the place. often TT or DT cablestops will fall right near the end of the butt or in the thin bit of the tube. If it was me, i’d want to be putting as little heat as possible in those sensitive areas. I’m not really messing with this stuff anymore, but i used to heat up the braze on bit itself, and then just flow a spot of silver under there as soon as the tube would take it. No blobs of brass to clean up, and less heat into the tube (and less distortion, if you’re slamming them in post jointing)
torch doesnt matter (to paraphrase eric, hot heat is hot!) as much as the person holding it.
Ah, I got a better view of what you’re working with from your instagram photo. Was wondering why you didn’t bend the corners of the main platform, but I guess the different tubing sizes makes it a bit lighter/stiffer on that backstop tube. Nice, simple bender.
New jig, design ripped off from the Heeler Cycles jig, with more drop-in parts from 8020 so there’s no machining required other than use of a drill press.
Not to be a huge downer but that looks like an absolute pain in the ass to use, especially at the bb. Too many reference faces and too many fasteners, no thank you. Unless there’s some reasoning I’m missing?
BB holder is less than ideal, but it still only takes a minute to set up, even with the seat tube welded to the BB in the subassembly, which is how this jig was designed to work. As far as reference faces, etc, I prefer this design to the ubiquitous behind-the-frame format, especially designs such as the Arctos, which have the floating BB. This jig places the entire frame on the centerline of the jig, with the fixturing elements outside of the frame, allowing complete welding access. I have a spreadsheet, in which I enter several dimensions from SolidWorks and it outputs the numbers by which I set up the jig using the rulers in the photos. My priority with the design was to eliminate machining on my end since I lack a mill or lathe atm, without which I could have removed a lot of the fasteners and sped up setup and would’ve copied the Heeler jig even more closer. As it is, there are only a few adjustments to be made for each frame, assuming the same axle and bottom bracket are being used:
- Horizontal BB adjustment
- Head tube height
- Head angle
- Chainstay length/horizontal dummy axle tower adjustment
- BB drop/axle height
Setup only needs to be done once per frame, and even fucking around with all the bolts is still 10x faster than what I was using before (angle iron semi-jig). I only build a few frames per year.
eric I’m gonna call you next year
I like the sound of that.
Between foot surgery and my lightning induced power outage I’ve been out for a bit. I’m always a little afraid I’ll forget how to make stuff if I’m out.
Not to worry.
please ensure you are still making bikes in 10 years when I can afford to buy one from you
Barring unforeseen life changes, that’s the plan.
Eric I was at the bar the other night with Lucas and Ben Strain (I think you know Lucas, he paints for Stoemper) and there was a guy sitting in the corner of the bar that looked just like you. Lucas and I had been talking and mentioned it to each other then Ben walked up and said the same thing to the two of us. It was kind of a weird small world moment. Then they asked me how I knew you and I mumbled something about 'hey ya know bikes" and walked away.
Making stuff for making stuff.
Track frame I built for a bro, still needs a dt decal.
Track frame for myself I’m just starting on. Custom formed aero tubes for ST and DT made from 1 1/2" 0.035" 4130, aero profiles SS made from smaller 0.035" stock as well. Heavy but should actually be aero especially with good rear wheel coverage. For 1" steerer so I can use a set of these I have lying around:
Make me a DT cable stop with a cheeseburger in it
This is a little ways off of the point of this thread, but:
who is doing interesting stuff with custom carbon these days? I’m aware of most of the established builders, but assume that there must be a rising tide of people working with the stuff. I don’t follow enough esoteric materials science-meets-bikes email listservs to be up on this stuff myself.
I kinda forgot about that. PM me the details and I’ll try and whip that up for you.
[quote=rauce]
Custom formed aero tubes for ST and DT made from 1 1/2" 0.035" 4130, aero profiles SS made from smaller 0.035" stock as well. [/quote]
Deets on the forming process?