44 Bikes Frame Shop

[Trey T]

the back part of the bike, why is it curved? is it for strength?

[fortyfour]

Originally Posted by Trey T

the back part of the bike, why is it curved? is it for strength?

Two reasons: The black bike it adds a little bit of vertical compliance. More importantly the trails in New England tend to be very rooty, rocky and can be very technical. So lots of stand over is key. This enables me to build a bike with a lot of stand over so if you have to put a foot down, the boys will thank you. The double swoop allows the lines of the frame to line up / triangulate. So part of it is strength, another part is function, and of course some is aesthetic. The trick is balancing all of this so all the lines flow.

With regards to the red bike, it allows me again to build a bike that is big enough for me (I'm 6'1") but maintain standover in a more traditional looking frame. The loops help to keep that strait line look of the top tube flowing into the seat stays.

The loops also have a more functional sense as during welding, it allows more space for my hands, and the torch to fit into that tight space. Especially on the ISO disk mount side (non-drive side) where you have several elements all converging:


IMG_0032 by BLACK CAP Studio, on Flickr

I find it one of the more tricky places to weld, so this helps ease that tight space. Hope that helps!

[abstamaria]

Originally Posted by rlwhitetr3b

Wow you are even older than I am!

Haha, I didn't notice that error. I probably am older than you anyway.

[jwhelan65]

More please... someone fire up the popcorn popper...

[N8]

Fantastic space and incredible skill!
I love to see other Industrial Designers work.
Hell maybe we should start a social group to discuss projects if there isn't one already.

I love your independent attitude and your obvious "HARD WORK" ethic.

[N8]

Don't mean to hi-jack but hell I just went ahead and started one. Join in if your interested. I would like to talk more about your jigging and processes.

Join GJ Industrial Designers Group


Thanks,
N8

[A1an]

Beautiful bikes. Shop looks good so far too.

[jktruck150]

Great looking place! I like how you have added all the windows!

[Trey T]

I see, but I would think those bends would weaken the frame. the axial compression on those two individual tubes, I would imagine, is not as strong as straight ones.

if I were to bend it, I would size it larger.

good job with setting the jigs

[fortyfour]

Correct. I want the seat stays to 'move' vertically for more compliance. If the tubes were in a straight line, the ride would be very harsh / stiff. I most likely didn't explain this as well as I could have in my above comment.

[Brad S.]

This is a very cool shop build, and some very cool frame building jigs! Cant wait to see more.

[35mm]

Originally Posted by fortyfour

Build:


New Setup by BLACK CAP Studio, on Flickr

I love your build, that is a great looking shop.

One question, how much does a one off bike like that cost?

[Trey T]

I see. Whats the approximately weight of the frame w/ and w/o the fork?

All the materials/parts made up the frame, where did you source it or is all custom?

[tmoneyr007]

Great design work, little comment on the tig work though, faster travel, more filler. Some of those welds are hot and mildly undercut. The bracket above is already broken down the center, a little thicker tab may be appropriate.

[fortyfour]

Originally Posted by tmoneyr007

Great design work, little comment on the tig work though, faster travel, more filler. Some of those welds are hot and mildly undercut. The bracket above is already broken down the center, a little thicker tab may be appropriate.

Thanks for the tips! I agree - I have a lot of practice ahead of me. Still have a lot to learn and a lifetime of skills to hone. The photo's from a while back and I've since learned to move quicker and add more filler. For the record, the tab's cut was welded/wrapped after this shot was taken.

[fortyfour]

My buddy stopped by yesterday and we both took the day to run the lines and wire everything up at the house. We'll be wiring up the shop's panel tomorrow (8/24) bright and early.

Shot of things finally coming together up at the house:


Positive. Negative. Neutral. Ground by BLACK CAP Studio, on Flickr

The lines pulled very easily. We expected the worst with 160ft to push / pull. But somehow luck was on our side and we didn't break a sweat. If all goes according to plan, the panel, power for the mill and power for the tig welder should be all set by the end of the day tomorrow. Fingers crossed.

[fortyfour]

It's official :


Power is ON. by BLACK CAP Studio, on Flickr

Two friends who are electricians have been helping me finalize all the electrical for the shop. One just scored a bunch of loot and passed a bunch of goodies on to me for the shop effort. Super stoked. All the power will be run outside the walls. I want a bit of an "modern industrial" look to the shop space. So all the exposed galvanized boxes, conduit and switches will remain raw. The walls will be a nice bright yellow with natural trim. Ceiling will be galvanized corrugated roofing material.

Here's a shot of the panel (inside and outside) all finished up:


44 Power Supply :: Outside / Inside by BLACK CAP Studio, on Flickr

We ran power from the top as this wall is up against a hill and I need to constantly rake the roof during the winter. Large piles of snow accumulate on that side of the hill-so we wanted to keep the elbow up and protected under the soffit from snow accumulation. Something you have to really think about here in NH. Our house is situated a bit higher than our town center and we're in a bit of a "snow belt". We'll have 2 feet of snow while the town center which is approximately a mile down the road will only have 2 inches of snow at times. Funny what a bit of elevation gain can do.

A shot of the north wall almost finished up:


44 Frame Shop :: North Wall by BLACK CAP Studio, on Flickr

Sockets for extension cords, drills, lights etc. on the left and the 220 source for the Bridgeport. The center junction box is ready for when we run more conduit up and out across the ceiling for the lights. Most likely some simple galvanized pendants. To the right under the panel we included a twist lock socket for my Tig Welder (Miller Dynasty 200DX). This is temporary until we can run power over to the south side of the shop. The far corner on the south side will be my welding area. But it will be nice to have two of these at either corner/ends of the shop if I have certain projects and need the welder on different sides of the shop. Thinking ahead.

Next up is wiring the bridgeport and phase converter. Once that's finished up we'll rotate the head, support with the table and get her into the north west corner so I can make some chips! Can't wait...

[PeteMoore]

Certainly getting there dude

Love the shop and LOVE the titled and logo'd photos.

Have been trying to do my own in a similar fashion for other forums and simply dont have the ability to get the awesome fonts and logos that you do. But i guess thats why you do it for a living.

[fortyfour]

Originally Posted by PeteMoore

Have been trying to do my own in a similar fashion for other forums and simply dont have the ability to get the awesome fonts and logos that you do.

Thanks for the kind words. The font's you want in your arsenal to get that real "American Industrial Manual" look are "Trade Gothic" and "Futura". A good place IMO to get half decent (and free) fonts is www.dafont.com. In PC and MAC types too. Adobe Illustrator is the software you want to create logos. Some other paid fonts to look for are offered by "House Industries". "FINK" and "Sign Painter" are great font sets. Esp. for custom car looks. You can get some inspiration from House's blog. Some amazing hand drawn lettering going on over there. Paper and pencil still work the best as always which can be scanned and traced. Hope that helps!

[PeteMoore]

Cheers dude.

dafont has been scoured many many times and unfortunately illustrator is just a tad out of reach £££ wise. But I shall endeavour to replicate (flattery remember )

As said before, best of luck with the shop and keep the updates coming, its an awesome wee space and one that I could see myself owning someday. Keep up the good work