44 Bikes Frame Shop

[fortyfour]

So I've been doing a bunch of practice welds each day since last friday. Right away I knew there was a problem. The weld just either looked cooked or somehow it was getting contaminated / not getting enough argon. I tried everything (or so I thought) and consulted the experts... Still no go. Then I went back through each and every part coming from the argon tank and tracing it back to the welder and then over to the torch. The last thing it could be was perhaps the gas lens I was using. This afternoon I swapped the gas lens I was using for a different one. INSTANTANEOUS. Good color, good gas coverage, no bake. What a relief. I was beginning to think maybe I had digressed since not welding for over a year and I was back at square one!

Here's the culprit:



Weld closest / facing the camera is with the new gas lens:



I'm going to practice a bit more this week. Now I can concentrate on my heat, spacing, and rhythm instead of chasing my tail with diagnosing a problem. More soon. I'm totally stoked!

 

[-Brent-]

Good to hear. The welds look good and if that's your skill when you're rusty I can't wait to see what your bike's welds will look like.

 

[Woffski]

Shop looks great!!!!

 

[speedfreak87]

Nice.

www.weldingtricksandtips.com is and awesome place to learn some tips and tricks.

Also

http://weldingweb.com/

 

[fergus]

Good to know you got it dialed in. In my short experience with TIG welding (city college class) it always seemed like if there was a problem, it was with the gas shield.

 

[speedfreak87]

Good to know you got it dialed in. In my short experience with TIG welding (city college class) it always seemed like if there was a problem, it was with the gas shield.

Generally.. With TIG you HAVE to clean the material.. especially aluminum..

 

[fortyfour]

Thanks for the replies. Upon closer inspection, the gas lens that was causing the problem I noticed that there was a steel clip holding the wire mesh in place. The others i have use a brass/copper retaining ring. I'm wondering if that steel ring was causing some contamination problems at the tungsten? Either way the problem is solved which I am glad of. Odd because those gas lenses were the correct part no. and sold by a reputable source...

 

[fergus]

Generally.. With TIG you HAVE to clean the material.. especially aluminum..

Yes, for sure. Clean it furiously. That was definitely a problem for me too.

 

[fortyfour]

Yes, with all parts during tig welding, regardless of material, everything needs a good sand/grind, clean and degrease (I use Acetone). Small things can lead to contamination. Cleanliness is next to nothing hands down. Also makes for clean, strong welds.

Thinking on my problem, I wasn't so sure gas coverage was actually the problem but the problem had to do with the actual gas lens.



Upon closer inspection of the gas lense, I noticed that some had a steel retaining ring holding the mesh in place (Left). The good ones had the copper collet swaged over a brass retaining ring holding the mesh in place. I also noticed that the tungsten was getting some scarring/blackness on it too with the bad lens. I "think" that steel ring was the issue - gas coverage was good after all but I think that steel retaining ring was messing with the arc and tungsten. But what is really odd is even removing those rings does nothing - same problem. So I tossed all the bad ones and have the pair that are good. Either way, problem solved and welds are now consistent.

That was frustrating to say the least!

 

[natedog_37]

That is ART. . I love it. So want one of your bikes just to hang on a wall.....

 

[BSAschields]

I love what you've done to the place. Do you do any motorcycle frame work? I have a BSA bobber project that could use a little "flare" .

 

[speedfreak87]

Also, which I'm sure you already know, when using a gas lens you need to turn up the gas a little more.

 

[fortyfour]

For what it is worth, I'm running about 15 CFH. Many do not know but turning up the gas too much can actually cause turbulence and introduce oxygen to the weld site causing contamination.

 

[speedfreak87]

True, but gas lenses tend to weaken the flow. that can also cause some issues with weld quality. Don't get me wrong, the welds look great with what you're doing, but if you have any other issues with the lens, try to turn it up a little and see if it helps.

 

[fortyfour]

@speedfreak87: Yes you are correct. (weldingtipsandtricks.com is a great site btw - thanks for sharing!) I don't think the problem was with gas coverage after all. I think the gas lens that utilized that steel ring was causing something to go wrong - the tungsten must not have been fully insulated or I was getting some arcing up in there or something. Problem fixed though! Welds are looking more how they should instead of 'grey toast'. And finally gettin' something done:







Naturally every photo I took close up came out blurry. I'll take some more detail shots and post up in a bit.

 

[sbhockey]

If I ever get to a point in my riding where I can fully make use of a quality frame like these I'm ordering one. For now my Motobecane will do just fine. Actually a pretty decent frame I built up from scratch.

 

[fortyfour]

Been busy with bike building finally. Will be ordering some material for table construction later this week which should be fun.

All cleaned and prepped for tacking:



Jig rotates to get at some tough to reach spots:



One of my favorite spots to weld:



3rd hand:

 

[supra90turbo]

Drool.

 

[CrustyD3mon]

woww...only now i saw this topic.....amazing...subscribed to read from the beggining!!

 

[Shoottx]

Cool frame.

Way back in the old days ( 25 years ago) we had a small bike shop with a frame builder when state of the art was silver solder and Reynolds 531, Columbus SP and Campy components etc for road frames. So my bike knowledge is old an limited. But I can spot excellent work, and you fit in that class. Congrats on the shop, I really like the design and build.

Quick question, what is the size of the wheel on that last frame. It looks huge to me.

Mike

 

[Krokodil]

Awesome work!

 

[fergus]

Fat bikes FTW! Yeah baby!

 

[fortyfour]

@Shoottx: Thanks for the kind words. The wheel itself is physically a 26" wheel but it's a snow bike specific rim with a 3.5-4" tire mounted. The rim is made by Speedway cycles in Alaska and is 70mm wide and the hub is a newer standard at 170mm in width. The wheel turns out to be about 28.5" in diameter. Close to a 29" mtn. wheel.

Being that we normally have a lot of snow over the winter here in NH, I want to be able to ride year round in the woods (in the past, I've been relegated to traveling south or riding on dirt roads over the winter). Having a snow bike in the stable will be a great addition not to mention having the experience for this niche market. There's room to grow I think and having practical knowledge here makes sense. The sky is the limit with custom builds.

Next step mitering seat stays:



The next step is to miter the stays at the dropouts but I need to build some small additional tooling to hold those tips in phase so I can make the cut in one shot. I wasn't sure how I was going to do this when I built this jig, but knew that once I used it and mitered a pair of stays, I'd visually have a better feel of what the material/parts "wanted" to do. I've got a simple idea but needed to purchase a new end mill for the job. That should be here early tomorrow in the a.m. so there will be some chips shortly!

 

[RandyPenn]

What model of bridgeport do you have? Would love to have one but a bit pricey. I am in the market for a lathe first. SB heavy 10 would be nice but would settle for a 9.

 

[fortyfour]

@Randypenn: I have a J-Head Bridgeport (Series 1 - Step Pulley Design). If you are located on the east coast, and are persistent, there are often great deals on Craigslist. I got mine for $1200.00 if you can imagine which was a bargain. If you are in the market, my one recommendation would be to stay away from the M-head round ram model. I believe this used a different collet system than the more common R8 that mine / later models use in addition to adjusting the head is a total PITA.

May 8, 2007: The day I took a drive down to MA to check out a few mills.



Ended up putting down $200.00 on the spot. I had the full amount with me ready to go but the machine seller wouldn't have it. Said I could pay the difference on pick up. That's a whole other story complete with asphalt removal...

My buddy and I could only get a large size trailer to rent the day of the pick up and the dealer was pissed. "Didn't I tell you to rent a small trailer?!?" What can you do? You go into battle with the tools at your disposal. His shop was up at the top of this STEEP hill and he had just had it repaved. Who owns a machine shop at the top of a precipice with 20 tons of iron teetering at the top? Anyway, the long and the short of it was we got the mill up on the trailer with the help of his forklift and all strapped down. On the way back down we had to move about 5 inches at a time and then put all kinds of scrap under the right wheel of the trailer to make the turn. Left a huge rut in the new driveway because of the length of the trailer and the turn down off of the driveway. The dealer basically just said in so many words don't worry about it but don't come back. We were on our way no questions asked.

I too am in the market for a lathe and you're speaking my kind of language: SB Heavy 10! Soon but not in the next 6 months...

 

[RandyPenn]

Unfortunately I live on the west coast and thing seem to scarce. Scarce leads to higher prices. I'm just starting to look and hope I stumble onto something. Very nice craftsmanship on the bikes. If/when I ever get a new (high end) bike your my first choice. Thanks for the answer.

Thats funny about the pick-up adventure. His location is probably why he had it repaved to begin with.

 

[fatboy99]

Randy if your in California keep an eye out on E Bay there are a couple of places that have mills pretty reasonable from time to time. They appear to be machinery dealers. You may be able to deal direct for a better price. It took me about a year to find one at a great price near me.

 

[RandyPenn]

@fatboy99: Thanks for the info, I live in Washington State but could road trip for a good deal. I have relatives in California.

 

[fortyfour]

@RandyPenn: Fatboy99 is correct - it just takes time to find a good deal but if you are persistent something will turn up no matter where you are. It took me over a year to track this one down. I just made looking at ebay, craigslist and such a part of my daily routine. It took me 2 years of consistent looking to find my Miller tig welder at the price I got it at. Currently hunting down an older bench top drill press. But I'll take a floor model if the price is right

 

[moto367]

@Randypenn: I have a J-Head Bridgeport (Series 1 - Step Pulley Design). If you are located on the east coast, and are persistent, there are often great deals on Craigslist. I got mine for $1200.00 if you can imagine which was a bargain. If you are in the market, my one recommendation would be to stay away from the M-head round ram model. I believe this used a different collet system than the more common R8 that mine / later models use in addition to adjusting the head is a total PITA.

May 8, 2007: The day I took a drive down to MA to check out a few mills.



Ended up putting down $200.00 on the spot. I had the full amount with me ready to go but the machine seller wouldn't have it. Said I could pay the difference on pick up. That's a whole other story complete with asphalt removal...

My buddy and I could only get a large size trailer to rent the day of the pick up and the dealer was pissed. "Didn't I tell you to rent a small trailer?!?" What can you do? You go into battle with the tools at your disposal. His shop was up at the top of this STEEP hill and he had just had it repaved. Who owns a machine shop at the top of a precipice with 20 tons of iron teetering at the top? Anyway, the long and the short of it was we got the mill up on the trailer with the help of his forklift and all strapped down. On the way back down we had to move about 5 inches at a time and then put all kinds of scrap under the right wheel of the trailer to make the turn. Left a huge rut in the new driveway because of the length of the trailer and the turn down off of the driveway. The dealer basically just said in so many words don't worry about it but don't come back. We were on our way no questions asked.

I too am in the market for a lathe and you're speaking my kind of language: SB Heavy 10! Soon but not in the next 6 months...

Thats a funny story! I don't want to steal you post but that reminds me of a story. The shop I worked at just moved to a new building. Had the floor epoxied and it looked sweet. The owner had our try-out press moved in after the epoxy job. Me and the other 2nd shift guy were in stitches watching the owners face as they moved the press in on steel wheeled dollies! Epoxy is tough but not that tough.

 

[Buzz Lightbeer]

Really enjoying your talents and the overall aesthetic of not only your work, but your shop and design elements, as well. Thanks so much for taking the time to document your efforts. Cheers!

 

[Tman]

That is one **** fatbike! My good pal Dave designed the Pugsley among other things surly. If we eveer got back to real winters here in the Black Hills I would build up a snowbike. It was 65 yesterday, 30 today and more 50s/60s for the weekend.

 

[fortyfour]

Closer:

 

[-Brent-]

I have a feeling you're going to be a busy man...

 

[fortyfour]

I sure hope so. Busy is good. Building some tables is on the docket next...

 

[ssffnomad]

Very nice Building Rehab. With good story and Pics. You do awesome work. I am over here in N.Y. very close to "Serotta".

 

[tk2014]

I don't know if this would be bad for business or not (giving away building secrets), but if you wouldn't mind/had the time I would really enjoy seeing more pictures of your build process.

 

[fortyfour]

@tk2014: No worries, best to check out this set :here: or follow along with my flickr photostream :here:. The rest of my flickr sets have a lot of this. What I have been wanting to do is make a set of every step of my process from start to finish. Soon.

Got the seat stays tacked and fully welded today:





And an interesting HAZ pattern. Little Ying Yang:



And a Short video from today's effort. - no video embed capabilities here apparently?

 

[CrustyD3mon]

Amazing work...thanks for sharing this albuns....

 

[Buzz Lightbeer]

Saw this jig and thought it might be of interest to you:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1640002012/the-jiggernaut-bringing-bicycle-frame-building-to