44 Bikes Frame Shop

[fortyfour]

@Malaga- Just ran out of t-shirts. I'll be doing a second run with a new design in the coming weeks actually. Most likely the one attached below on a deep heathered gray or blue with a washed appearance. I still have plenty of stickers though, PM me your email and hit you back for contact info to get you some.

 

[Buzz Lightyear]

Can I get a HELL YES? Much needed "medication" after this week:

I got the taste for Sierra Nevada while on holiday in the US and we can get the Pale Ale in the shops here but I've never seen the Porter. Looks good though and well earned.

 

[rt dak]

Little warm for the porter, no? Kellerweis does it for me this time of year.

Regardless, awesome work and photos as always.

 

[TDI]

amazing work & amazing skills!
love the pictures also

 

[fortyfour]

@Buzz: if you can get your mitts on some, it's very good.
@RT Dak: Warm? This ones cold Never too hot or too cold for a porter or stout.

I have to admit: the less light I see through my beer the better. I love me some dark beer. Stouts, porters... the darker the better. Liquid bread.

 

[RandyPenn]

Any news on the South Bend 10?

 

[WhoWhatNow]

@Buzz: if you can get your mitts on some, it's very good.
@RT Dak: Warm? This ones cold Never too hot or too cold for a porter or stout.

I have to admit: the less light I see through my beer the better. I love me some dark beer. Stouts, porters... the darker the better. Liquid bread.

Ever try Brooklyn Brewery's Black Chocolate Stout? Black as night and pours like mud. One of my favorites!

You have built an awsome shop. I love how open it feels with the big windows. Can't wait to see more of your work.

 

[Buzz Lightyear]

@Malaga- Just ran out of t-shirts. I'll be doing a second run with a new design in the coming weeks actually. Most likely the one attached below on a deep heathered gray or blue with a washed appearance. I still have plenty of stickers though, PM me your email and hit you back for contact info to get you some.

Loving the shirt design. Do you ship international?
A shirt will have to do until I can afford the bike to go with it.

On the subject of beer. Everyone over her thinks that the only American beer is Bud and I have made it my mission to tell everyone that will listen the truth and spread the word about American beer.

 

[fortyfour]

@Buzz: Good to know you are instructing your fellow citizens that Bud is not in fact the "King of Beers". Self titled no less... So many micro brews to choose from!

@RandyPenn: no news on the SB 10. Still looking - lead fell through. No worries. A good lathe will turn up sooner or later. Just need to remain patient (which is tough sometimes). I need to make some things that are round!

Omegang Abbey Ale is where it's at for me when I'm feeling prosperous. I don't know about the "fruity" description on the label though (don't let that fool you)... It's smooth, rich, hoppy and a full body to my palette. "The Chief" by Pennichuck Brewery (Now defunct) was one of the best beer's I've ever laid my mitts on. Hands down. It was a local brewery right down the road from the shop Sorry to see they folded. You could show up to the front door and for short money have your growler filled with the latest right off the tap.

 

[Malaga]

PM sent.

 

[427cobra]

I love the shop build up and the mountain bikes. I am an avid road and mountain bike rider and have done my share of racing on both. My current rides are a Merlin Ti road bike and a Ibis mountain bike.
Its clear that you are quite talented in welding and design.

Morgan
Fresno Ca.

Picture of the Ibis was taken in Bend Oregon

 

[fortyfour]

Quick update: Been working on staining the insides of the locking cabinets and will be lining the other sides with cork in short order. Today at the end of the day I spent some time getting my rolling tool cart in order. Still have some work to do on it like cutting the additional shelves, tacking a stop on the lower supports so they don't rotate and giving it a battleship gray paint job... but here's what I've got so far:

Legs being drilled on the Bridgeport (I love this machine). A friend gave these to me way back when I was living in Providence, RI. Been dragging them around for the past 10 years knowing they would be some sort of table in the shop.



Upon drilling the first hole I discovered that the adjustable feet were indeed REALLY adjustable. About 8" of adjustment to be exact... One of them had the name peaking through so with the aid of a wire brush I discovered the appropriately named adjustment feet manufacturer: "Adjustable Caster Co. , Phila. PA."



The legs originally were part of a larger table, but I adopted them for this cart. Just had to use the same method as I did for the other two tables. Welding up some of the center brackets with bolts:



I had to wait on some hardware from Mcmaster Carr. Once I got those I was able to assemble the cart and cut down the top this afternoon:



I had an extra set of rolling castors a buddy had given me but the shafts on the ends of them were only 1" long. I had to mill through holes to accept the shaft/bolt and then create slots so I could slip a wrench in to hold the bolt while I tightened the whole schebang together. Simple yet effective:



I shortened those adjustable feet by a few inches. They have a square flat on them so I can dial them out to raise the feet off the floor/level it when not in "rolling mode". I need to weld a tab on the table leg to act as an anti-rotation pin so the load of the cart does not rotate the bracket that the wheels are attached to. They swivel well (not 360 - about 270 deg) but they swivel enough to get the job done moving parts/tooling around. The wheel just misses the leg on it's rotation by about an 1/8".

 

[ConstructionBoss]

I dig that cart man. That's a simple but effective way to store your clamps. I've been thinking of storing my clamps in a similar way with my three shelf cart that I now keep under my welding table.

 

[Jgrady1982]

Awesome thread! I forget how I found this thread, but I am glad I did.

 

[shoudabinacowboy]

I've been following from the beginning of this thread and love the shop and bikes. Maybe it's just the picture, but how do the casters swivel? It looks like they would hit the leg.

Anyways though, keep it up. This thread is inspiring.

 

[fortyfour]

Just a friendly reminder that my home town of Lyndeborough, NH is hosting it's "Open Farm and Studio Tour" this Sunday August 19th (the same day as the Hampshire 100). My Frame Shop will be open and part of the tour. If you happen to be in the area or are up for a trip, the shop will be open from 10am-3pm and I'll be providing a detailed over view of the framebuilding process, my methodology and will have a whole host of bicycles on hand for all to peruse and take for a spin for those who would like to take one out for a pedal. If you cannot make it, no worries as I will be having another "open shop" later this fall TBD. There are additional shops/farms that have opened their doors and if you are a fan of Post & Beam, you will surely enjoy Brooks Post and Beam's open shop. Super cool methodology and machinery for the Post and Beam construction.

Directions, information etc. here:

http://www.44bikes.com/images/openfarmstudio_2012.pdf

 

[Shoottx]

Sure wish I were close enough to be part of the tour, but the commute would be a little much.

Hope you have a great crowd. Of course you could add a selection of beers to the Open house and guarantee a great attendance, course you would have to throw everybody out at 3:00

 

[VMX42]

Thanks for the invite Kristofer,

I am on my way... I could be a bit late... just how far are you from Sydney, Australia...

Save me a cold beer... see you soon,
Jeff

 

[fortyfour]

@VMX42: Just an ocean. You'll be here before you know it.

 

[Omphaloskeptic]

Here's hoping the tour goes well for all concerned. Perhaps I've just become a curmudgeon over the years, but do you have any worries about letting strangers into your shop? Sad to say, events like this seem to be a golden opportunity for those who would 'window shop' prior to breaking a window at a later date to help themselves to whatever catches their eye on the tour. Will this be your first time as a 'host' on the tour? Do the organizers of this tour give those who participate some kind of orientation as what to expect (good and bad) from the visiting public? Good luck and may it be a great experience and opportunity for you and the '44 Bikes' business!

 

[fatboy99]

Just looked over the flyer wish I was closer. Id love to tour your shop and talk to the maple syrup guy's to get more info. Actually id love to go to them all. Hope you have a good turn out today!

 

[fatboy99]

How did the shop tour go ?

 

[fortyfour]

@Omphaloskeptic: The Town of Lyndeborough is a pretty tight nit, small community here in NH. The tour info is only sent out to Lyndeborough residents and to the surrounding communities all pretty much similar in size and tightness. The event is tacked on with our towns community day which is a big celebration of our towns history. Kind of a yankee picnic of sorts with live music, food, performances, silent auction etc. A time for everyone to get together from the community and share food/stories. The events are organized by volunteers from the town of which I help out with all the graphic design, posters, signage etc. Lyndeborough is one of those stereotypical New England "small towns" in NH.

So in making my decision to open my shop to friends and members of the community, being wary of opening the doors for fear of being broken into at a later date was the furthest thing from my mind. If I was still living in Providence, RI, there may have been a healthy caution for something like this and I would have approached the event differently. The mix of people that arrived was great actually from the pair of retiree's just out on the tour, to fellow cyclists who heard about the shop from a friend and rode their bike all kitted out to check out the process and meet me. Some were from the area that had no idea that our town had so many different craftsman. Some even had been following the shop/frame progress online and it was an opportunity to put a name to a face. Lots of questions about the process and a lot of passion from everyone from all walks of life. It was also a great opportunity to speak about what I've been up to with a lot of neighbors who had heard about the shop. It was a great experience, a load of positive feedback and I'm looking forward to next years event.

 

[Omphaloskeptic]

Glad to hear it went well and you are ready to do it again next year. That type of community event is something to be relished and hopefully will carry on as a great small town tradition.

 

[sbhockey]

Ding ding ding. Anyone home? It's been way to long without any updates.

 

[retrobuilder]

New to the group but really impressive as expected for a lot of industrial designers (my daughter is one among many I know). I used to work with a tool maker in north Georgia with a similar much larger structure in the woods and looking over a trout stream. No easy feat getting tools and machines up the hill. If ever in Atlanta or on web check out Snyder Cycles in Atlanta. Local growing cyclocross, track bike builder. I collaborate with him often.

Great vision for the building and frame fabrication.

 

[TwoSmoke]

Really great work and I was glad to see you wearing a mask while you were welding. I was not happy to see you welding in shorts and a t shirt and there was a picture of you welding with a poly shirt on. I try and tell as many people as possible to use ppe when ever you are working if you want to work for a long time. Great welds and fabrication skills. I am sure you have heard of this but I will mention it anyways. If you use welpers to mark your filler rod in small increments it helps put an equal amount of filler rod in each weld puddle. It gives a very nice uniform weld.

 

[fortyfour]

BIG UPDATE - You asked for it!

@TwoSmoke: The mask is a must. I wish 3M made their more heavy duty chemical/particulate cartridges in a thinner / low profile design or a soft version so they would fit under the helmet. May have to give them a call...

The garments I tend to wear are actually meant as thermal undergarments. Mostly by patagonia just as that is what I have for cold weather. Most are their R series stuff with a waffle texture inside - It's warm (my shop is for the most part unheated presently with the exception of a small space heater currently - that will change though) comfortable and the fit is form fitting so there is not a lot of bagginess to them. The heat is very concentrated at the weld site with the use of the pulse in addition to the fact that the amps are pretty low typically. Tig is pretty controlled so it's not like arc or mig with lots of sparks flying.

However, as for the shorts and t-shirt. I just started welding in a t-shirt and sometimes in shorts in the last 3 years. Some days it can get pretty hot/humid AND that's not a good excuse I realize. I must admit, I am very safety conscious and would love to hear anyones thoughts on the matter (there's a lot of builders I've seen over the years welding in shorts/t-shirts and no gloves - how anyone welds without gloves is beyond me). I'm welding at pretty low amperage (30-60 amps) for very short spans of time. Exposure to ultraviolet light is not good I know and is intensified when welding. So please discuss as I'd love to hear. I know it's most likely better safe than sorry down the road.

Been busy on the design front as well as the shop and frame front too. Small things on the shop front like trim, draft sealing/finishing type stuff. Will be insulating the ceiling in the coming week or so (that should be fun...). I've been adjusting all my tooling to accept back purging so I can start to build in titanium as well. Here's some of the recent work to that end.

New Head tube cone thanks to some lathe time at my buddies shop. Also accepts the purge line with press-to-fit connections:











With the lathe time, I also turned a new head tube heat sync for the new 44mm head tube standard:







One of my favorite drawers now...



The new 44mm head tube heat sync in action:



Recent work : Fixed gear for a return client in NH













Gear/Singlespeed option 29er headed to Arizona:















First Ti Welds (not back purged as I was just testing some settings and seeing how it feels - will purge next time once I have all that set up):





Next up is a 29er w/singlspeed option headed to MA:













Once this ones done (in the next day or so) I begin 2 bikes for a client in Sweden. A 29er and a snow bike. That's pretty exciting I must say!

Fall is/was the best time of the year for riding... Dialing in the fat bike setup for the winter!







And of course, first snow = FIRST FAT BIKE RIDE.



For those who want to read all about each and every step I take to build a frame, here is something I recently put together:

CHECK OUT THE WHOLE SET

 

[IGO2XS]

Outstanding work! Beautiful pictures! and very interesting! Almost makes me want to ride a bike. Thanks for sharing.

 

[m5hor]

amazing work!!!

 

[superspec]

your killing me here. im on the fence with buying a jig or just dong it my way to start. ill be getting my tig unit within the next few weeks and building my own frame is high on my list of things to do outside of work.

 

[Omphaloskeptic]

High Art!​

Not only are the bikes works of art, but even the jigs, fixtures and tooling are a pleasure to study. Great documentation! I would go to a gallery just to see a showing of your 'Industrial Art'. I wouldn't be surprised at all to see an exhibition at MOMA displaying your photo work, your two-wheeled sculptures, and static displays of the various stages of a build using your tooling as part of the installation! Seriously, your work should be shown to the public.

 

[fergus]

Still digging it man. Thanks for taking the time to post up. Seriously.

 

[TwoSmoke]

Great work and I only mentioned the ppe because others that may see this thread could think its ok to do the same. I learned to weld at an early age and could weld two razor blades together before I could drive but was always required to wear the proper clothes. Thanks dad. Now that I am older and have seen countless accidents while welding including my own I try and encourage others to practice good safety. I am lucky and my worst one was a tack weld as I was leaving for the day and my shift counter part asked me to tack for him. I just took my boots off and switched to tennis shoes. The hot spark burnt through my shoe and through the webbing between my big toe. Just like that no work for 10 days. I understand it's hot but it's not really that hot is it? Try a minimum 36" weld with dual shield flux core on plate that's preheated to 400 F all day and tell me what hot is. Now I just weld super cub fuselages in a nice comfy chair. Keep up the good work it makes me want to run out in my shop and lay down a stack of dimes.

 

[Buzz Lightyear]

Superb as always!!

Keep the updates coming please

 

[Carl S]

Very cool Kris! Your work looks great and your shop setup is very cool. The Ti looks good too.

 

[fortyfour]

Thanks Carl. What was nice about the shop setup was first working in it without anything except the mill, a small table, welder and jig. As I developed a natural flow and started to feel out the space, the space started to organize itself which was interesting. I really like the central table and free standing vise. Looking forward to yours coming together as well.

 

[fortyfour]

44 Bikes 2012/2013 Tactical Field Manual

Download your copy here.

 

[muibubbles]

this stuff is so great. i want a bike and i dont even ride bikes. what a great piece of pure craftsmanship. I know i probably asked you this already but what kind of bender are you using? I tried spotting it out in the shop pics and i cant seem to pin point it!

 

[illmatyk]

Nice work! I just got into biking about 2 months ago and enjoy it! Looking through catalog, is the $2k price tag just a frame or complete bike?