The Torch

It's one of the biggest decisions so far and one I've spent a lot of time researching recently. What torch setup do I want? I decided to get an oxy-propane setup with an oxygen concentrator instead of bottled O2. This came after many hours of reading over forum threads on the positives and negatives of all the options. For some great info on oxy-propane for bike building, check out Doug Fattic's comments here. I like the idea of skipping the welding supply and bottle transport issues in favor of a BBQ propane tank and an oxycon. My biggest worry was actually the bottled O2. My shop is my garage and I use it for a lot more than just this bike project. That means it's going to be an environment that isn't strictly a welding shop. There's going to be car work, other projects, kids stuff, etc. I didn't like the idea of another compressed gas cylinder in my garage and compressed O2 doesn't play friendly with grease. With an oxycon, my biggest concern is it breaking down.

For the torch itself, I ordered the following:

• Victor J-28 "aircraft" style body
• Victor UN-J mixer
• Victor 2-TEN tip

I read somewhere that I should be able to do almost anything with the #2 tip. I got all Victor hardware even tho cheaper "knockoffs" are available. There were a couple of reasons. Is a torch setup the place to buy cheap? And from what I've see on craigslist, used Victor stuff resells very well. I also ordered,

• 10ft 3/16" T grade rubber hose with A-B fittings (torch has A, reg has B)
• Propane regulator
• Smith flashback arrestors

I went with the regular hoses of the lightweight ones most because I couldn't justify the price of the lightweight ones at this point (I bought the expensive torch instead). I figure if I start spending a ton of time on this I can justify the upgrade later. Also, I only installed the fuel flashback arrestor as the oxycon doesn't have enough O2 to pose much of a threat and I've read the arrestor can cut the output PSI down too far. Now I just need some rod and flux and I'm ready to try my hand at fillet brazing. It's been a good 10 years since I've used a torch, so it'll take some time to get my rhythm back.

Frame Jig

I've been working on a jig, and here is my progress so far. My thought is I can build the front triangle first, then move the jig around to hold the rear in place. It's built out of some 1" square 16 gauge tubing I had laying around from my car project. I know it's not going to be perfectly straight, but the cost was right for a first build.

Still to be down are the actual mount points for the head tube, top of the seat tube and the bottom bracket.

Frame #1: Tubing ordered

As usual, I don't always follow a good linear path from start to finish of a project. Today is a perfect example of that. I ordered the tubing for my first frame! Very exciting. I don't however have a jig built up, a torch, or even a work bench yet. So there are a few projects before actually getting under way.

I ordered the basic Nova road tube set from Nova Cycles. It is a thicker wall standard size set. Best of all, it was cheap. I think this will be a good place to start out. I also ordered a bunch of braze-ons, rear drop outs, etc. I should have everything needed to finish the frame if it turns out nicely after brazing. More info here when it shows up at my doorstep.

Out with the old, in with the new!

A few weeks ago I sold my locost project (blog). It was a ground up build of a Lotus 7 replica. The decision, fueled by budget constraints and mostly time constraints, opened up my garage and freed up a little time for a new endeavor.

I have been an avid cyclist for going on a decade and have decided to finally try my hand at building my own frame. I plan on documenting this journey here. Stay tuned for more updates... and let the build begin.

As for the title/description, it's a bit of joke/motto of the guys I ride with. Click here to read all of the rules.