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My Custom-made Frame


David

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After many many many hours of work I finally have something that resembles a frame! It it NOWHERE near perfect at all but I am pleased with what I have managed to do. Its full T45 tubing, 395 chainstays, 1040 wheelbase, +10mm bb rise. I was originally going to braze it but didnt have the facilities but managed to borrow a MIG welder from someone. I have never welded before so the welds are nasty to say the least! Seems to be pretty strong. I started to build it up but I have realised a fundemental flaw as my cranks are interfering with the chainstays :( Im using a 127.5mm bb axle aswell so I cant see an easy solution to this :( Ah well its been a MASSIVE learning curve. I have learnt so many new skills and techniques. If you are considering making one you have to be prepared to put A LOT of time into it and you will get very frustrated throughout building it. A big thanks to TODGE and IOLO for answering many questions. Obviously it is not painted yet and missing cable guides (Also need to file the welds down)

A few pics (Not very good) :

Thanks for looking,

Dave

post-447-1177943706_thumb.jpg

post-447-1177943727_thumb.jpg

Edited by David
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looks nice IMHO (similar design to what I would do if I could, especially with respect to the seatstays location on the top tube), yes your welds are a bit rough (almost as bad as some of my stuff :)) but a bit of careful work with a grinder and you could tidy those up. A good choice of paint finish could also hide the rougher parts (IMHO matt black and some brighter graphics to draw the eye away from the welds).

do the cranks hit the chainstays at both sides? could you grind away a section of chainstay and plate it?

Edited by Bill_B
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yeah for a first frame thats fricking MINT! I really like it! :D Even if it doesn't look as "tidy" as normal, that fact that youre a "normal" person and not a company makes it so much nicer to look at for some weird reason

nice one

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fair shouts!! nie one, looks pretty nice, smooth out the welds give a good few licks of paint and it'll be all good fun (Y)

just out of curiosity where did you get the tubing as im looking to build my own frame but want to use decent tubing. did you make your own jig? just a quick side note i can tig weld but not fillet braze too well, what are the downsides of tig welding a steel frame?

one again congrats on a great first effort

craig

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The crank thing is quite common, if the old steel Megamos had been built with straight chainstays, they'd have the same problem. Megamo put a kink in the tube to clear the cranks, perhaps make a pair of dies up to put an s-bend in the tube?

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I have thought about cutting a slot and plating the chainstay but I think I might cut the welds at the CS/BB area and move them inwards are there on the outer edge of the BB shell at the moment. I dont think tyre clearance will be a problem as I have massive clearance atm.

post-447-1177999547_thumb.jpg

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Perhaps make a pair of dies up to put an s-bend in the tube?

I second that.

If you've got a steel workbench or a large plate you could weld a couple of short bits of round bar either side of the frame and bend in the S under some heat.

Just so long as there's still enough tire clearance.

Smashing job though, I really like the shape you've gone for.

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Ill put more info/pics up when I get time. I think im going to paint it a grey colour...I'd prefer to keep it a darker colour, think it will look loads better once painted. Just got to get hold of some paint now.

Have you considered getting it powder coated instead of paint, I found a local place that would do a frame for £30, if you want a simple colour you will get a very good hardwearing finish, and its not that expensive compared to primer and paint.

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QUOTE(Bill_B @ May 1 2007, 09:49 AM)
Have you considered getting it powder coated instead of paint, I found a local place that would do a frame for £30, if you want a simple colour you will get a very good hardwearing finish, and its not that expensive compared to primer and paint.

Yeah originally I was going to get it poweder coater but as its for my project I dont have time. I have however decided not to paint it atm and wait until its been marked and then powder coat it =)

Thanks for all the comments!

Dave

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fair shouts!! nie one, looks pretty nice, smooth out the welds give a good few licks of paint and it'll be all good fun (Y)

just out of curiosity where did you get the tubing as im looking to build my own frame but want to use decent tubing. did you make your own jig? just a quick side note i can tig weld but not fillet braze too well, what are the downsides of tig welding a steel frame?

one again congrats on a great first effort

craig

Q – Why do you use Fillet Brazing instead of TIG welding?

A – TIG welding creates a much stiffer joint, this means the joint cannot take as much stress as a more flexible fillet brazed joint. Also the larger curve provided by fillet brazing allows stresses to be transferred much better. Also though fillet brazing is used, the frames are still incredibly stiff.

(Y)

Edited by Dont you Just Hate it When...
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good effort, really impressed!

how did you find the building part? do you have a frame jig and stuff?

i want to do the same for my project next year, in the very early stages of designing at the moment...got any tips/advice? what brazing equipment did you use?

dont want to steal your topic because i've already got my own but heres a pic of my cad model if yo're interested? any acvice on improving the design etc?

pbpic1290268.jpg

cheers

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good effort, really impressed!

how did you find the building part? do you have a frame jig and stuff?

i want to do the same for my project next year, in the very early stages of designing at the moment...got any tips/advice? what brazing equipment did you use?

dont want to steal your topic because i've already got my own but heres a pic of my cad model if yo're interested? any acvice on improving the design etc?

cheers

Will you not have the same trouble with crank arm clearance on the Chainstays?

Might be something to look into.

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