Originally Posted by sivat
If you make your own track ends, the will still be cut out of a piece of steel, just like the stamped drop outs you have now. For the money you would put into it, you would end up with a heavy, old frame that cost you more than a brand new IRO or surly frame.
Cost will be NIL for this. I won't do anything that can't be done without parts from a scrap steel bin or my collection of derelict bikes in my garage. The only *new* thing I plan on buying for this thing is *maybe* a brake cable, and a wheelset that I will use on any frame anyway. The biggest expense besides the wheelset will be the torch. See my thread in the framebuilders section.