TimJ

I'm curious what people might think about the two methods of making steel frames in regards to how they fit into a small frame-making business. What I'm getting at is I often day dream (especially when it's a slow day at work like today) that building custom frames might be a cool biz to try to take a crack at, and I've been thinking about attending UBI or something maybe next year. Worst case scenario is I end up with a custom frame I made myself, best cse is maybe I figure out a new way to make money. Anyway thinking about this makes me wonder if one method is more pragmatic than the other in terms of making frames as a small biz.

I guess TIG welding is much more flexible in that you're not limited by the sorts of lugs that are available, but are the costs of TIG overall more? Are the start up costs way more? Which is more time consuming? Which is more forgivable a method?

I suppose my main question revolves around the concerns of a small, niche builder. Just in terms of economy, would a small builder be better served by doing one type of building or the other?

I know there's much more to the business and the art and what people want or what bikes to build than this, I'm just curious about this particular aspect. I have no idea if there's anything to it and I'd like to have some.