Framebuilders - Couple Questions Before I Start Brazing....

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4Rings6Stars
01-18-11, 02:24 PM
Back story. I bought (from a forum member) some random old frame bits--tubings, fork crown/blades, lugs, bb shell, rear dropouts...various other parts. I planned to use this stuff for my first frame and he sold it to me pretty cheap but after cleaning and soaking in oxalic acid yesterday I discovered something interesting:
The BB shell and fork crown are both Cinelli. (I knew about the BB shell)
At least one of the tubes is butted Reynolds 531 (he thought they were all higher end, butted Tange). I can't find markings on the other tubes though.
Also the rear dropouts are Campagnolo, which I also knew already.
Not sure what the lugs are but I don't think they are anything special.

Question 1: Is any of this stuff rare/expensive enough that I should save it for a later frame when I'm more experienced or is it fine to use it for my first build?

Question 2: Anybody know of a source (or have for sale or trade) for Campagnolo fork dropouts with a single (or double) eyelet?

I'll update later with pictures of the BB shell and lugs and such if that will help determine anything.


unterhausen
01-18-11, 04:16 PM
last question first: the Campagnolo eyeleted dropouts are much more widely desired than the eyelet-less dropouts. You can get them, but they aren't particularly cheap. My thought is that this is because all of the Campagnolo groups came with the eyelet-less dropouts and so there are huge numbers of them in people's junk drawers. They never made a dual eyelet version.

I don't see any reason not to use the stuff you have to practice with.

Live Wire
01-18-11, 06:47 PM
Yup, that would be good practice stuff. I'd just double check the bb and make sure it doesn't have Italian threading.
Nova is a great place for supplies. Here are some nice (and cheap!) forged dropouts that have a bit more tab width than the Campys
http://www.cycle-frames.com/bicycle-frame-tubing/DROPOUTS-FRONT-WITH-EYES.html


4Rings6Stars
01-18-11, 11:26 PM
The Nova dropouts look great. I also need a few other small bits so I want to put in an order but the cheapest shipping is $16!! And that is for front dropouts and a couple cable stops....looks like I need to wait and put in a larger order. I'm too cheap to pay over 2X my order total for shipping. Anybody know of any other good sources for small bits like this?

unterhausen
01-19-11, 09:11 AM
Henry James will put your order in an envelope and send it through the USPS if it's small enough. I'm not sure if they have what you want though.
Nova seems to always send UPS, which puts a floor under their shipping prices. My last order was short some small parts, and when they sent them they used UPS