There has been a lot of new frame building classes offered in the last few years. Some of them are okay and others not so much. It is pretty common that someone takes more than one class and I often get those that want another go around. So I have a pretty good idea of what others are doing. Just like in music or sports, not everyone has the inherited ability to braze and file well even with proper instruction. And neither is everyone a good teacher even though they may know how to make a decent frame. Shop carefully! My advice is don’t be geographically limited. If you want to be good, find the best place to learn and make that your goal. Think of the teachers you have now and you know some are much better than others. Some can inspire, some know how to adjust their methods to your particular personality and some have a lot more experience in building and teaching so you can “get it” easier. There is a pretty wide range and it is a bit rude to point out those that aren’t the best.
Back in the 70’s when I wanted to learn how to build bicycles, we had to go to Europe to learn (unless we took Albert Eisentraut’s class). One of the things I’ve been most thankful for was that I throughly shopped around when I had time off during the summers because I was a teacher. I systematically visited about every frame builder I could in England. Looking back I can see what an advantage it was to get a great start. Eventually of course with enough trail and error smart people can figure it out themselves. But there is a competitive advantage to beginning right because learning mistakes can damage a reputation.
If I was searching again I would start by looking at a teacher’s experiences in both building and teaching. I would want to see a lot of both. Some class’s purpose is simply participation with the instructor dong the hard parts so the participants can have stress free fun. Others teach the skills so they have a solid foundation to make more. So which is best depends on future plans. And if the goal is to make more I would want to know what kind of class materials were given out to help me remember what i’m likely to forget when I try again. I’ve seen some skimpy ones. I would want a low student to teacher ratio and find out who the assistants might be. Class length varies as does how many days a week and hours in a day they are held. It is obvious that the more time spent in class (and shop time available after class hours) the more one can learn. Some classes specialize in tig and others brazing. Looking at students class frames (even in pictures) can be instructive. I would expect to see clean shorelines (no blobs peeking out beyond a lug) and decently filed joints. And if any painting was a possibility. YMMV.
When calculating the cost of taking a class, add up all the costs to get a fair value comparison. Tuition, materials (sometimes included in tuition), transportation and how much it costs to stay. Those secondary costs can vary widely. But no matter what the cost or location I would want to go to the best (although high cost does not necessarily mean the best).
Doug Fattic
Niles, Michigan
Last edited by Doug Fattic; 09-07-15 at 09:45 PM.