I am curious about attaching the stays. All of the videos I have seen have the straight slots cut into the stays. But then I never see how the builder bends the stays. If they go in straight, that would require to bend the stays. On the other hand, if you angle your slot cut, the stays can remain straight. Is one method prefered over the other? And then why is that?
in the frames I've built, i brazed the dropouts into straight slots cut into the stays. then after they have cooled, I cold-bent them in a vise to the correct angle. it's an easy tweak and doesn't affect the joint.