Trev, the answer to your question is easy – come to one of mine . The goal of many of my students is to learn enough to make building at least a future hobby and if things go good start some kind of career. However when I started teaching frame building classes many years ago most just wanted to make a frame for themselves instead of buying one. For some that is still all they want to do. I get quite a few international students. They fly into Chicago and can take a bus or train the 100 miles to my town of Niles. I am fortunate that students can stay in the house next door and food options are within an easy walking distance.

There has been an explosion of frame building classes lately. Many students take more than one because they didn’t learn enough the 1st time around to get a sufficient knowledge base to meet their ambitions. I suppose about a quarter of my students have taken another class somewhere else first. There is a lot to learn. This gives me a pretty good idea of what others are doing. They vary a lot in quality and the educational qualifications of the teacher. Shop carefully. Experience and knowing how to teach matter. A student shouldn’t be part of a school’s learning curve. I do mostly 3 week long classes because I know how much time it typically takes for a student to make a nice frame from scratch. But I have 2 week classes too for those that can’t do a longer one. I think one of the best ways to judge a class is by looking at close ups of student made frames – especially before they are painted. Your question of which frame building class to attend has been asked and answered on many forums (including this one). I’ve not been shy about responding and a google search will find them. One out of that group you can check out with pictures is on the Paceline forum.

Just so you know, I specialize in teaching traditional lugged techniques and fillet brazing. Lug cutting is a specialty. Email me for specific class information. I haven’t gone out of my way to put up a website. That is a kind of filter that weeds out the casual tire kickers and gets me the most dedicated seekers doing the most research. One of the best things that ever happened to me was that I was able to learn from a master that greatly shortened my learning curve and got me started out right.