Originally Posted by
Andrew R Stewart
The millions of bronze brazed AND LUGGED frames might disagree with the suggestion that bronze can't be used with best results in a socket. It's all about the prep and the skill of the brazer. Actually the concerns about silver filler loosing it's strength with gaps beyond .005" is a greater one. With bent angles but no added interior build up then reaming/grinding back to the new angle and spec diameter THERE WILL BE GAPS.
As to a filleted joint not being solid just talk to the thousands of tandem riders who ride them. Or the early mountain bikes made by Ritchey and others, or the motorcycle frames, or...
Now the skill of the builder comes into play with any type of joint. It's just that to alter lug angles and do a good job with silver means that the skill lever goes up significantly. Andy.
I guess my basic question on that regard was that I was planning on going the route of a lugged frame because I read that there is a lower likelihood of failure because of the larger surface area for the filler to adhere to. This is going to be a first bike build for me so I want to make sure that I set myself up for success. I just know that silver flows into smaller gaps better. Now, this leads into a totally separate question that brings me back to the beginning as to whether I should be looking at building a frame with fillet joints rather than lugs - there would be a much lower cost involved. I was actually unaware that people use bronze for lugs which makes me happy because of the much lower cost of filler material. I am aware that my tubes would have to be cut much better. My skills brazing are pretty decent; I have done a fair amount of furniture work and no one has broken anything I have built while using it.
The bike itself would be built more geared toward the sprint events - match, keirin, etc. My background is as a track and field sprinter and olympic weightlifter so anything over 5 minutes and I'm dropping. But for geometry, I'm aiming for neutral because of my relative inexperience on the track.