Originally Posted by
unterhausen
Hirose does everything the hard way. Go watch him make a crank, for example. I have wasted way too many hours watching his video. I don't think it's a commentary on any other method, it's just the way he does things. I'm thinking I have seen him fillet stems, for example, and that's probably the most critical joint on the bike.
I want to make some lugs the way the pressed lugs were made, just bent with a hammer and punch around a form. And then welded along the center line. No good reason, it's just something I keep thinking about doing.
You could get a pretty neat effect if you created the lug with a ball peen.
So Hirose probably just likes the idea of the lug being all steel, or he's concerned about temps because he is using bronze on the tubes.
Torch welding is the first thing I learned - neat to see it being used on a bicycle. I do some blacksmithing, and I've seen examples that lead me to believe a gifted smith could forge weld a complete lug with the right mandrels.