Originally Posted by
DangerousDanR
One small note: welding metal distorts the metal. Not my area of expertise, but I know it needs to be dealt with and dealing with it adds cost. Pole gets around this for some of their frames by milling them from a billet, but that is not a low cost item. As others have pointed out, the issue is the price point set for the frames.
Actually Pole mills their frames not because they're trying to get around welding distortion but because the aluminum alloy used (7075) cannot be welded. Thus a welded frame from 7075 isn't feasible. At least right now.