Has Anybody....
 

Hey guys and girls. good to see that everyone is doing well. i have a question about home made bikes. Im a Machinist in real life and have had alot of experiance with welding metals such as high grade aluminum, my question is has anybody here ever made their frame? im seriously considering this... let me know

thanks

No.,
However myself and a friend of mine are taling about going into the frame end of the bike world. He is a pro welder.
I will tell you this your jig is the key. Tube selection is second, most importantly if you are to sell is the finish. Keep us posted.

thanks hunter, im pretty affluent in welding, but im under the impression that it will have to be tungsten welding and that is very hard to do,i wonder if the business is profitable enough to try it... well see in a couple of days. thanks!!!:fight:

bikeschool.com has a class on frame building, if your serious, it may be worth the time and money to go to this class. I would also try to locate a local frame builder, and see if you can be an apprentice for a few months, just a thought :)

One of the email groups i subscribe to (iBOB) has a handfull of frame builders, i'll pass along a link to this thread tonite, maybe we can get a few of them here to help you out.

I read some article about home made frames for bent that where made of parts of old road bikes.

The biggest issues are going to the frame jig, aligning the frame, and finishing it (facing and tapping the threads). The actual tube joining will not be too difficult for man of your skills.
For practice, you can always take apart, and rebuild old lugged bikes, but try not to dissasemble a nice collectable model.

Have a look at
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/rinard/framebuild.htm

MDspeed, where in SC are you?

thanks guys! i will consider all of your thoughts. im still undecided as to what material to use. i was told last night of 70-75 aircraft aluminum,stronger thsn steel and lighter than normal grade aluminum....hummmmmm....anyway. fubar im in columbia, land of no trails that are worth the time, sounds fun huh?

thanks guys and girls