Bike Forums

Bike Forums (https://www.bikeforums.net/forum.php)
-   Classic & Vintage (https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vintage/)
-   -   Drillium work? (https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vintage/1200728-drillium-work.html)

Velognome 05-11-20 06:53 AM


Originally Posted by Nemosengineer (Post 21465686)
I believe small parts are harder to do than the bigger stuff. It helps to have a machine shop at your disposal, the time this stuff takes to do it right is insane.
Drillium I did about 10 years ago.

https://i571.photobucket.com/albums/...101_200743.jpg

https://i571.photobucket.com/albums/...101_200818.jpg

: Mike

Nice....timing and cam gears are also prime targets.......nothing more enjoyable then opening the timing cover and finding holes...beautiful holes.

Last ride 76 05-11-20 12:44 PM

Drillium BITD, was mostly not hack work.
 
Originally Posted by natterberry View Post
I just don’t feel like ****ty work is “in the spirit.”
Wasn’t the purpose to lighten, not to look like sloppy garbage?


"Well yes but the two often did not go together, power tools can be a slippery slope."
- Merziac


I beg to differ... Speaking as an early weight-weenie, there were a few wankers who did sloppy looking work, but they were definitely in the minority- we're talking about carving up the most expensive, beautifully finished components on the planet, for the most part. I did not know many folks that had the nerve to show up at a starting line, with a bike festooned with mangled Campagnolo components. The pack would not have been kind to them.:roflmao2:Especially if the individual in question was not a regular top finisher.


Style also played a big part in drillium, even in the early seventies. Note article recently reprinted by BF member SpeedofLite
Component Drilling (Two Articles from Bike World 1973-74) Many of the early examples were done by pro mechanics for pros or by really skilled "amateurs" ... We saw fantastic stuff, (I remember the first Colnago Pantographica I ever saw, at Green Mountain Schwinn in Burlington, VT 1974. I was doing jewelry (silver) smithing in HS at the time, and intensified my efforts cutting shapes, etc. It became a small cottage industry (maybe bigger on the West Coast.) Below is my Ron Cooper, rebuilt in 1976, following a 1975 crash that required replacing the top, head, and down tubes. Lugs were purchased blank from Proteus Design and then returned for brazing. The brake cable guides may be the only ever made of Reynolds 531 steel, (cut and shaped from my old top tube). Restored/repainted 2016



Jon Williams was referenced earlier. Look at his work on Flicker. Ne Plus Ultra.

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...2f3a8d7938.jpg
Random paint infill of components. Modern replacement of: 1) Pedals-now SR ti 2)Wheelset -Weyless with Wolber Profil rims - Rovals in 2nd photo 3) Super Record headset 4,5) Regina Hollow Pin chain, Suntour Winner Alloy freewheel 6) Concor saddle Current weight, a good bit under 19 lbs.

Bitd, Racing weight - under 20 lbs. - lots of drillium, alum. nuts, bolts, Teledyne Ti Axle, Rear Arc-en-Ciel 36 spoke 3X HF tied & soldered/ Front Medaille D'Or 32 spoke radial LF. Racing tires (when I could) Clement Criterium Seta Extras.

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...4f47165277.jpg
Detail painting fail... Still not entirely resolved 4 years later but shows lugwork. I added brake cable guides, shift bosses and water bottle mounts after frame returned (unpainted) from Proteus . Now just white and green paint, ok, but nothing special. I could not match yellow saddle, bar tape, and brake cables. I gave up.

Velognome 05-11-20 01:56 PM

This is classic and what last Ride 76 is talking about : Rings, post, bars, levers, seatpost

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...805c68f009.jpg
But there was also plenty of fine work done at home:

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...82ae32f887.jpg

merziac 05-11-20 02:17 PM

Last ride 76

Agreed

It would have been largely self regulating now wouldn't it.

Mr. drillium wads it up on the drill or the first ride where he finds out he went too far, scraps the part and replaces it with a new one, many examples would never make it to the group ride, race or anywhere else.

Once it caught on there were plenty of skilled lads making beautiful parts but I would bet plenty of them spent quite a bit on the education. ;)

Last ride 76 05-11-20 04:14 PM


Originally Posted by merziac (Post 21465322)
Well yes but the two often did not go together, power tools can be a slippery slope.



Originally Posted by merziac (Post 21468925)
Last ride 76


Agreed


It would have been largely self regulating now wouldn't it.


Mr. drillium wads it up on the drill or the first ride where he finds out he went too far, scraps the part and replaces it with a new one, many examples would never make it to the group ride, race or anywhere else.

I resemble that remark. My particular fail in that regard was cutting just a mite too close to the edges on the front half of the FD clamp, and doing similarly to RH shift lever (which took too much abuse). Luckily there were always some spares in the bin. I did however have to do a race once in Saratoga riding my bike as a 5-speed, having broken the FD clamp re-tightening it before the start.

Once it caught on there were plenty of skilled lads making beautiful parts but I would bet plenty of them spent quite a bit on the education. ;)

I forgot the other source of practice materials, parts that were crash damaged or had been replaced due to severe road rash. Never messed with calipers. Some small hint of self-preservation, I guess.
Cheers, Eric

merziac 05-11-20 04:20 PM


Originally Posted by Last ride 76 (Post 21469201)
Cheers, Eric

I knew it, HA! ;)

Last ride 76 05-11-20 04:35 PM


Originally Posted by merziac (Post 21469220)
I knew it, HA! ;)

Too true, I also ha radial spoked wheels loosen up twice and flop around so badly I barely crossed the finish line, I did not know what I did not know...Still don't I guess.:innocent:

Nemosengineer 05-11-20 07:22 PM

64 Gram Dura-Ace 7800, I think this may be either an art form or a mental disorder.

https://bikerumor.com/2013/05/29/fou...ce-derailleur/

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...c7668ae756.jpg

: Mike

Velognome 05-17-20 09:21 PM

Found this classic example of vintage drill work on ebay.
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...e3b4960a51.jpg

Note that the pattern on the inner ring is slightly irregular.......gives the work some heart and soul!
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...e6c3f9a951.jpg

JohnDThompson 05-18-20 07:06 AM


Originally Posted by Velognome (Post 21481348)
Note that the pattern on the inner ring is slightly irregular.......gives the work some heart and soul!
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...e6c3f9a951.jpg

Even factory-drillium can be a little wobbly:

http://www.os2.dhs.org/~john/zeus-drillium.jpeg

styggno1 05-18-20 07:50 AM

I love it - and I have got all kinds. Professionally done, amature, idiotic, nice, bad, dangerous, etc. Still love it.

https://live.staticflickr.com/930/41...d6b3e298_b.jpg
https://live.staticflickr.com/859/42...fc8d8c0b_b.jpg
https://live.staticflickr.com/937/28...8e26036b_b.jpg
https://live.staticflickr.com/859/29...bd880a40_b.jpg
https://live.staticflickr.com/1781/4...4044731e_b.jpg
https://live.staticflickr.com/7865/4...bb5c4c49_b.jpg
https://live.staticflickr.com/7900/4...bc1d6ace_b.jpg
https://live.staticflickr.com/4803/4...24bc8e35_b.jpg
https://live.staticflickr.com/7814/4...66f04b56_b.jpg
https://live.staticflickr.com/1773/2...57543ce2_b.jpg

73StellaSX76 05-18-20 10:13 AM

As a reference shot, I removed these rings from a Campy NR crank on a used bike I bought in 1977. I swapped the rings partly because they are well worn and partly because I wanted to go back to Campy rings. I always assumed these were factory drilled by Sugino, I could be wrong. The small holes are chamfered on both sides. In any case a set such as these could be used as pilots for a DIY pattern for rings of the same size, using chain ring bolts to attach the pattern to the subject ring. The pattern could be varied by drilling different hole sizes in different locations if a center drill is first employed.
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...fa1d1b7454.jpg

repechage 05-18-20 03:22 PM


Originally Posted by Velognome (Post 21468881)
This is classic and what last Ride 76 is talking about : Rings, post, bars, levers, seatpost

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...805c68f009.jpg


Note on this bike that the brake calipers are cut off below the brake blocks.


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 01:58 AM.


Copyright © 2026 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.