Dropout/fork questions
 

I'm gathering gear to build my first fillet brazed frame. I see several dropout styles.. breeze, socket, plug-in, tabs. What dropouts are intended to be fillet brazed? Are any a no go for fillet brazing?

Same question for forks. It looks like most the crowns are sockets. Can these be brazed with bronze or do they need to be silver brazed? I'm considering just buying a carbon fork. Any recommended sources? Are there any headset considerations that need to be addressed while in the planning stage?

Thanks!

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...e1dcbff3f6.jpg
As I have moved to more fillet work and less lugged frames I too think about the aesthetics of mixing a socketed crown (shell, drop out) with the smooth surfaces of a fillet. One trick I use is to round off the socket points, fill in any non round cut outs and add round holes to the socket surfaces. See above.

Tabbed drop outs allow you to use many different stay/blade ending treatments. I tend to shy away from socket or plug drop outs as I like the freedom to fashion as I please.

There are a few plug type crowns out there. Most are rather heavy, being often solid VS hollow. Not many are for wider rims/tires.

Check out my Flicker albums for various other images. https://www.flickr.com/photos/73195587@N00/albums Andy

I wouldn't worry about the crown or the dropouts. An internal crown is not newbie friendly. I find using brass (lfb) for things like lugs and socketed crowns to be somewhat unsatisfying. Just not used to it, I suppose. It takes a lot of heat to flow LFB into a sleeved joint of any kind.

I like tabbed dropouts, but it is a tiny bit easier to mess them up. For example, it's a lot easier to clock the seat stays properly with socketed dropouts.

You can get an ounce of silver and a pound of silver flux for less than $40. I think it's a good idea. 45% silver probably makes the most sense if you aren't doing lugs.

For a fillet brazed frame an internal socket fork crown would look good (my opinion). And tab style dropouts. Fillet brazing is less newbie tolerant than using lugs so be sure to practice some before putting heat to your real frame tubes.

As for carbon forks, Henry James sells Columbus forks for fair prices.

Nova and framebuilder supply also have Columbus forks.

For a newbie/ first frameset, a carbon fork is a good idea (IMO). Especially if you're asking questions about dropouts and how to attach them. Steel forks are also heavy so, this is a good place to save weight if that's a concern.

I agree about buying a fork. OTOH, I would like to urge the OP to buy some tubing and practice with it before they start building frames. Assuming they haven't done that already.

I picked up a new Synapse carbon fork that was labelled as a straight 1 1/8 steerer. Now that I have it, it looks like a 1 1/8 to 1 1/4 tapered steerer. Anyone know of a headset that will work with a standard 34mm ID headtube?

The 1 1/4" crown race seat is 33mm, so I doubt you will find a cup that fits in a 34mm head tube without interfering with the steerer.

A simple measurement will remove the question of what the steerer really is. Have you contacted the seller? Was the fork purchased with a "no refund" clause? (As in on sale or scratch and dent sale). Andy

Theres a definite step towards the bottom. I just Googled Synspse forks and they popped up 1 1/8 to 1 1/4. It's an Ebay purchase but was quoted 1 1/8 so I can probably argue it but might be out shipping. The price was decent and it's brand new so I'd like to make it work if there's a solution.