Beware - this is potentially a dumb noob question

With all the fancy adhesives, epoxies, etc, out there, is there any reason you couldn't use something like JB weld for a lugged steel frame?

Tradition, inability to fill spaces quite as well, less elegant, ?possibly harder to work with? Those are the things that immediately come to mind, but I am not a framebuilder, merely an interested enthusiast, so I am sure someone more experienced can give better reasons.

BTW, I see you are located in Cincinnati, I happen to be as well, in College Hill to be exact. You're one of the few fellow Cincinnatians I have seen on these forums.

Cheers
lverhagen

wouldn't be done for steel because the traditional processes are cheaper and far superior. The main issue is that there is not enough surface area in the available lugs, so lugs would have to be fabricated. Fabricating lugs is exactly the same as fabricating the whole frame, thus requiring all the equipment.

Actually, this question comes up every couple of months. My impression is that it is often asked by people that are never going to build a frame, but it if you are, I suggest bamboo. You get the framebuilding experience without the capital expense.