Pretty good day in the shop...

Hey folks,

Had a pretty good day in the shop-a-roonie today, got to work on a bunch of paint...let's check out the beginning steps, shall we?

After fabrication is complete on a frame, I take the piece into good light and meticulously go over all the junctions to insure everything is closed (occasionally I leave a portion of a weld open until the area cools to prevent gas back pressure due to the heat of welding), then the frame gets wiped down with degreaser inside and out, air blown off, and then the vent holes taped to keep the blasting media out of the interior.

On the belt drive frame, I also needed to mask off the SS coupler lugs to protect the stainless steel finish...


Once everything is all inspected, wiped and taped, it's off to the blast cabinet to give the substructure a fine mechanical tooth that aids in good primer adhesion.

Here we are back from the blast cabinet, you can see how the frame is now a dull grey color, even all over. When the blaster turns off, the gloves go on, and the frame will not be touched by bare skin again, insuring that all oils are kept to my self :)

And a close up shot for you...

As I was revving up to be spraying, I tackled a few other projects that have been hanging around...

Here's a lugged frame by big Joe Bringheli that will be getting a lush metallic grandeur blue...

The bottom bracket shot...all blasted now and ready for action.

After blasting, I blow off the entire frame with filtered air and then wipe it clean with a paint prep degreaser and a lint free cloth. Then it's time to mix up the primer...the armour of liquid paint finishes. I use Ditzler products (PPG) and have grown to love the DP40LF for my primer duties. Below are the ingredients for a tough primer coat.

Then it's time to shoot!

The third frame I began working on is Chris's SS road rear end...a misguided packing arrangement in his travel case had left a LARGE scar on the seat tube, so it's getting repainted to bring back that new bike glow.

Primer in progress...Joe's road fork. I thinned the primer down a bunch to maintain the shore lines on the lugged frame and fork, so that traditional sharp lug line is present.

The belt drive frame getting coated...my paint fixture allows me to rotate the frame 360 degrees to insure the best angle for coverage as well as to vary the position to chase drips in the final clear.

Once the primer is on, the parts go into the bake box to flash off the solvents.

After baking, everything is sanded with 600 grit paper and the process repeated two more times.

As a parting shot, I just love the lines of this frame...the bold bi-oval downtube, the custom bent stays elegantly thinning into the vertical dropouts, this bike is going to be killer. Just wait til you see the paint scheme coming for this one, gonna be unveiled for the handbuilt show!

I also worked on Eric's masking and paint...pics tomorrow!

Check y'all later,

rody

Wacky couple of days

I left y'all stranded for a bit, but not without good reason.


I spent most of the day Friday in the hospital emergency room, getting all checked out for a sudden onset of right lateral chest pain; wired up, x-rayed, and poked/prodded.


This story actually started back in 95 when I was spraying up a frame in a lush metallic purple. It was early in my building career and I was still young, stupid, and eager to find my place in the world of frame fabrication. I was sharing shop space, had constructed a make shift paint booth, and had a frame to finish up and get out by the weekend. I had left my respirator at home...no worries, I thought, I'll just make sure the fan is running on high, have good cross through ventilation and move fast. I was laying down Dupont Imron, a now notoriously nasty chemical paint system, and had a final color layer and the clears to go. I shot the frame without respiratory protection, cleaned up, and went about my business feeling great. What I did not know was the exposure I had succumbed to and the eventual problems I would face.


Later that day and into the next, I began having chest discomfort, numbness in my hands, and an aching in my jaw and teeth that would not stop. I finally allowed my co-workers at the fire department to convince me to go to the Emergency Room, where it turned out I was experiencing a heart attack at the tender age of 25. Turns out that acute exposure to Imron has the side effect of coronary vasospasm, a physiologic condition that prevents the natural flow of blood to the heart, therefore depriving the myocardium of oxygen. Three hospitals, lots of medical tests, and emotional ups and downs later I was discharged.


A week later, while hiking with my climbing pack for some "cardiac rehabilitation", I began to experience a very rapid heart rate, so fast that I could not count it. Subsequent weeks of testing revealed I had developed a lethal ventricular tachycardia and was told that I was finished in both the Fire Department and as a builder, as the requisite internal cardiac defibrillator was not compatible with either the physical aspect of firefighting or the electrical fields created by welding and machining.


Ever the stubborn patient, I pushed for a widening of the accepted parameters of a patient with my cardiac condition, and have successfully continued my life with a smile, albeit with some restrictions.


I tell you all this to get back to the present with some familiarity of context. Friday's pain is the first complication I've had in nearly 12 years, and although nothing definitive was found, it was enough to make me take a brief break. So, I did not get as much accomplished this week as I'd hoped, but did get back in the shop for a half day both Saturday and today. Here's what got done...


Eric's frame/fork/stem is all sprayed up with a vanilla cream powder and I'm getting ready to begin masking for the subsequent layers of wet paint tomorrow.



I also got to looking at the custom rack and just was not feeling the design, so I began making a new one today...I figure Eric's been so patient waiting for the matching Hot Rods I might as well take advantage of the time and insure that the whole package is super duper spot on and that I'm totally happy with it. Got the basic rack fabbed up, the eyelet inserts machined, and will work on the final riser pieces in the next few days.


Here's a shot of the eyelet inserts that will be brazed into the rack tubing...



Christi and I worked on a few items to ship out...an order of bars for Eric at the Slippery Pig, Phoenix's hippest mountain bike shop, some tees from the BF sale, and some random bearings and collars for the Fat Community.


Gonna lace up some wheels tonight and am looking forward to hitting the paint booth tomorrow.


Final thought...embrace the day and give your family and friends a hug and let them know how much you appreciate them, cause life can change in a flash.


cheers,

rody

Black and Silver are so last year...

Hey guys and gals,

I was spending some time tonight trying to sort through some of my files, cleaning up the hard drive, and decided to throw together a little video for y'all...

Fun Paint in 2008!


While not all bikes I've built or worked on this year go over the top in the paint department, there have been some fun finishes that have caught my eye, so here they are in a not so comprehensive but still cute and interesting little video clip of joy ;)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zg7VvDN5-us

The vid is too big for the blogger software, so the link will have to suffice...make sure to click on "watch in high quality" on the lower right portion of the window.

cheers,

rody

A little insight...finishing Ti

A lot of folks ask how to give their Ti frame the same luster it came with when I shipped it out...dirt, grime and general abuse tend to give it that lonely step child look.

So, I thought I'd show you a few snippets of how it gets it's finish to begin with.

All the pieces are diligently rubbed, washed, and chemically prepped/cleaned with Acetone before assembly.

Once all melted together, the item gets a rough sanding with 180 grit shop roll, consistently moving back and forth perpendicular to the length of the tube.

As any scratches in Ti will show up like a unibrow on a supermodel, I move on to 400, 600, and finally 1000 grit paper to insure all is even and smooth.

Even with the most anal cleanliness procedures, there is still a vague discoloration in the HAZ (heat affected zone) around the edges of the weld zone...kinda light straw or tan in color. This is caused by some of the surface contaminants being pushed out and away by the shielding gas, ending up on the edge of the gas coverage. To get rid of this slight discoloration and to give an even appearance to the product, it's off to the blast cabinet.

I use a 40/20 glass bead just for Ti, as it is a nice consistency to give an even surface and gently shiny appearance.

Once the bar enters the cabinet, the latex gloves go on and bare skin no longer touches the Ti...

then it's off to polish up the final finish. I use a Red Scotchbrite pad, once again moving perpendicular to the length of the tube to bring out the final shine. Want greater shine? Next use a green and then the ultra fine white pads...

After rubbing it down with the Scotchbrite pad, the Ti gets a coat of wax/polish to keep the oils and fingerprints off and Whalaa!

A single bar takes about 30 minutes to finish, a frame takes MUCH longer :)

I'll be in the paint booth the rest of the day...see y'all tomorrow!

cheers,

rody

Goyo's frame all stuck together...

Hey folks,

Now that all the bars are out of the way, it's back to the task at hand...finishing up Goyo's 650b bike. As the last chapter closed, I had mitered up all the tubes but a last minute decision to use internal cable routing set us back until I could get some more brass stock to run the lines.

With materials in hand, we're back on track ;)

One of the steps I needed to complete before taking the tubes back out of the fixture is to mark all the intersections to drill the vent holes. This allows for air exchange within the tubing as well as access for application of frame saver to provide the best protection long term.

So, here's a shot with the black sharpee all scribbled out...


Once marked, it's off to the mill and the center drill to create the access holes.


Drilling the head tube...


After the holes are drilled on the mill, each is deburred with a sharp rotating knife, to relieve any chips and keep the fabrication clean and tidy.


While I had the mill fired up, I drilled the pilot holes for the internal cable routing. Goyo will use this bike as his primary race bike next year and will run single speed the majority of the time, but would like the ability to run gears if he desires. To keep the frame as clean as possible, I'll be using internal full cable routing so that it is hidden with minimum stuff hanging off the frame. Here I've bent up some brass tubing to create the internal run...


Laying it out on the tube...the cables will enter the side opposite of the head tube and then exit the function side of the down tube, thus reducing cable bending and frame wear due to cable rub.
Just a neat option you have going custom :)


Filing open the entry points for the tubing...


In place and ready for some silver.

and skipping ahead, all brazed, ground, filed and ready for action.

All the pieces parts cleaned again and ready to be assembled...

Tight miters are so important for high quality welds that are diminutive in size so that they disappear under the paint. Here are a few shots showing the tack welds on the head tube and bottom bracket...

Tight baby!

Finally, got the frame all welded up.

I've still have the dropouts to finish and the braze ons to stick in place, but this guy will be ready to head to the paint booth this week. Should be on it's way before Christmas.

Watch out Philippines...there's going to be a spanky fast bike in town for the new year!

cheers,

rody

Shipping day...

One of the aspects of the one guy operation that hits you like a ton of bricks when attempting to schedule and keep a time line is just how much time it takes do accomplish the mundane tasks of running a business.

Case in point, shipping today. Getting out all the remaining bars and a few odds and ends. I spent 7 hours wrapping, packaging, and addressing all the items and have still not gone to the post. Items are going to 5 different countries and most require the customs "long form"...yuck! Fortunately, Christi is going to do the waiting in line for me, thanks dear ;)

I'll be glad to get it all out and hopefully they find loving homes and generate lots of smiles :)

Packages going to...

Steven
Mark
Christoph
2Soulscycles
Carsten
Max
Kadir
Gary
Vince
Chuck
Michael M.
Mike W.
Hagen
James
Noah

as well as a few decal sets and shirts.

Black Friday stuff will go out Tuesday for y'all.

cheers,

rody