Help...I can't say no :)

Ok, so here's the story.

I get a phone call Sunday asking if I can build a bike for a special cause...

"sure I say, no worries. When do you need it by?"

Thursday is the reply... ever get that nervous unsettled feeling in your stomach where it just feels like it is balling its self up in a million knots? Yeah, me too, that's how I felt.

I gotta admit, I've been a bit overwhelmed lately and have been working my tushy off trying to keep pace. I really do not have time for project that will include a custom frame, custom fork, building wheels, and then assembling the bike in a matter of days, especially with all my other "scheduled" work to do.

But, it is an excellent cause (do I sound convincing? I must have, because I said... yes).

So, I carved out a day and a half to do the whole shebang. Got started Tuesday evening and have worked straight through. It's now 445 am Thursday as I type this and the frame is in the bake box curing the first coat of clear...it's gonna be close!

I snapped some pics along the way for your enjoyment...

Setting up the fixture:


Rough marking the cut tubes for the miters...you'd be surprised how close you can eyeball:

Selecting the right arbor and hole saw:

Making the Down Tube/Head tube cut:

Flashing forward...the front triangle all mitered up:

Tacking in the seat tube to the bb...the down tube is mitered to sit over this area:

the front triangle all tacked up:

Finished welding it in the fixture, some close up pics. I went pretty fast on this job, for well detailed reasons ;)

The bottom bracket junction...you can see now where the DT covers the ST tack...

Attaching the KGB dropouts to the chain stays...I normally braze these on for a smooth finish, but these will be tig'd on for speed's sake:

The rear end mitered and in place:

Bending up some custom seat stays into a curvy shape:

Making the seat stay/seat tube miter on the Anvil fixture:

Everything is all mitered up, so I now braze up the fiddly-bits on the front triangle...here's my fancy dancy soak tank :)

The seat tube slot cut, braze on's in place, and I welded up the rear triangle:

Off to the paint booth after blasting, the frame fork are primered and sanded:

The first coat of color, a nice pearl sunset orange, masking applied:

In addition to the panels, I wanted to use the orange to accent the frame a bit, so there is some extra little touches going on...I just could not leave well enough alone:

The main color is down...British racing green pearl:

Removing the masking once the green has flashed off:

A close up of the base colors...the little hole you see if for the headbadge. I prep it before paint so there is no chance of a "slip" later when installing it. I'd hate to put so much time into a finish to have a tool chip or gouge it.

A booty shot...
First coat of clear on:

I'm done with the heat cycle, so I'm going to let the frame and fork cool off while I run home to catch a few hours sleep before I need to be back here by 0730 to get the decals and next coat moving forward.

Anyone got time to build a few wheels for me? I won't need them for at least 6 hours :)

cheers,

rody