and a video that shows the entire process for ya...
The next step was to begin layering on primer. As I am transitioning into the stays, I keep my gun near the drop out end and feather up the stays like a fade, allowing the paint to gently find it's way. By using this method, I avoid the probability of too heavy a layer or runs. Multiple layers go down with a flash time in between each to keep it smooth.
I built the primer up so that once I bake it, it can be sanded down so it will seamlessly take the color. Note that I did not take the primer all the way up to the mask. The color will extend beyond the primer, then the clear beyond the color up to the masked portion. This loose masking will allow a bit of clear up the stays underneath the paper so that it tapers out. It will then be sanded down and buffed smooth with some finishing compound so that the clear transition is invisible.
Finished pics tomorrow!
Right now, Carbon Drive is planning on a 19, 20, and 22 rear cogs for the system. They are toeing the line between functionallity for both road and mountain, but mated with the more common 46 chainwheel, there should be some great range for the dirt. I'm so giddy!
As always, the contest will be limited to only registered followers/readers, so if you want an opportunity, you have a few days to get on board.
cheers,
rody
After about 4 hours, 1400.00 bucks worth of Ti is parted, faced, deburred, and sorted for the next step. Here we have center sections and grips for 26, 28, and a few 27 inch bars.
After receiving over an inch of rain yesterday, the sun was shining high and begging us to come out and play. I finally decided at 1900 hours to close up the shop door, go home and get the dogs, and run out for a quick ride before the sun dropped behind the hills for the night. 
I would not suggest taking a pic like this yourself...at 45mph on a twisty road is NOT the time to try and look into the view screen to see if the dog is in the picture :) Let's just say that either I need to pay better attention or the road needs to be a LOT wider! 
Mark glazed it in a metallic silver/bronze color that really shines in the industrial floru lights :)
With the new wheel size, the final geometry was measured out; 70.5 Head angle, 71.5 Seat tube, and 12.125 bottom bracket height. I built the stays extra wide on this frame, so the larger rubber slid in nicely with a good .5" on either side of the Pacenti Quasis.
After riding it around the downtown for about 10 minutes, I decided the frame will not be going back to the tiny wheels, so the canti bosses will be coming off the seat stays.
Gonna be a fun ride that "hopefully" will take Kalten through high school at least...fingers crossed.
The game plan for this repair is to remove the poor silver patch, clean up the tube, fabricate an internal sleeve to improve the tubes ability to sustain the stresses of riding, and then to limit and clean up the cracked area. 
Using a machinists square and a file, I then worked around the tube insuring all aspects were as flat as possible.
I then cleaned up the inside of the tubing with a bit of a barrel sander, lightly applying pressure so as to keep the ID constant.
I then got to work on the new sleeve insert, cutting the selected tubing in the cold saw. As this repair will rely on an internal sleeve, I has to choose a piece of tubing that would allow me to keep the OD the same as the original seat tube, have a great enough wall thickness to turn down the wall for the insertion portion so that it still adds strength to the section, and have an ID that will accept a current seat post size...quite a few variables to consider.
Once cut to rough length, the sleeve is squared and deburred in the lathe, then I began to turn down the OD to fit the ID of the seat tube...
Here you can see a quick dry fit to insure I have the tolerances correct before pressing into place...
The piece is then taken out, everything chemically cleaned then pressed into place...
A thorough cleaning to get rid of the balance of the mill scale, a wipe with acetone again, and it's time to weld the two pieces together. 
I then drilled and slotted the front aspect of the extension for the compression duties. I am a firm believer in slotting the front of the tube. Why you ask? Well, it never made any sense to me to place the weakest point of the tube, the slot, at the rear of the tube where a majority of the stress from the seat post leverage was concentrated. By moving it around to the front, it allows a uniform dispersal of stress in the rear of the tube.
Something to watch out for if attempting this type of repair, you must have good heat control with your tig torch so as not to burn through and cause irregularities inside the seat tube that will cause interference with your seatpost. Tig bead is a bear to try and ream out, so control is the name of the game. Here you can see just a slight heat shadow on the inside...no distortion present.
With the sleeve in place, some cosmetic work is next. I had ground off the silver and the slot reinforcement. There was, however, too much residual silver to fill it with the tig torch without contamination, so I then laid down some 56%, allowing it to float and smooth over the top as well as drawing it down into the crack and in between the tube and the insert, further fortifying the area while making it look visually presentable.
The silver and sleeve was then filed smooth so that the repair becomes invisible, looking original once under paint.
This guy is getting a nice metallic lapis illusion powder coat, then it'll be off to Michael for hanging of parts.
Yep, it's a Reynolds 531 reproduction decal.
So, after a bit of cooling off (me, not the fork), I broke out the airbrush and touched it up.
Nice and clean now, can't even tell that there was an issue. Mike can still have his tubing decals, it'll just have to be over the clear coat instead. With the fork repaired now, this guy is ready to go home. Look for an email from me Mike :)
I dug through the bar stock and pulled out a piece of stainless steel that sat just above the OD of the stay. The piece did not need to be stainless, but I thought that the non-corrosive nature and the ability to leave it unpainted would assist with keeping the joint serviceable for years.
I spun the piece down in the lathe so that it sat about .100" strong, enough that once the piece is turned down to fit into the stay, a small lip will exist to allow me to keep the silver moving down the inside of the stay and damning it a bit the other direction to keep it out of the lap joint.
The piece was then drilled, counter sunk, and tapped to accept a 5mm stainless bolt.
I then lightly sanded down all the edges, bolted it together, and chucked it in the mill to turn down the ends to fit into the ID of the seat stay.
Out of the lathe, now you can see how the piece fits all together.
The sanded frame section is then layed out to match the size of the lap joint and the section cut out with a hack saw and a bit of filing to insure squareness.
The joint was then dry fit, tolerances checked, then removed and fluxed up. We're ready to braze!
Heat control is really important on this piece as the bulk of the lap joint will take longer to heat than the thin tubing of the stay. This is one reason I left the small lip, so that despite the heat concentrated on the piece to keep the tubing from overheating, the mechanical lip will keep the silver from wanting to flow into my lap joint if I misjudge the temperature application. Fortunately, it was a moot point as the silver flowed nicely down into the tube, sealing the piece in for good.
Out of the dunk tank and hit with a bit of scothbright, here you can see how the joint allows the stay to spread so that the belt can pass.
And with the bolt in place...
The frame will get a cream fade towards the drops to blend in the work. Should be a nice economical option to allow Louis all the advantages of a belt drive system on a rocking 650b wheel platform. Can't wait to ride it :) (and before you ask...no, I will not be doing retrofits for others, this was a one time special).
cheers,
I had the pleasure of taking the controls while Kalten and Eric stoked the pedals...ahhh!
The section of trail we worked on was Candy's ridge, previously a multiple log crossing that had eroded into a muddy mess. Mike, Kalten, Eric and myself pulled all the logs out, cut in 3 12" deep french drains, crowned the trail and then layed in a pickup bed full of flat rock over crushed concrete to stabilize the area. Rolls really nice now :)
As Wednesday was my first full day back in the shop for a bit and I was coming off the tough work schedule, I kinda mulled around in a zombie like state and did not really accomplish much. Christi and I spent most the day packing and shipping...bars, forks, and stems all going out.
It's tough to walk into the post with four loads of stuff to ship, the tellers all look around at each other to try and figure out who is gonna get stuck with helping us :)
Hope all is well with y'all,
Before we begin, you need to understand that the frame must be ready for the next phase of paint before we begin. So, insure that your hands are gloved or well cleaned and oil free, your work area is prepped, and you have the time to follow through. 
Once the frame is fully sanded, it's time to get all the pieces parts together...here we have the original decals and two repros of the Reynolds 531 tubing markers. Sitting alongside is a soft plastic debasing tool.
The frame then gets blown off with filtered air to remove the dust from the sanding...
The decals are basically four layers; a thin protective sheet that keeps the adhesive side of the decal dust free, the decal transfer it's self, the transparent transfer sheet, and an adhesive cardstock to protect the decal from wrinkling/bending. Here you can see the three layers separating...the actual decal sandwiched inside.
These are super duper fragile and once placed gently on the frame, must not be moved or the decal will tear...you get one shot to place it properly. As the back side is not very sticky, I gently place the transfer, smooth the piece down from the center to the outer edges, and then hold the clear transfer down around the tube on both ends so that it does not lift.
To release the decal, it must be debased using friction. I use a soft plastic debasing tool to rub down the decal from the center out to all edges, insuring that all surfaces are covered well.
Once you believe the decal has been properly debased, do it again. These transfers like to tear at the little points, like small letters, the leading edge of graphics, etc... the more you rub, the better. When you are ready, begin at the side that has the longer smooth edges of the design and begin to pull the transfer sheet back over it's self slowly, feeling for any resistance and listening for a consistent sound. If you feel any resistance, stop immediately, lay the transfer sheet gently back down, and debase it more. It should lift free easily and evenly.
Once off, visually inspect the decal to insure that it is laying flat on the tube and has no edges raised. If you need to press down a section, use the original side of the transfer sheet, not your finger. Here she is, looking good.
The double sided down tube decals on this Fat are a real ass clencher, as the shooting star trails are just begging to tear due to their long narrow nature. Add to that the long surface area of the transfer sheet and it's a lot of stuff to watch, remove, control at once.
And here is the downtube decal properly laid...
Little ones like this tubing transfer are a bear, as every little letter is a sticky point...
Once all the pieces are down, it's time to lay down a protective layer of clear...
