Fellet Brazing goes to Washington

Got some time and internet to report from VA, after going to DC today. I (along with 2-5 million others) helped cheer in the 44th president, and say a dieu to the Bush family. For the insanity of the whole deal, I thought things actually went pretty well. There were the obvious crowd issues, but everyone I witnessed was in a good mood. People were helpful and polite. It was pretty amazing to see a crowd working together like that. A metro ride that took 3 times the normal amount of time actually got the whole car joking and telling stories.

The standing around in twenty something degrees all day, with not enough room to sit down didn't go all that bad either. The sun was out, and the group had a nice wind breaking effect. Jumbo-trons were spaced out well enough that most could watch the goings on, and I don't think I've ever witnessed so many port-a-potty's. I didn't bring my camera cord, so I won't get pictures up until I get back home.

Take it easy



Post Edit:

(Walking from the Metro through DC to the mall.


(Sea of heads and one of the many walls of port-a-johns from our view point. Trust me, this does it no justice for how many people, or port-a-johns there were that day!)


(Me and the lady)



(Celebrating afterwards at Dogfish Head with a sampler of their fine brews. I believe my favorite was the award winning 90 minute IPA)


(And topping it off with one mother of an IPA, their limited edition 120 minute IPA, with 20% abv and 450 calories. No Millers lite here!)

Custom = Pain in the Arse!

Ah, it's good to be full steam back in the shop again. I've got probably another week (hopefully) until Mike's frame is ready for paint. I've thrown in a couple things on this frame I've been wanting to try out, and have come to learn a lesson or two.

Making custom stuff takes a while. There's no templates, pre-cut bits, designs you download... nothing. There's not even a good tool for doing what you want to do half the time. From idea to product, someone has to do all the legwork. And in a one man shop, that would be me. How it's going to work, the steps and order of it, how it's going to look when it's done, and even if it's a good idea in the first place. I find even though I only have one or two good days of work in my shop per week, if I ever kept track of how many hours I spend figuring stuff out in my head, I'd need to charge time and a half. But that's not to say I don't enjoy it. Which brings me to my second lesson.

Making custom stuff is awesome! The freedom is exhilarating. With no templates comes... well, whatever I feel like. I like looking at some of the ideas that I've followed through with, and thinking about how there's not a bike out there that has that exact detail on it. It teaches me much in the ways of construction, as well as patience. If I ever get to do this for a living however, I would have to stick with either some normal methods, or charge a crap-ton to make it worth my while. But it's not to say I can't indulge myself now and again. Or even come up with ways of making a couple cool details a more easily replicated trademark of sorts. Either way, this is cool.

New Year, new frame, new ride...

Happy New Years' to everyone out there. I hope 2009 treats you well. So far, I have to say this is a good one. I've already had my first (post clavicle fracture) mountain bike ride with my good friends of Team Seagal. It was a great ride, even though it will take me a bit to not freak out on fast loose rocks and roots. But I was just happy to have good company and be out on my mountain bike again at all. Also for this year, I've brazed everything but the seat stays for Mike's frame which will be the first of hopefully many more frames this year.

All the brazes came out pretty well, with just a couple minor globs to file smooth. Definitely improving with every frame. And I'm also happy to say that the main frame and chain stays came out about as aligned as a frame can be. No post braze alignment needed this time. Just need some seatstays, custom STI stops, finish work, and paint. Then she'll be ready to ship to her new home in Florida. Justin, it's time to start getting me the final details of your frame!

Merry Christmas, and happy holidays!

Hope your Christmas, Hanukkah, Quanza, Festivus, or whatever you are celebrating this year is a good one. Safe travels, good times, and make it through in one piece.

More building updates soon...

Report V: A day of gettin it done

Last week I ended up getting pretty sick, so not much was done in the building. But yesterday I finished up the rear dropout miters, filed the fit of the chain stays into the bottom bracket (which took most of the day) and cut the chain stay lengths and mitered them out. Also finished the fork legs in terms of getting them exactly dialed to the same length. So today, after drilling a handful of vent holes, and prepping all the surfaces, I could finally do a lot of brazing. First, the silver flowed around the water bottle bosses, and the braze on boss for the front derailleur, then into the lugged crown as the whole fork went together. Then out came the brass for some rear dropout brazing.

It's funny how days of work finally go together in a matter of hours. Right when I start to feel like I'm taking too long to get anything done, it all goes together. There are some matters that I still have to work out (get faster at) before I'll ever be able to do this with any sort of dollars per hour ratio. But it is still a great source of enjoyment and challenge for me.

As of right now, I've spent thousands from my own "savings" and have yet to show a dollar for it. I've had (and have) more cuts, scrapes, bruises, and some pretty good burns than I care to count. With my day job to fund all of this, I'll often go for months at a time without any real "days off." But at the end of the day, when I climb up the stairs from my basement workshop, smelling of steel shavings and acetylene, and crawl into the shower to wash off the three days of dirty cotton clothes and facial hair that have surrounded me, I can't think of much I'd rather be doing.



And as always, more pictures on my flickr site

Report IV: Sparking one up

After a visit to the doc last week, I still don't have bone connection. But he gave me the all clear to start going on easy rides, and putting a little weight on it. Still no mountain biking, or heavy lifting. But oh well. Should be connected in another four weeks from now.

On the plus side, the frame building is back and going. I've done most the miters, finished the lugwork, bent the fork blades. And the big news, I sparked up the torch for the first time in months, and brazed in the fork dropouts. It makes me smile doing this again. Also, I'm not as rusty as I was afraid I would be. They actually turned out pretty well. On the down side, it's already the time of year that my fingers hurt from cold while I'm torching in the garage. Geez, I missed out on the fall.



Holy lugs:

And, as always, more pictures on my flickr site.

Report III : Seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.

Well the last couple of weeks seems to have gone well. Every day I can move my arm more, and it feels less 'disconnected.' I'm back to doing repairs in the shop, and have even started riding to work again. I don't know until I have my next appointment how much the bone is/has grown back. So for now, I'm putting most of my weight on my good arm. (which is kinda weird with the balance) And man, after two months of doing nothing more than the average American (walking to the car and the bathroom) the five miles to work and back is a good hard ride! After a few days, I felt like I was training hard again. My legs are sore, and I am wiped out. Not only that, but the last time I was on a bike, it was hot. Now lately my lungs are burning with dry thirty-something degree air being shot down my chest. I don't know what you people did to the weather, but I want my fall transition back.

But the big news is I have finished my first (post crash) miter! It went a little slower than before, but at least it went. This bike is going to be a classic lugged road frame and fork for my old friend Mike in Florida. Should be quick enough to be a fun zip to work, but comfy enough to ride all day. I've also finished my race wheels that I was going to use for the 12 hour at Burnin'. It's cool. Next year awaits.