I am a frame builder AMA

I’m wrong! 135 qr.

Well that’s one less reason to do it then

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That will surely be cheaper than all other solutions regarding a torch

Yeah, I don’t think there’s any chance of me actually doing it. But it’s good to know that, if I ever lose my sanity, the option is there :)

How much extra clearance does crimping chain stays give? Will it damage a powdercoat? Thanks

A couple of mm, probably

It depends on the geometry of the rear triangle, the tubes and the crimping tool. I feel like I have often gained maybe 5mm either side. But it is hard to judge what is realistic to achieve.
It is probably better to just ride the tyres the bike was designed around and yes the paint is likely to suffer from crimping.

Thanks! I’ll just leave it :) is there anything that can be done to fill this small hole before powdercoating? And will a powdercoat smooth out my first attempt at braze filing, or is it worth a bit more elbow grease? Paranoid about taking any material off the the tubes

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How would one go about removing canti braze ons and also a couple of cable stops? Saw, file and sand paper? It’s on a pompino but I don’t want to fuck the frame.

I'd fill that with a bit of silver or leave it

That exactly. I used a dremel to cut the braze on as flush as I could, then filed and finished with 80 grit paper.
Don't worry on a pomp - there is enough material ;)

Does anyone on here (in London) have an upcoming order with Paragon? I need a couple of pieces but am shocked at the postage. I will contribute obv

Contact Peter at Ceeway, I did so when I wanted a load of 22.2-31.8 shims.

I will do that, thanks

I bought someone else's custom Waltly Hardtail MTB and it's great but the geo is weird. I find the front end drifts around a bit on steep ascents. Is this technique or is a 120mm fork too long?

Edit: I'm using a 50mm stem and flatish risers.

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• UK29-053520M-Model.pdf

My insurance renewal has come around again and I think I'm probably over-insured for what I'm doing which I imagine means I'll be over paying.

My premium is £300 and something for product is it(?) liability only, no cover for my tools, workshop etc.

Who else is insured for small time framebuilding/parts fab/repairs, who you insured with and if you don't mind telling me, what you paying?

I got cover for framebuilding and it added about £500 to my already huge premium.
I'm not an expert but from what I gathered:
There is the complication/risk of 'sports equipment' and the liability is in 2 parts - the making and then the designing - public liability and professional indemnity. I got product liability but can't remember if the bike frames fell into that category.
So if you are doing the bike fit you are technically designing the frame for somebody and if they get an injury because it doesn't fit, your insurance company will be fighting the lawsuit so they want to charge you more. Likewise for the actual making if a frame fails and an injury happens, that's the public liability element, as I understand.

So you could keep a premium lower (or try arguing it should be lower) if every customer specifies their own geometry or has a bike fit - or just take the professional indemnity risk yourself as it's minimal really.

Somebody may correct me but I'm pretty sure that legally a sole trader only needs employee liability insurance. Any other cover is optional, although advisable. Don't take my word for it though.
Sorry if you knew all that already and I was just waffling 🙏

Sounds like your policy is way more specific than mine. Mine it’s pretty much, ok you whack bits of metal together so here’s some cover incase they come apart!

I think there’s a bit of public liability in my policy but because I don’t have a premises people come into really it’s not much, it’s all product liability really.

I ended up paying the £300 premium, I rang another broker who was like “yeah we won’t be able to beat that”. I also asked my broker if reducing my expected turnover figures (which were way over my actual turnover) would lower the price but even the inflated figures were at the bottom end of the bottom rung on the ladder so it wasn’t going to change anything.

Sounds like you've got a really good deal.
My broker only found one insurer that was interested and it was seen as 'manufacturing' with professional indemnity for design, some sports-product risk and some public liability all thrown together.
Part of the problem noted by the insurer was that there isn't an official certificate or training route that is recognised. Although it seemed to reassure them enough that I'd done the fillet brazing course at the bicycle academy (and the other industry experience I suppose).

did some first tries of silver soldering some cable stops on a test pipe with mixed success... got one on but could not get another. It looked like the solder flux (easy flow powder mixed with dish soap as recommended by the seller...) was burning much earlier than the metal getting red hot. Can one of the frame builder pros tell me if the dish soap thing killed it? Any recommendations for silver solder flux paste that doesnt wreck the bank?

Many thanks!

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Framebuilders a question!

I picked up this 2012 croix de fer for cheap knowing it took a knock, the rear end was out of alignment and needed straightening.

Got this back from a local Framebuilder and said its best to scrap the frame 🤔.

He mentioned that the Drop out alignment was easy to sort out, wheel is straight with the frame / bb. However he said he can't get the seatstay straight and he straightened the rest "too easy" meaning the frame is past it's tolerances?

I'm unsure what to think to be honest, I don't know whether he's airing on caution and not putting the effort in on something that isn't worth it.

Or he genuinely tried to straighten it and he couldn't?

So to the question - what to do!?

I'd like to not scrap it to be honest, that would be a shame.

Repairable?

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I'd cut out the bridge and put a new one back in after straightening the stay. It will be a lot easier when not braced by the other side

Metal shouldn’t be red hot for silver.

What kind of torch are you using?

Anyone want to build me a steel stem? 70mm 0-degree

ah thanks! I was going for dark cherry red which should be around 700C according to charts and the flux should servive until 800ish...

The torch i have is a bit weak, the flame is very small so might need to get a larger flame one?

Does any of this make sense ?

Cheers!

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You only want a faint red for silver soldering/brazing. Definitely not glowing hot. A smaller torch is easier to use, a bigger one won't make it easier

Ah ok it’s mapp. Should still be able to get a nicer joint than that.

As @PhilDAS says bigger doesn’t always = better.

Practice where you’re directing the heat so that the brazeon and tube heat up together. Looking at your first photos again, the tube is quite heavy walled so I suspect you’re struggling to get it hot without the braze on getting burned up? Heating there tube from the other side, allowing the heat to soak around to the brazeon then heating it a bit might work?