Filed lugs... anyone know stuff?

Anyone know how this process is/was done? Can't find any pics from a quick search on here... but basically from what I know of it, it's generally done to make one side of a lug look like its been fillet brazed, and the other still looking like a normal lug. I assume it has to be done once the frame is built, not before the tube is brazed in ... ?

Am thinking about maybe trying to file off some fairly ordinary lugwork on a headtube. Thing is they're rather generous big wide points, so it might be a lot of work.

Any advice or links to resources appreciated.

my black track bike is done like this. lugged but on the inside it's been filed back to smooth.

Any ideas who might like to give it go? Barry W?

buy a beater and do it yourself. need a steady hand.

Yep was thinking about exactly that. I better lay off the booze for a while before though.

PS. dogs you got pics of the filed area on yours, by any chance?

Not sure I understand what you mean. Dogs - can you post pics of your lugs?

Looks really nice. If you file the lug on the headtube, it makes the headtube and the lug gripping the tt/dt look like they are one piece... or if you file the other sides, like the tt/dt are part of the lug that grips the ht.

Hmmm. Fuck, describing it is hard! I'll try to find a pic, there is one on here ... somehwere ... don't fancy trawling through 300 pages of Ebay finds or Bike Porn thread though!

don't have any of that bike.

i haven't got a bloody clue what you are on about.

well I described it as best I can.

i haven't got a bloody clue what you are on about.

That makes two of us. Skully should stick to pictures. ;p

one side of lugs is cut-out as normal, the other side is filed smooth, so you can't tell that a lug was there

no good you describing dog's.

I think I know what Skully is on about. and if so this is one way which I have read about people doing something similar.

Lugs you buy from ceeway e.t.c are pressed or cast. You can however make your own, this may be because you want angles or sizes which are not avlible but want to have the aesthetics of a lugged frame.

Simply by tig welding two short tubes together with the required i.d then filling down the weld to a smooth finish. Prob by laying several fillets on top of one another so you have extra weld to file. The fixie inc frames have this filed tig weld look on them. You can then use this custom lug to braze your two tubes into.

If you wanted to create the effect of say the top tube and down tube going into lugs at the head tube but the head tube being fillet brazed into the down tube / head tube you could use a similar method. Weld two short tubes to you head tubes at the required angles. File / polish down the welds. Cut off the mini down / top tubes to lug length, cut any patterns you want into them then braze in your down tube / top tube.

Pictures. I need pictures.

It's not rocket surgery.

Example: at join of TT and DT with head lug, its a normal lug, spearpoint or fancy or whatever. At Join of Headtube and head lug, lug is tapered away toward the headtube to give smooth unlugged look.

Umm I think Tommy's coming up with a method of making them. I'm trying to work out if its feasible to just have a go with a file on a frame that already is built.

I think I'm just hoping someone else has tried it. Fuck it I'm just gonna have a go.

Opposite way round to how I was talking about. This one is top into head tube looks like fillet brazed. Head tube looks like it's into a lug.

ahhhhhhhhhhhhh, i gotcha

(need better translators 'round here)

Thank you Tommy. Don't see the point though.

My Dad's Harry Quinn had filed lugs.
All the lugs were cut and dressed, and lined with black paint.

The seattube lug at the top had been filed right down at the bottom, so there seemed to be no division between the lug and the tube.

Oddly, after doing this Harry still lined where the join was anyway!

Found a blurry pic of the bike. Lovely machine. Can't see any detail though.

1 Attachment

purely asthetics

purely asthetics

was thinkin' the same

*goes off shaking head to try and find A.N.Other interesting thread

Yeah! It looks lovely. Thanks for clearing that up Tommy.

My original post said:

I have some pretty ordinary lugs, I'd like try and remove the front bit (on the headtube, other way round from this photo^^).

That's why.

I don't think my description was that bad. Nor was Dogs'.

Murtle you should know better than to look at a thread I started without expecting to hate it.