Frame building - what style should I make?

curvy lo-pro!

ahem. best to play it safe and go with something you're super confident in. somehow i got an A making a stool w/ lift off lid you could store things in out of 6 pieces of B&Q pine.

I made the mistake of doing something above my station, in which result in a failed GCSE, fucker.

if I were you - make a bike rack, it's easier, cheaper, design it to fit your bike (i.e. bicycle with no mount for mudguard etc.) and watch the mark rollin' in.

Thanks for all the advice guys, i think i will just make a desk as i kind of want a new one anyway and its a bit of a compromise i wouldnt mind making one to much and the coursework should be pretty easy for it so i score high marks :)

I say go for it.
you'll always regret it if you don't try to do the best that you can possibly do.
I regret my lack of self confidence when choosing courses at uni everyday.
I don't regret my failed Msc project, as i put everything I had into it.

but go crazy with the design.
instead of using tubes, use triangles of alu or something.
Be inventive with the tubing, and that'll get you a better mark- as it'll allow product development, etc, in your workbook.

mr 'brows :) how important are gcse results when going to uni? is it pretty much all about a level?

if you're planning on taking a gap year, and you're applying in the knowledge of your A levels, then Gcses are overlooked.
AS levels are important, related GCSEs are sort of important, but not massively.
if your course requires an interview at all, thats all that really matters prior to getting the required grades.

now go to school!

ok, that gives me something to think about :)

You'll get full marks by making a coffee table or something simple and making it damn good where as with the the bike frame it will probably cause you a lot of grief and you may not get it built to a particularly high standard as well as leaving you with a not so great grade.

We were given the task of producing learning aids for our DT project.

I remember coming up with the bright idea of building a half meter long tongue. It had cut outs at various taste centres, and blocks containing pictures of different foods on, which you push into these. If you placed say the block with a lemon on it in the sour taste center of the tongue, that part light up.

Simple idea, but it took ages to make, and poorly at that.

The git next to me got his plumber dad to bend some pipes for him. Which he then painted black and screwed to a piece of wood, to demonstrate solar water heating.

Needless to say the git got a better grade than me.

I'm no framebuilder. But I would have thought, to produce a half decent frame, you'll need expensive tubing and a frame jig. Even then the wielding of thin tubing is easy to f**k up. I still be tempted to give it a shot though. I remember reading about this guy who made his own carbon frame in his shed, love it!

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/rinard/howibuil.htm

GCSE's aren't that important but colleges might be reluctant to let you do A level courses in subjects you might not have done particularly well in. Also If you apply for a course like engineering they will be interested in how you have done at GCSE (in subjects like design) if you choose not to continue subjects at A level.

No offence to Moog, but NEVER EVER EVER DO THE EASY OPTION.

Make a bike frame. If it fails, so what? Get ideas above your station. Never ever be satisfied with doing what is expected of you at any level of your education, because it is a trap you cannot escape. If your teachers try to dissuade you, tell them to fuck off. Take control of your education, because believe me, nobody else has a fucking clue what they're doing.

have a look here rocker, this engineer builds her own frames

a point to consider - ultimately do you want to be a master craftsman, or a professional, or an academic (it is possible to combine all three to a certain extent)

^art student

I want to see a fixed tricycle with 650's on the back, a 700 on the front and really big mustache bars.

There's a challenge.

No offence to Moog, but NEVER EVER EVER DO THE EASY OPTION.

+1

It's GCSE, it's nothing important apart from the grade, you just need the grade to get into A-levels and then you'll need to do it properly.

so fuck doing something important with nowt for show.

I totally bit off more than i could chew at gcse dt. built a guitar case where the guitar was in a neoprene bag suspended by bungee cords in an alu frame. Worked but the quality wasn't really there due to lack of time. Only person in the class that actually built what i'd designed but didn't get a great grade as i spent all my time building it not making mood boards and brainstorms. Tolerances were non-existant and i still struggled. Learnt a lot and if i'd taken product design at uni i would have built it again to a much higher standard when i had the time skills. I ended up studying guitar making instead which is equally rad.
Maybe make a lugged reynolds 531 desk? That would be pretty damn awesome and you'd get to practice your brazing without having to ride it on the roads.

I want to see a fixed tricycle with 650's on the back, a 700 on the front and really big mustache bars.

There's a challenge.

these are two of the best ideas i have ever seen. i genuinely want to make both. summer projects FTW!

Haha thanks guys :)
@asm - thats really inspired me :) the one major thing is i know fuck all about welding tubes, and my c*ntish DT teacher refuses to let me braze, even though they have an oxy-aycetlyne (probably spelt wrong) torch, im easily the most competant person in DT in the year and i have been reading loads of articles about frame building, (thanks SF - id already seen that, its awesome im not allowed near carbon composites though :( and @riv - that websites brilliant, by reading pretty much everything on that site i thought i could just about pull off a frame so maybe i will go ahead with it )

so basically im a bit iffy about welding the frame, any site building links with welded frames would be much appreciated, at the moment im reading lots of articles about bicycle handling and geometery, great stuff :) im going to get myself a few welding books and ive already joined the frame builders mail list and frame forum so hopefully i can get some help there :)

http://www.bmeres.com/
the style of jig this guy uses is what i am going to attempt to make if i go ahead with the frame :)

http://www.instructables.com/id/The-simplest-bicycle-framebuilding-jig-I-could-com/

http://www.bmeres.com/
cool stuff on that site. I reckon you should make a frame it'd be ducking excellent, duck the grades. I really want to make one but I've only ever done a bit of soldering. Can't believe you're not allowed to use the oxy acetylene business, schools duck me off. What about building a jig for swapping out rear dropouts, there's quids to be made in brazing track ends onto road bikes no?

If it was me i'd make something small and tough like a bmx or 24inch street frame, loads of gussets, beefy tubing, easier than something flimsy and lightweight.

@brows - thanks - looks good, il have a proper read over it later, looks very useful!
@chaliapin - yeh brano is a legend, i love his MTB bamboo frames, ive always wanted to do stuff like him, hes incredible, i expecially love his carboon saddle/seatpost combo must of taken a while to design

• also he (DT teacher) is a grumpy git, i spent ages convincing him to allow me to do it as apparently they are not allowed any big projects this year because next years the specs are changing and only 20 hours of making are allowed!? i wouldnt take DT if i knew that. . . aparently the oxy-acetylene torch is of poor quality, i mean i could just go out and buy a new torch and different heads. . . il have to hav a convo with him on wednesday. . .
  @n3lson - i was thinking of a trick track frame - thinking about making something similar to BMW gansta (geometery wise) as it looks pretty fun :) im having trouble finding nice strong cheapish oversize tubing, i would go reynolds but im having trouble
  sourcing it in the UK, do they only sell to qualified builders!? i can only find columbous (which is fine, but i know little about it)
  

toptubes@reynoldstechnology.biz

reynolds is in birmingham.

So is DFP. be warned.

I would second whateveryone has said about keeping your GCSE DT project easy. DT is a killer subject time wise and and take away time from other subjects. Great fun but not the time to take on a ambitious project like frame building. The jig alone would take a project and a half.

RE: Your teacher and brazing. Remember your teacher will be running all over the shop during GCSE DT sessions with loads of students asking for help, the supervision levels required for someone brazing are just not practical for him to consider.

If you are interested in doing engineering concentrate on your physics and maths and make sure you do further maths 'A level'.