I am a frame builder AMA

How do I decide whether or not I can drill a hole in a part without compromising it? Say drilling a steel fork for a rack, or drilling aluminium tubes and bars for cables. Just experience?

I need a pair of canti bosses brazed onto an old mtb frame. Who do I speak to in N / E London?

I think Stayer is Leytonstone.
There’s someone in Chingford too but I can’t remember their name.
Or just ride to Winston Vaz.

Cheers Dan

Retrofitting internal cable routing and removing external cable routing on an old Koga Miyata steel frame.

Would this be a big undertaking for a framebuilder and would it cost a fortune?

Any recommendations for someone to do this sort of thing?

It would be a pain in the arse, your have to guess how to form the lining tube, and cram it into the frame. Ask Winston, but it is a pig of a job.

Geoff Roberts but you'd probably be looking at £200+ and you'd need to get it re-painted as well. Live with the external cables would be my advice!

Not worthwhile then. On a similar note what ballpark should I expect to pay to have a cable bracket replaced and a pair of downtube shifter bosses added? My frame currently has an aero top mount downtube boss...

Probably £50-£100 for that job but you'd still need it painted after.

Does Geoff do repairs? Assumed he just did builds and teahcing.

Geoff does loads of repairs. A lot of people who do repairs actually sub them out to Geoff.

http://www.paragonmachineworks.com/bk5012-brass-6-mm-barrel-nut.html

Does anyone have the above or know where to get them from?

Ceeways normally has them.

Yeah have emailed but no reply!

Doesn't work Sat, sun, mon. If you havent heard back give him a call.

Would any of the frame building boffins have any idea of a ral code for the dark grey on Dura Ace 7900? I have a 7900 groupset going on my Koga Miyata with a 7300 crankset and I was thinking of getting the crankset Dura-Coated to be all matchy matchy...

There won't be true RAL code I would imagine. Your best bet is to go to stockwell motors and ask to see their swatch cards and offer them up.

Thought that was going to be the way forward... I'm getting it done by a firearms crowd so I might just pop in and let them have an ogle of the rest of the groupset instead of posting it to them.

Or just fit a modern chainset?

Where's the fun in that? 7900 looks pants and anything older doesn't match the colour. 7300 is period correct for the frame.

Why does hardly anyone other than big companies, build with Aluminium?

That is a lie...

Spooky, Zancanato and Rocklobster eg.

I said hardly anyone. I know there are some. Naming 3 from other countries isn’t answering the question. There are hundreds of steel frame builders

...mielec

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