This weekend I was at the shop hanging some new parts on the show bike.  Yes it’s back, no you can’t see pictures yet .  I figured since I didn’t have any tubes, I would just practice weld instead.  There’s always a good assortment of steel tubes to weld because 99% of seat tubes are trimmed to length.  For the last few months I’ve been hording  decent length titanium cutoffs like gold.  I hope to build a ti road bike for myself once the dust settles from the NAHBS rodeo.  I only had enough tubing for three joints, but I think there’s a few more around the shop. 

I was truly shocked at how different titanium behaves in all facets of construction.  It machines differently, cleans up differently, and welds differently than steel.  All things I’ve heard time and time again, but sometimes you’ve got to experience it. 

The other day, Carl was explaining why he liked to weld titanium because it’s not as hot.  I didn’t really have a frame of reference at the time, but I did know that steel can get pretty hot.  When welding a frame, you rest your hand on one of the tubes to steady the torch.  Ideally you want to make fairly long passes to avoid starts and stops, which cosmetically don’t look so hot.  At the same time, the torch must move at a rate of speed which allows the metal to cool before advancing too far out of the argon coverage zone.  When making a really long pass it’s more of a pain threshold test because your palm is heating up.  However on ti, you can bring a sack lunch and camp out because it doesn’t conduct as much heat.  I’ve only done a few titanium joints, but I’m already hooked.

Below is a  picture of the fusion pass.  This pass uses little to no filler rod.

This is the dress pass.  Filler rod is used here to alleviate any undercut and ensure a strong joint.  In short, two passes are chosen because titanium doesn’t weaken from multiple heating/cooling cycles.

Why say it again, when you’ve got this explianaiton of double pass welding http://www.strongframes.com/blog/?p=3391 

Today marks one year since I left Bend to start my apprenticeship.  Carl and Loretta had an awesome surprise party for me.  Loretta made all the food, not to mention some of the best ice cream cake ever!  Dave Kirk even made it down from the mountains known as Story Mill.

 I’ll tell you what; it sure doesn’t feel like a year has past.  The job is the highlight of my week, so it’s never difficult to show up.  I’m really starting to roll on my frames, and I feel like I’ve accomplished a lot in one year.  The apprenticeship is a lost method of teaching in the framebuilding world, and I’m thankful Carl is one of the only builders keeping it alive.

 I also had the chance to make a new head tube adapter for the frame fixture.  We needed a new “puck” to fit the larger diameter of a carbon head tube with an internal headset (we have others for 1 inch, 1 1/8, and King Inset).  I turned a new one down on the lathe.

We also started working on the prototype carbon bike.  I’m very excited about this bike, because it’s a size that Carl, Jared, and myself can ride.  I think that carbon fiber is an excellent material for bikes.  However, the unfortunate mass producing and marketing of it has left a sour taste in a lot of mouths.  Many people will accuse carbon for not having any “soul”.  I feel this is a problem due to construction and geometry choices, rather than material.  As a material, it’s damp and stiff; at least more so than other options.  However it’s very tunable, and in the right hands, can give great road feedback to the rider.

It’s also very entertaining to work with.  It behaves so much differently than metals during machining and fitting of parts.  It’s hard to put into words; you just have to build something with it to realize it’s not just another material.  Carl and I are already taking bets on frame weight.

I’ve been doing a lot of finish work lately.  Carl just keeps them coming!  The tap handle for the seat tube reamer finally gave up the ghost after 16 years.  I had three bikes piled up to go to paint, so we fashioned up a new handle.  We made it out of a piece of bar stock steel and welded it on.  It’s a little cowboy, but now it has a ton of leverage

Today I refinished a titanium frame that will be for sale in the proshop.  This frame was built in 2006 for a local customer.  He recently decided he wanted a half degree steeper head tube angle.  Carl made him a new bike, and this one is up for grabs.  All it really needed was a quick wipe down, but I decided to do the full buff.  Now the proud new owner won’t even notice the bike is used.  Gotta love ti!

A little dirty, but nothing major

All decals removed and prepped for the media blasting booth.

This is where the magic happens!

Fresh out of the oven

New wardrobe

Everything on and ready for a new home.

As a side note, this came back from paint today, I prepped it out for Bill to hang some parts on tomorrow.