Re: [CR]Craft vs. Machine building

(Example: Framebuilding:Tubing)

Date: Sat, 03 Mar 2001 09:48:06 -0500
From: Jerry & Liz Moos <moos@penn.com>
To: Harvey M Sachs <sachs@erols.com>
Cc: Rick Chasteen <chasteen@kcaccess.net>, "Douglas R. Brooks" <dbrk@troi.cc.rochester.edu>, Classic Rendevous <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
Subject: Re: [CR]Craft vs. Machine building
References: <200103021530.f22FUPA29005@troi.cc.rochester.edu> <5.0.2.1.1.20010302212419.00a5f8d0@pop.erols.com>


Cannondale? Heresy!! I have just one word for you, "Jihad!"

Regards,

Jerry "the Mahdi" Moos

Harvey M Sachs wrote:
> At 16:41 3/2/2001 -0600, Rick Chasteen wrote:
>
> > > Classic content question: Were there any production line style
> > > machines making bikes in the era of our interests?
>
> Douglas Brooks suggested Trek...
>
> I think that the implied question was, "were there vintage-era bikes of
> high quality ("professional") that were built, and well-built at that, with
> substantial mechaization. May I speculate?
>
> 1) I believe that there was pretty fair availability of rather inexpensive
> machine tooling after WW II. I would bet that many relatively high-volume
> custom builders picked up a lathe or mill for fish-mouthing the tubes. I
> know customer frame makers to day who mount the tube on the cross-feed of a
> lathe and use a cutter mounted on the lathe chuck to make this a very clean
> operation, much faster than filing by hand. British builders excepted.... :-)
>
> 2) From their very high quality and relatively moderate prices, I always
> guessed that the early Fuji "Finest" and "Newest" models used some
> machinery to speed the process. I have knowledge here, but that could have
> been as simple as fixed jigs, one per frame size, to speed set-up. Heck,
> Raleigh and Schwinn might have done that for the non-custom sizes. If
> memory serves, by the 70s I saw a lot of bikes that were built without pins
> to hold the lugs to the tubing while brazing, which at least suggests some
> decent jigs. I find freehand brazing without pins a bit frustrating, since
> it means tacking and then cooling to check alignment, but I'm a rank amateur.
>
> Finally, a semantic point: If Douglas can "get away" with nominating early
> Treks as classics, I'd wanna bring down the wrath of the entire group by
> also nominating the ca. 1980 (?) all Campy Cannondale special
> edition. No, lads & lassies, I'm not trying to restart a religious war,
> just trying to tweak you. :-)
>
> Harvey "yep, that stuff gets hot" Sachs
>
> > > Douglas Brooks
> >
> >
> >Trek?
> >
> >Rick Chasteen