Re: Art Stump
I visited him once, in maybe '77. I had met him previously on a ride and he invited me to come see his shop. I bought some dropouts and hung around for a while; he showed me some of the things he was doing and told me about his jigging and brazing methods. He didn't seem to mind the time I was taking up; he was gracious and friendly and seemed to like company.
One of the things he was working on was a restoration of an 18th century (I think) horse-drawn carriage, a very fine one such as a nobleman would use, maybe even royalty, it was that nice. He was doing things like casting brass fittings for it, right there in his little shop.
Amazing man. I sure wish I still had a couple o' them dropouts, they are the most beautiful ever made, if a bit impractical. Maybe I'll try to track down the frames I made with them and buy them back some day.
Mark Bulgier