Great story; I'm lucky in having a sequence of dumb luck events turn a long-itching curiosity into reality in late 1993. A friend was moving, he'd bought a Paterek manual and an RC2 tube set once upon a time to try and build one. Those were two more items than he wanted to move with, he says "Twenty bucks and they're yours." The same week a letter comes to my old workplace, it's from Tim Paterek, newly moved from Wisconsin to Vancouver, WA; five miles and three or four neighborhoods from me. He is holding an observation-only frame repair class for local bike store personnel to promote his frame repair, custom frame, and framebuilding classes, in the Midwest his business but now newly his hobby as he took on a full time shop teaching position (lucky school kids!) Eight years, fourteen frames and about fifty various repairs later I still don't like to use the "F word" about myself!
David Feldman, bike mechanic
Hi Sam,
You are very lucky to have the tutelage of Mr. Baylis and Mr. Sachs. I wish I had. Things would have been much easier. My entrance into framebuilding was a little like yours. I am relatively new to this sport but I have always been attracted to those things I thought of truly fine quality whereas mass produce dreck really never appealed to me.
So here I, year is 92 and I am on my third frame. I had a rep for breaking things but really the cause is that I was strong and big and stock bikes weren't handling the stress well. So I find the bread for a custom frame made by the local frame guy. I wait and wait and I was getting pissed but now I understand why it takes so long and I get my baby. I had asked for Henry James lugs and drop-outs. The man was inexperienced with them but said he could do it. So Two days later, I am wiggling all down the road wondering what the heck is going on and it turns out the drop-out has pulled right out of the chainstay.
This is when I said, It can't be that hard. I got some skills why don't I just do it myself.
It took another year or so till I saved up enough money to go to UBI. I read all that I could find. Tried to gleam info from some framebuiders but they tend to be closed lipped. Great class by the way. Now I know how little you actually can learn in two weeks but I was ahead of the game a little due to the fact that I already knew how to braze and the like.
So I get home. Another year goes by and I am able to construct a jig, get files, hacksaw, drill press a drill and a place to work. Without the guidance of the instructors things went downhill quick. A least three frames saw the dumpster. Didn't like them at all. Then things get better and I start selling them for 700 bucks. I would say that after three years my framebuilding really took off. All of a sudden things really started to come together and I started to make frames that I am really proud of.
I think the thing to realize its not what you know how to do. Its what you know not to do. In other words. There are only one or two ways to do something correctly but about 50 ways to screw it up and that is what I am still learning.
This brings up the Masterbat, um I mean MasterFramebuilder connotation. I only know of one guy who actually calls himself a Master Framebuilder. I find it a bit ostentatious. There is so much that I have to learn. I don't think that ever stops. If you think you have learned it all or tried it all than you have a problem. I took me five years before I could even call myself a framebuilder with a straight face.
Good luck, I look forward to seeing your framebuilding adventure unfold.
Dave Bohm Bohemian Bicycles
----- Original Message ----- From: Wornoutguy@aol.com To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org Sent: Wednesday, November 07, 2001 2:54 PM Subject: [CR]Sam and his frame project
Free tubes how cool, I have enough cash on hand to do this anyway that is needed but I appreciate the support. Brian Bayless and Richard Sachs are great as a people (and as a framebuilders) Both have offered to help with the project. I like making posts that get a reaction the amount of emails has been fun. It was worth the post to have people of this group to correspond with. Too bad we don't write to each other without some conflict. How does the group feel about a track frame? Sam D.
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