Kim,
What I look for in framebuilder talent is the ability to file the surface of the lug to a well blended and consistant thickness, regardless of how simple or complex the lug shoreline is. Most only see what the lug edge looks like in design. The execution is what I look at. Most "fancy" lug patterns are poorly filed even though the profile is complex. Even a super simple lug profile looks great when artistically filed. It is actually where most of the actual work is in finishing a lug to workd class standards. Most don't have the eye for seeing what I'm talking about without several examples of each in front of them to prepare. Some builders like Singer and Peter Johnson actually go to extra lengths and much work to take this concept to the ultimate result. The way a lug is filed on the surface is actually more of the signature of a framebuilder than the profile. Just look at all the bikes that have Nervex Pro lugs. The difference between them is how they are filed. The difference between my Masi Special replica track bike in full chrome and a full chrome Paramount is the filing. Get your eyes attuned to looking at that.
Personally, I prefer a less ornate "fancy" lug style when doing "art" lugs. I prefer to introduce subtle and harmounious curves and other features of perportion to come up with a beautiful and original lug pattern. I'm REALLY happy with my modified Pacenti lug design. Very soon I will have the raw lugs photographed for Kirk to put on his website. I'm open to critique of my princpals.
I can also appreciate the work and the accomplishment of various lug patterns. Most are too overdone for my personal taste; but they all lack the surface finishing I'm refering to. That's part of what seperates genuine "old school" lugwork from the modern version of lugwork.
The final phase of what makes or breaks the frame is how it's painted or chromed or both, etc. Simple things can be made exotic and complicated things can be ruined. That's where the artistic sense must meld between builder and painter. The ideal situation is where the builder and painter are the same person; reason being that the vision of what it will ultimately look like was established before the bike was even constructed when taken to the highest level.
Brian Baylis
La Mesa, CA