Pete Imandt wrote: "......was under the impression that it was quite common to receive a new frame (and fork) directly from the paint shop. Turning a new frame into a complete bike required reaming, milling and tread chasing. For several reasons, some assemblers preferred doing this work themselves. "
When I was building frames at IBIS (o.t. of course) we faced the head tube and b.b., reamed the seat tube and completely aligned dropouts and frame before painting. I don't know how other builders do it, but it doesn't make any sense to paint a frame and then do all these things afterwards. A paint job can get damaged no matter how careful a person is.
Jay Sexton
Sebastopol, Ca