Thanks Doug for that great discussion of lug punching. Can you tell me which, if any, of these cutouts were made from "the machine"?
http://www.wooljersey.com/
http://www.wooljersey.com/
http://www.wooljersey.com/
To elaborate on Doug's mention of my visit to E-B in 1975:
In 74/75 I was a senior in high school and looking to upgrade from my Dawes Galaxy (subsequently stolen, grrrr). My brother and I saw an article in a magazine about the wonderful frames done by Colin Laing in England. And since I was going to be doing a "student exchange" to England for a month, I wrote to him about the possibility of picking up a frame.
Meanwhile, Laing had moved to Tucson, AZ, so after my letter was forwarded back over the pond, he responded that I should rather go to Ellis-Briggs. A few months ago, I was amazed to find that letter among my packed-up bike junk.
So, that summer in England, despite my host family's misgivings, I hopped a train from London and made my way up to Shipley. There, because I was an American, I met Doug and got a tour of the works. The frame I purchased was light green with white panels. It had originally been destined for Pickering Cycles in Tucson (the shop that Laing had moved to), but Pickering had cancelled the order for lack of funds.
I kinked the downtube on that frame on a ride from Pasadena up Mt Wilson while at college. Eventually, I had it repaired at E-B and repainted red/silver.
Pics are here: http://www.wooljersey.com/
In '76, I ordered another frame from E-B, shown here:
http://www.wooljersey.com/
And then in '82, I had a matched set built (for me and my at-the-time girlfriend). She still has hers, though I would dearly love to reacquire it. :^) Mine is still being "reassembled" but a couple pics are here:
http://www.wooljersey.com/
...Derek Davis Phoenix, AZ