I had an interesting coversation today with a guy who served an apprenticeship at Royal Enfield in Redditch. The motor cycle and bike works were adjacent and he swapped between the two. He started aged fifteen and his first job was frame building because it was "easy". I queried this so he described the process. You slot together twelve sets of lugs and tubes after inserting a ring of brass wire and a coat of flux (with a paint brush)in each joint. You put them in a jig to get them true then you put them in a row of twelve "Pot brazers" (sounded like an oven to me). The flux causes the flame to change to a green colour so you know they are done. You don't check them in the jig as "they come out true". That's it, twelve frames ready to paint. A good morning's work and paid £2/10s a week for his trouble. Motor bike frames were done the same way. I mentioned that I thought Royal Enfield made lightweight bikes and he said they were built at Reynolds (tubes) by a Ken Sprayson. Do you think my informant is a KOF? Incidentally this guy was riding a Dawes Galaxy, all original, usual green colour but with a "concealed" rear brake cable! It had hard plastic grommets to keep the rain out of the top tube but one was missing. Ray Green in Brighton England looking forward to four hours of Paris-Roubaix on the tele tomorrow.
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