Re: [CR]thoughts on DeRosa

(Example: Framebuilders:Bernard Carré)

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From: "Chuck Schmidt" <chuckschmidt@earthlink.net>
Subject: Re: [CR]thoughts on DeRosa
Date: Fri, 12 Jan 2007 15:44:45 -0800
To: CR RENDEZVOUS <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>


John Jorgensen wrote:
> Chuck-
>
> Interesting about the Confente cut outs being sent out for marking
> and possibly cutting, they would not have been good candidates for
> IC casting by the way Mario fabbed his lugs. The region adjacent to
> the spade stem pretty narrow, so is the area at the base of the
> body. At a minimum extra material would have been needed to provide
> good material flow, to be removed post casting, seen it done, just
> lots of work.
>
> Nonetheless, the investment cast lugs that Rexart had made to
> basically Mario's design I do not think Mario used and they appear
> to me, as I type and stare at both of examples, that the lugs
> Medici used have a number of features that indicate to me the
> investment casting house used a circle where a parabolic shape was
> needed, production engineers love easy geometry, Mario would have
> had to add material back to achieve his "Confente" shape. Which it
> looks like he did to the Bocama's, at the seat lug for sure, but I
> do not think he got to use the investment cast lugs with the
> possible exception of the pista frame John Waner has.
>
> As to DeRosa not casting in hearts, I do not think it would be too
> far away from what Masi did, perhaps easier. I would vote that lugs
> with no cutouts would be less expensive as fewer scrapped at the
> time of casting, less distortion to contend with possibly or more
> predictable dimensionally and easier to braze.
>
> If Charles was in charge of marketing for them at the time he would
> be pushing for heart cutouts.
>
> A money thing I bet.

As to casting in heart cut outs or cutting them via pantographing... Charles was talking about the late '90s De Rosa commemorative. I'd have to think it would be faster and less costly to pantograph a heart into an existing lug (either cast lug or pressed lug) than to have a new master for investment casting made with a heart incorporated into it since we are talking about a very small run of commemorative frames. My point being that whether we are talking about Confente frames or about commemorative De Rosa frames, we are talking about a small number of lugs that need to be made "unique" and casting them that way wouldn't make any sense.

Agreed?

Chuck Schmidt
South Pasadena, CA USA
http://www.velo-retro.com (reprints, t-shirts & timelines)