From: Jim <jim@avradionet.com>
Here's a link to the Ouellette I bought last night. I didn't know anything
about this builder, but when I saw the frame I reached for my wallet.
http://www.dropshots.com/
Jim,
I couldn't open your link but I do remember a stunning frame that Peter made that was in Bicycling magazine in the early 80's (I think). The lug pattern extended down the tubes in a leaf and vine configuration. It was pretty spectacular. Perhaps someone knows the year and date of that article. That frame must be a candidate for best American frame from that era.
He is a builder I am curious to know more about myself. I remember meeting him at the New York bike show about that same early 80's time. He looked like he could have been a relative of mine - slime with fine features. And like almost all framebuilders of the era, he was wearing round wire rim glasses (I just got some again in Ukraine this year). I remember talking to him about the 753 test - which in the early days was a tough big deal and then Reynolds dumbed it down so they could actually sell some of that product. He mentioned buying acid like cleaners for prepping lugs before brazing. I thought, hmmm, my sandblaster works great. An idea that later I was to put to good use building frames in Ukraine. I went to the bazaar - where shops are little stands - and through a translator explained what I needed. The lady said she used to work in the aerospace industry and brought out a glass bottle that I couldn't read the label because it was in Cyrillic. Anyway I took it to the frame shop and followed the instructions she gave by adding water and threw the lugs in. They boil and foam for a bit and come out clean. I'm still wondering what that stuff is. I don't put my hands in it.
Doug Fattic getting subject sidetracked in
Niles, Michigan, USA