Some people learn very quickly. Jim Redcay built me his twelfth or so frame, delivered a week after I ordered it and no shortcomings at all. He had built silver brazed tubular racecar frames before that that, had excellent mentoring from Bill Boston and cooperated with Tom Kellogg as they both worked on their skills.
I guess you could say he was a master framebuilder within six months of starting. Then he got better. On the other hand,and speaking to the benefit of long experience, you always need to check the geometry on his bikes because they could be wildly specific to the buyers perceived needs.
Joe Bender-Zanoni
Whitneville, CT
You might learn the basics of how to build a frame in a five-day course, but doing it well takes years of practice. Still, in the absence of a Master Framebuilder to apprentice to (and/or the time to commit to learning the craft), I suppose it is a start. JMHO. I applaud anyone who follows their dream!
Steve Whitting
Prairieville, Louisiana USA
Website at http://ciocc-cat.angelfire.com/
From: starmichael bowman <starmichaelbowman@yahoo.com> Subject: Re: [CR] follow on re- framebuilding course To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org Date: Sunday, June 6, 2010, 2:50 PM
Hun..., I've been following this thread on "frame-building in five days," pretty much halfheartedly. It's a little troublesome as I've decided that there is nothing i would like to do more than build KOF bikes. I've only been messing with classic light weights for a few years now, but i can't get enough. The real hoot about this is that this list has had the best timing when it comes to me and bikes! When i put my Eddy Merckx pista together there were threads about Campagnolo Pista headsets that were very helpful! I know that this sort of thing has happened several times in the last year since i first started getting this invaluable emails from this wonderful group, but now this latest threads timing is especially bizarre. I start UBI tomorrow (Monday the seventh) for the second frame building class offered at the new Portland campus and i am very excited.
I realize the limitations of such a short class and fully intend on begging every local frame builder in town to apprentice me this summer. I've met several of Portland's frame builders at bikes shows and swaps and have been really inspired by what they have had to say about this art-form.
I did two years of auto body school, and a few more years doing body repair and restorations at classic, custom, and hot rod shops (never any insurance work!, yuck). It's been five years since i put my tools in storage and went back to college, but i have an eye for tin bending, and i love and miss working with metal and my hands. I've been saving up for UBI, with what little was left over from grants and student loans for the last two years, and it's finally happening. I know it's just a little beginning two week class, but i feel like it will really be a big first step, and I'm hopping that it will give me a few tips and tricks and the confidante to get my torch out of storage and blow my last 1,500 hundred bucks in the world tooling up and make some bikes this summer.
I guess what I'm really getting at, is please try not to discourage me to much with the reality of an art form not being masterable in a week. i know that but i figure it couldn't hurt to start with more than just a book on the subject (after taking a three month course in brazing, and another in MIG, I'm well aware that nothing is masterable in a week, or three months for that mater!). And Kevin Sayles, i won't have a penny to my name after this class (ubi, is not cheep!), but i would take you, or any of the greats, up on an offer of at a chance to really learn how to construct the elegance and joy we know as hand-built high-end bicycle frames! where there's a will there's a way, and i have the rest of summer off before i find a new college and start toward my next degree! (and my next bought of hording the trimmings from financial aid and putting them toward by bike addiction, I've got most of my group for my UBI bike, but i need some Mafac criterium cantilevers to go with my1973 campy triple, Phil hubs, and Rally derailleur!).
I really don't write this list enough, but i just couldn't put this one off indefinitely. And i will post again in two weeks and let everyone know what i get out of this class. Thanks for reading.
StarMichael Bowman
Portland OR