Since first discovering this scratch built section of the site, I've been wanting to give myself that challenge.
I have a sketch, though I forgot to take a picture of it, but I've done quite a bit of work on it the last two days, and so we'll get right into it.
I started by making a rough life-sized drawing on some cardboard. I then grabbed some 1" thin-wall tubing that I had bought earlier, and started using my trusty Harbor Freight tubing roller to get them bent to the angles I wanted.
In case you're wondering, that tight bend was on a piece of scrap (not a bike part, actually) that I already had, and I decided to use it as the bottom of the rear. It happened to also be 1". Believe me, I wish I had two pieces like that, because my roller can't make bends that tight, so I'll have to come up with some other method for the seat stays.
After cleaning off a headtube that I cut off of an old failed project, I began making some welds. As I've mentioned elsewhere on this site, I gas weld everything. They're decent looking welds, and I never have to grind them, or bondo over them.
I'm not sure how to make a matching tight bend for the top, but I'm going to try. I might just heat it all up to cherry red, and see if that does it. Then the bottom bracket, seat post, and a few other details. Still a ways to go, but I'm loving the lines of the frame so far.
I have a sketch, though I forgot to take a picture of it, but I've done quite a bit of work on it the last two days, and so we'll get right into it.
I started by making a rough life-sized drawing on some cardboard. I then grabbed some 1" thin-wall tubing that I had bought earlier, and started using my trusty Harbor Freight tubing roller to get them bent to the angles I wanted.
In case you're wondering, that tight bend was on a piece of scrap (not a bike part, actually) that I already had, and I decided to use it as the bottom of the rear. It happened to also be 1". Believe me, I wish I had two pieces like that, because my roller can't make bends that tight, so I'll have to come up with some other method for the seat stays.
After cleaning off a headtube that I cut off of an old failed project, I began making some welds. As I've mentioned elsewhere on this site, I gas weld everything. They're decent looking welds, and I never have to grind them, or bondo over them.
I'm not sure how to make a matching tight bend for the top, but I'm going to try. I might just heat it all up to cherry red, and see if that does it. Then the bottom bracket, seat post, and a few other details. Still a ways to go, but I'm loving the lines of the frame so far.