Now I'm back at home I can report on my last day at Downland Cycles.
I started the day with just a few braces and braze-ons remaining to complete my frame.
I'd already mitred the braces so got straight into brazing them on...
I then set about adding my own personal addition.....a bottle opener!
I'd cut this out of a spare drop-out, and pre-tested it with a bottle of Bishops Finger
Next up was the last few braze-ons, the cable guides and disc hose clamps...
I almost over-heated one part of a seat stay, which would have been devasting so close to completing the brazing. Luckily Brian was watching over my shoulder and told me to pull the heat away.
With the last of the brazing now done, it was time to clean up what I'd brazed...
The final jobs were clean out the bottom bracket shell threads, run a reamer down the seat-tube and head-tube and then cut the slot at the top of the seat tube for the clamp...
And that was me done. Brian put the frame back into the alignment jig and was very happy to report that it's straight!
These are some pics of what the other chap on the course made...
I'm completely chuffed with how my frame turned out. It's exceded my expectations by a long way!
The course was an amazing 5 days that I'd suggest to anyone interested in making their own frame.
The total cost, including tubing and my bed and board, was about £1400, so it's not cheap, but it's such a rewarding process.
The staff at Downland are fantastic. Brian is a great teacher and very patient!
Now all I need to do is decide on what I'm going to do about paint and start collecting the parts I'll need to build it up.
On that note, the new rear mech was waiting on my doorstep when I got home
Cheers Rick!
I was restricted on the drop out selection by what they had in stock.
I'll be running this 1x10 so I've bought a SRAM XO clutch rear mech and I'm planning on some Middleburn cranks and a Superstar wide/narrow chainring.
The rest is still up in the air!