I 've been thinking about building my own frame. Just a one-off type thing. I'm not really interested in purchasing a jig, it's way too expensive. I'd rather build my own out of wood.

When you started in the frame building business, did you build/purchase your own jigs or did you work underneath a builder who was already established and had tooling? Unfortunately, there are no longer any frame builders near me so the latter isn't really an option for me.

I know it would be less expensive to "sub" everything out to an established builder, but that's not the point. I want to learn .

Besides welding equipment, I'll need to purchase all tooling and frame materials.Can I build a frame for less than $1500?

Thanks ahead,

John

[ November 30, 2003, 10:12 AM: Message edited by: cornfed ]

i am currenty employed by a bicycle manufacturing company. high end titanium, and one aluminum frame are what we make along with stems, posts, bars and a few other ancillary items. i suggest not wasting time with a wood jig, it will be extremely difficult to hold any sort of tolerance as far as alignment is concerned. figure out your frame dimensions and get a 1/2" thick or better blanchard ground steel plate. make some aluminum blocks to hold your tubes, again accuracy counts for a lot in the end product. if you know the frame geometry and tubing cut lengths, go ahead and miter the tubing to spec. best done on a bridgeport type mill, although a joint jigger will work. clean 'em up nice, slap the tubes in your fixture, and weld them up. now you are getting into the scary stuff, unless you have some pretty good welding skills. once the thing is welded, it will need to be aligned accurately. no easy feat without some more specialized tools and an alignment table. i'm guessing that you can build a steel frame for less than $1500, but it might be more than a few attempts later that you get anything that rides decently. you will certainly learn a lot along the way. there is a post going from a while back, "how are bmx bikes made". if you want to learn, this is a good place to start. i have already made one installment there and am about to make another one as i have been busy making some stuff on the cnc machines for my project bike. stay tuned

Hmmm...all of the original JMC frame jigs were wood.

I know a couple garage builders who use wood jigs too, but they braze lugged road/track frames. They don't weld. I have access to an alignment table.

Make my own jigs with a Bridgeport? I think it would be cheaper and easier to just shell out the $3-4 grand for a Henry James set-up.

...I'll look up the thread too. Thanks.