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| These threaded inserts for the waterbottle were purchased from Henry James. I drilled 2 holes, 2 1/2" apart. Then I dropped the inserts in, with bolts attached to them for positioning and reference. Heating the bolts up first, I put some 55% silver around the inserts to keep them in place. No overheating of the tube occurred (it never got red) but the build up of the silver isn't very professional looking. Next time, I will do it before I assemble the main triangle. Accurate placement is easier with a free tube. Apparent distortion is due partly to the camera, and partly from my inaccuracy. |
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| Installing the headset was impossible without the right tools. The newly brazed head tube (it was a rather thick 1.5mm wall tube, meant for fillet brazing) was a bit distorted (as to be expected), and I knew from prior experience that trying to install a headset without machining the head tube was a very bad idea. Also, the fork crown needed cutting so the crown race could be pressed on. |
| I took the frame and fork down to The Freewheel, on Hayes st. in San Francisco, and ordered a Cane Creek headset and asked them to ream the head tube and fork crown, and press the parts in. |
| The bottom bracket was another story. Even though it got a lot of brass and heat, the distortion was minimal. I was able to screw on the cups by hand and the installation was not a problem. |
| The wheels fit in perfectly, since I brazed the dropouts in place with "jigs" axle for the front, wheel for the rear). |
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| I had a notion that the rear brake cable should be fully enclosed by the housing and clamped to the frame with something like the old Campagnolo brake housing clamps for a 1" top tube, like in the old days. So I painted the frame without any of these split cable stops. Later, when I sobered up, I wire-wheeled the paint off, and brazed these on with 55% silver. Remembering how corrosion would build up under the housing and cable clamp, from the sweat, I figured it was a poor idea, even though I liked the clamps. Besides, where could I find any today? |
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| I'm about to silver-braze the down tube shifter boss on. It's held in place by the gravity of the end of the file. It would slip out of position and fall off during heating, if it didn't have anything here to hold it down. |
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| My decision to paint the bike with a brush and Rustoleum is a reflection of my view that this bike is a work in progress. I can't yet say that I will not take to torch to it again for another brazeon or whatever. But I have to admit, it's cheap and quick too. |
| I removed the flux with hot water. Parts of the frame that could not be dunked in a bucket were wrapped in hot wet towels. 20 minutes later, I wiped the area clean, and used a wire brush where I had to. Then I sand papered the tubes, and wiped everything with a wet hot rag. Finally, I wiped it down with a dry tack cloth. |
| Next, I got out some Rustoleum primer, and gave it two coats with a small foam brush. The next day, I mixed up some Rustoleum colors until I came up with this Blueberry color. That's what I painted it with, in 2 coats. |
| The disadvantages to Rustoleum painting is that it ends up looking like hand painted lawn furniture from close up, and it's not nearly as durable as a professional paint job. |
| The advantages are that it looks fine from 6 paces back (or with glasses removed), you can mix up your own shade of color to whatever you want, it's easy to touch up, it's cheap, and when that first scrape or gouge appears, you really won't give a damn. |
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