Pictures of progress!
Hey everyone, here are some new images of the latest progress with prototype 3.
The bottom section is finished and is ready to be trimmed back, the seat stays are being dried and will be assembled tomorrow, as will be the top tube. After all the pieces are assembled, it’s a matter of carving away at the frame, and waiting on the steel components to come in. So from this point on, ideally it should only take me about 2 more weeks before I can start to finish the frame.
Although the speed at which this frame was built was faster than the previous ones, there were still sections of the building which took way too much time. More specifically the gluing and layering of the down section. The first problem is, is that with titebond 3 I get 30 minutes to work with the glue, and with 20 large layers, I’m unable to spread the glue and assemble everything quick enough, without drying out. Secondly trying to compress 20 layers in one hit is near impossible with my current set-up, as it requires too much pressure for my f clamps to produce.
I’ve thought about solutions to this problem, And I feel there are two that would be suitable for my next frame.
One: Gear up and spend the money to purchase the proper tools, an industrial band-saw, more clamps and a large press.
Two: Start to use only mahogany, cutting out beech altogether, as it’s an easier wood to work with, the only problem is, is that beech for me is a perfect material as being a larger guy, the added strength and stiffness surely makes a difference. However I could imagine that a normal rider, weighing about 70 kilos, mahogany would work well.
Currently, I’m more inclined to try the latter option, as it doesn’t involve me spending too much money to build another bike, however if I’m able to get my 3rd frame down to 2kg, then I might reconsider and invest in tools to keep producing similar frames.
Seat stays
Top tube, being compressed
Bottom section ready to be trimmed back
Zheng Chin Design 