Takhion for Sale

It's 4 in the morning and I just got the alert for this listing:

Aaaaand they're gone.  Only listed for six hours - that might be a record.  

Just kidding, the true Takhion is still available!

Wow, 30 minutes and gone.

The repaint is still up for grabs!

Stupid Spraypaint

A consistent downpour all weekend has kept me indoors again, so today I had plans to install the bottom bracket on the Takhion Restoration.  The person asshat that decided to rattle can this poor frame sometime ago never bothered to tape off key areas, like the headset bearings...or the BB threads.

SERIOUSLY!?

There was some concern during the restoration of this frame in using harsh paint removal or anything chemical, so while the BB had some of this paint removed there's still a little bit that remained stuck in the threads.  I've removed leftover paint in bottom brackets before with a bit of elbow grease, so I thought I could tackle this one.

Better, but still a bit of remaining paint.

Try as I might, I could not get these threads clean enough to get the BB cups on all the way.  Cross threading wasn't the problem - I could get each cup a little over halfway on, but then they would get stuck in BB thread gunk.  I'd pull the cup, reclean the threads, and try to remove more paint, but with no luck.  

Whatever crazy formula for spray paint that was used on this frame has defeated me.  These threads need to be re-tapped.

I don't happen to have Italian threaded bottom bracket taps, so I'll be taking this frame over to Velotech for a proper cleaning and re-tapping, and the actual BB installation itself (Suntour Supere Pro, of course).  

A bit of a bummer and a dumb mistake to make on my part for not getting this taken care of prior to the painting, but at least I can learn from this and not repeat it next time.  Ironically enough, I was concerned about using chemical paint removal on the BB threads because I didn't want to have to retap them.  

Aside from that, I spent the rest of this rainy Sunday watching Paterek framebuilding DVDs.  Guess I can't complain too much.  

Showering With Seat Tubes

When I decided that I was going to build frames at home, I knew there would have to be some compromises regarding equipment.  Starting out, I only had the budget to get tools that were absolutely necessary - you can't make a frame without an oxy-acetylene setup, but you can forgo having a milling machine.  An alignment table is a must, but lacking a lathe won't stop you in your tracks.  A good jig is essential, but a soaking tank for flux you can do without.

Okay, so maybe I didn't think that last one through.  

I realized this when I needed to remove the flux on the bottom bracket after brazing the seat tube.  I don't have a dedicated soaking tank for removing flux - which really is no problem.  As long as you can with soak or run hot water over the area in some way, you'll be okay.  Perfect, I can just stick it in my shower!  

For those of you who don't know, California is in the middle of a pretty awful drought.  They haven't started really cracking down yet, but they have started asking people to lessen their water use in any way possible, so I'm trying to be really careful.  Leaving the seat tube and bb in the shower with the water running didn't really seem too responsible.  So I had to improvise a bit.

Yep, I showered with a partially built bicycle frame.  

It worked pretty well, I must say!  

All cleaned and partially filed! 

I know the idea of steel + water makes some people cringe, but soaking tubes in hot water was how I was taught to remove flux.  Multiple times I had my frame fully submerged, and if you're careful enough and everything gets dried quickly, you don't have to worry about rust.  

If you do happen notice a little bit of surface rust (which can happen in a humid environment), gently sand it off or use the magic of vinegar to get everything back to normal!  

Sunset Jaunt

I went out for a ride and managed to catch a pretty amazing sunset through a break in the rain.  It was pouring down for quite a while, so I had the bay all to myself.

Since this is the path that I commute on, you might think it would get old to ride it again on the weekends, but when I get to go out on a slow jaunt and really explore, it's a completely different experience.  

Looking towards the East Bay.

You can just barely make out Oakland in the background.

Wildlife observation path leading all the way out to the bay.  A bit muddy, but lots of fun.

I rode out further as the clouds were really starting to move away.  

At one of the many observation points along the bay. 

A short but sweet ride amid the utter craziness as of late!

Rainy Day Handlebar Modeling

We're finally getting some rain here in California, which is awesome in every way except that it prevents me from getting any frame work done.  However, a request from a reader reminded me that I needed to finish up some work on another project, so here's where I'm at so far today:

Screenshots taken in Meshlab.

Takhion handlebars, modeled to scale.  There is work yet to be done on the angles, but the measurements so far are working...though it's always up in the air until a physical prototype is made.

With the clamp area extruded, to boot.

 These weren't modeled after any specific pair of bars that I have, but rather the "average," meaning I took a few design liberties when it came to width and clamp size.  All of these factors are easily changeable in the model, so it's easy to give these bars a clamp area diameter of 26.0mm and a width of 44cm, or 26.4mm and 40cm, etc.

It's hard to find a view to make these look good.  I guess I need to model a Takhion as well. 

It would be great to get these made with a CNC tube bender, but prior to that I'd like to get a printed prototype to check against the actual bars.  Unlike the Takhion caps, these are not exactly something I can 3D print due to size, so prototyping might be a while off until I get the chance to do some research on local places with tube benders.  

And I know there are a few of you wondering exactly what is up with the Takhion caps - they're not dead, just taking a long, long time with further prototyping and figuring out injection molding and whatnot.  

...I wonder if it's possible to 3D print lugs for investment casting...

Colorado On My Mind

It was early when I started out - I knew if I waited too long the afternoon wind would pick up and prevent me from working, so I had to use my time wisely.  I threw on some old clothes and went out to set up the shop, a bit of a time consuming process since it's not currently possible for me to keep everything in one place.  The Park stand, alignment table, a few files and the tubes I was working with went out first, then my sketches and design notes.  Finally I opened my tiny shed and unchained my oxygen and acetylene tanks from the wall so that I could roll them out - the shed is so small that there's only room in there for them or me.  

Someday I'll have a real shop!

I continued where I left off last time, which had been the tacking of the BB to the seatpost.  The wind had started early last weekend, and I wasn't able to continue brazing until today.  I rechecked the alignment from the tacking on the table, ensuring the bottom bracket was center and the seatpost was straight.  

While setting up the torches I had that same uneasy feeling again - what if I have no idea what I'm doing?  What if I fail?  What if I blow myself up?  Thankfully it was fleeting, and after everything was cleaned and fluxed I lit the torch and the uneasiness melted away.  I was in my element.  

The tube sang as I did my first round of internal brazing, pulling the metal inside to ensure a strong joint.  Changing the torch tip had made a world of difference, and there were only a few small areas that I needed to clean up before doing external brazing.  While the seat tube cooled, I prepped the top tube for mitering.  Squeezing into my tiny space between the drill press and the work bench, I set the vise to the proper angle - 77 degrees for this particular miter - and traced the template onto the tube.  

Printing templates - my top tube and post-in cheat sheet.  Disregard the math, it's incorrect and I'm only using this for the tube diameters and wall widths!

The seat tube had cooled and I carefully cleaned up a few of the bad areas.  I still need to get my temperature control down, but my brazing was smooth and consistent.  It's strange how quickly the little things came back to me, such as the method of getting the tubes to sing for internal brazing and the way to move the torch to get the optimal temperature.  Maneuvering the tube to where I needed it, I was able to create a nice, even fillet, and after the initial inspection only needed to spot fix two areas that had divots in them. 

Shiny happy flux!

The top tube was mitered while waiting for the seat tube to cool, but I knew I would need to soak off the flux and check the alignment in the jig before moving on.  The wind, of course, had started to pick up early, and any further brazing today was out of the question.  

Though it seemed like I had done so little, a few hours had already passed.  I made sure the oxygen and acetylene were shut off, I cleaned the torch tip and files and checked that everything was put back in its proper place, and I closed up for the day.

It's not much, and I've got a long way to go and a lot to learn.  But it feels so good to be building again.

Everyone's gotta start somewhere.