Have you scheen my Schwuffys?

[ChimeraCycle]

I had my first go around with a welder as bike guy. I think im happy. He says fill with jb weld and sand. The price was 20/ea. Left around 10am, picked them up just after noon, like I said, i think im happy? The purple bike is 700c, and the camel hump is very straight. These were test frames, so im happy. Red schwinn is an 86 sierra, so it has that comfy stay action I like so much.

What do you all think of the welding job and value?

Thanks for your input!

 

[Bicycle808]

I like the basic concepts, but i'd wanna get a closer look at the beads.... as in, close up of some of the junctures. Looks good from what i can see in those pics, though!

 

[ChimeraCycle]

The overall effect is cool no doubt, he didnt damage anything. He cut the tubes to fit, put them in, and cleaned up the welds. All in about 2 hours. I have a whopping $25 into each frame total. Oh, and hes a non-trad student doing this @ college, and the father of (wait for it) 7 kids, so im sure his time is more valuable than what im paying

Im planning on filling with ____? And sanding, im happy fo my first go around, and only out a few bucks. Anything I should tell him if I go back? I know nothing about the welding process, so I was just like

"put this tube parallel on the red one, anywere, and line up the top of the camel tube with the top of the stays."

The camel tube had seat and sterrer tubes attached when i left it.

 

[jamesdart]

I like the idea, but the welding itself, is not too good. Also got carried away with the grinder. I'm not trying to criticize the guys work, but I learned to weld at 14 and have been at it, on and off for the last 20 years. Best thing you can do is bondo all the welds including the factory welds so it at least looks uniform.

 

[Tomburr]

I like the idea, but the welding itself, is not too good. Also got carried away with the grinder. I'm not trying to criticize the guys work, but I learned to weld at 14 and have been at it, on and off for the last 20 years. Best thing you can do is bondo all the welds including the factory welds so it at least looks uniform.

I agree. I am not a welder myself, but I've learned and seen enough to tell good from bad. The weld beads look blobby and inconsistent. He took off too much material with the grinder, probably trying to clean up the blobs.
I think the trait that sets apart the best in the industry, besides technical mastery of course, is attention to detail at every step in the process. He may be new and still learning, or he may not be detail oriented. Either way, if it were me, I would pay a bit more to have someone with more experience and/or skill lay down a cleaner weld that would require significantly less cleanup and Bondo.

 

[us56456712]

looks don't matter much to me, its function. Looks like good penetration in enough places, poor looking penetration in some other places, but probably enough to work. I have seen much worse looking frame workmanship hold up. My Snyder has some real funky brazing. They just butt cut one of the top tubes and filled almost 1/2 inch on the top in with brass, which seems like an expensive and time consuming way to build a frame. I am still riding it almost 80 years later. However the finish grinds on the brazing are good and it was unnoticeable until I stripped the paint.

 

[Bike Bum]

You know what they say, "Good welding aint cheap, and cheap welding aint good". One thing I learned about welding over the years, a grinder to hide your weld doesn't make you a good welder. Basically, if you have to use a grinder, your welds aren't good. They should look like these. I'm just saying, you are going to have a lot of extra work to cover up these welds instead of starting off with good cleans welds. But if you're happy with the price and don't mind all the extra work then you should be happy.



These aren't my welds, they're just good welds.

 

[ChimeraCycle]

I appricate the responses. I shopped the job around today, and for what I could find in the price range, ill use him again. I did find someone who can do the quality work shown. Ill use him once i get a bit more figured out .

 

[deven_science]

Yes, the welds are ugly, but hey, it was pretty cheap, and the effect you were looking for was achieved. I like the second one.

 

[LukeTheJoker]

Yes, the welds are ugly, but hey, it was pretty cheap, and the effect you were looking for was achieved. I like the second one.

Totally agree, and the bikes structure has not been changed, so it does not matter how strong the welds are, just putty them up before you paint and it is all good!

Luke.

 

[ChimeraCycle]

Thanks Deven & Luke. Im right where you are. Im gonna do the ole bondo & build with the red one. Im not happy with purple. Wish Id had him cut out the old top bar before putting in thd camelback bar. Im still shopping that frame around, Ive got $25 into it, so ill have it reworked or call it a learning opportunity and move on. Thanks for the positive words.