"Building a welding JIG first" - design process and thoughts

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Electra Ratrod jig tryout: HERE WE GOOO!



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The jig is very sturdy!

I will lengthen the bike about 18 centimetres.

Positioning the jig is still temporary. I plan to hang it on a tilting frame on the wall or hang it on the ceiling of the shed, so I can work around it.
 
I ordered tubing for the 'lengthening' of the Electra Ratrod bike.

@Captain Awesome should I create another topic for the build of the Electra bike? Or just document it here, since it is a learning project?

I also made drawings for the rollers.
Since manufacturers have pricing for 'roller sets' I thought I am being smart by combining two smaller tube diameters :grin: it also helps with changing: I have to change less times for alternating tube diameters.

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The tubes have an offset: I learned that by looking at the original rollers. This way the tubes will not get stuck in the rollers. But the rollers do not give the tubing space to bend in undesireable ways....

Material of choice: Toolsteel.
 
BartRidesEternal said:
I ordered tubing for the 'lengthening' of the Electra Ratrod bike.

@Captain Awesome should I create another topic for the build of the Electra bike? Or just document it here, since it is a learning project?

I also made drawings for the rollers.
Since manufacturers have pricing for 'roller sets' I thought I am being smart by combining two smaller tube diameters :grin: it also helps with changing: I have to change less times for alternating tube diameters.

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The tubes have an offset: I learned that by looking at the original rollers. This way the tubes will not get stuck in the rollers. But the rollers do not give the tubing space to bend in undesireable ways....

Material of choice: Toolsteel.
Click to expand...
Your choice

I’m following along either way
 
Tubing came in!

26mm for inner sleeves.
38mm for the chainstay part. I am pressing the 38mm a bit oval, like the original tube.
30x2mm for the top tubes. I will put these in the lathe so I can match it with 29mm original diameter.

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Perfectly tight. Light taps with the hammer.

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All sleeves are in perfectly.

Next step will be tube alignment since the chainstay/lower tube has a slight different angle.

Exciting!
 
I put the 30mm tubes in the lathe and made them 29mm like the Electra frame. Wall thickness is now 1.5mm, also like the original.

Back home, I cut the tubes to size and checked the sleeves. They fit perfectly!
Incredibly satisfying :inlove:

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38mm lower (chainstay) tube in the hydraulica press. To match it with the original from the Electra frame.

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Little dents on the top and lower part. Not a big issue, gotta keep it to a minimum.

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Done!

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Does the straight piece of the top tube interfere with the Electra lines? What do you think?

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Little gap to be filled. Brazing has a capillary effect, so it will be tough with the sleeve inside.

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Le perfect!

Well Done Ok GIF by funk
 
A little update:

The new ruff whitewall tires are on. These 26x3.0 are the most beautiful tires for a bike I have seen thusfar :inlove:

The hub internals are cleaned and greased. The drive side (driver) small bearing was a little crusty. Its got a new cone and balls. The driver race is thoroughly cleaned.

I love these oldschool rims with the 'higher' centre piece, where the nipples go. They remind me of the "Rigida Ryde V38" classic rims. Absolutely gorgeous!

BEFORE:
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AFTER:
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FAT
 
BartRidesEternal said:
Does the straight piece of the top tube interfere with the Electra lines? What do you think?
Click to expand...
I think it looks fine, like an antique motorcycle frame. I haven't kept up with this thread so I need to go back and do some reading but, wow, this is looking fantastic!
 
Pondo said:
I think it looks fine, like an antique motorcycle frame. I haven't kept up with this thread so I need to go back and do some reading but, wow, this is looking fantastic!
Click to expand...
I agree on your view there, haven't looked at it that way. Thanks!

I cleaned and rearranged the shed since building frames here is quite a challenge space wise.
For now the JIG is resting on two brackets on the wall, so my workbench is free again.

I also spot-welded the sleeves in the frame after alignment.

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Nearly ready for some heat and baking it back together! This is so cool!
 
Alright, I emailed a company with experienced bike builders my wishes for this frame in regards to brazing.

They explained to me, that this situation is not ideal in regards to brazing since they need to heat up every part equally as much before adding with the stick.

So I decided to weld this frame and braze the next. And in the meantime try and find a good class course in brazing.

A son of a buddy of mine really wants to learn about welding (he's 9 years old and homeschooled) and I thought: Why not, lets do this together and have some more fun. So I might weld this bike with him and his father.

And my tube notcher came in! JD squared. US made and very heavy... built to last!
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Ready and unpacked for assembly!
 
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As good as assembled. Testing soon.

Now I really need to clean and rearrange my shack. Spacewise its a challenge... the Harley and the Davidsons made it work 100+ years ago :cool2:
 
And finally via Stakesy's in the UK I found the rollers! Sent an email and a couple of days later the rollers are here!


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Beefy!

That means planning workshop arrangement and some final tooling. I have about 6 or 7 square meters for working on frames. The bending machine (swaying tubes!) Takes up most of the space.
 
For the Electra bike, I wanted to test a chainring/chainwheel I designed to my liking.
I designed it intuitively in regards to looks.
I need to 'sharpen' the teeth in the lathe and then powdercoat it.
This is a learning project for me.

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I love that it is so open!



In the meantime, I changed the workshop a bit. Now I can bend with the roller and tube notch!
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Work in progress.
 
Started tacking evenly in the JIG. When it was secure, I removed the frame from the JIG for the last bits to weld.

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Next:
Sand the welds a bit, then prepare for a powdercoat.

What colour shall I choose for this frame? Matte black is pretty sweet. Dark blue? Feel free to express some ideas. I might create a topic in the 'builds' section when this one is going to the coater.

Wheels are:
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BartRidesEternal said:
Started tacking evenly in the JIG. When it was secure, I removed the frame from the JIG for the last bits to weld.

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Next:
Sand the welds a bit, then prepare for a powdercoat.

What colour shall I choose for this frame? Matte black is pretty sweet. Dark blue? Feel free to express some ideas. I might create a topic in the 'builds' section when this one is going to the coater.

Wheels are:
View attachment 279844
Click to expand...
Just curious but did you drop it back in the jig after final weld to see if you had any distortion?
 
Captain Awesome said:
Just curious but did you drop it back in the jig after final weld to see if you had any distortion?
Click to expand...
I haven't checked that tbh. I could do that.
I dont expect much distortion, since I removed it from the jig when welding was 80% done. Only the last, 'hard to reach' pieces were left.
 
Update:

Via a Dutch bikepacking forum I have found an retired instructor who is willing to give me a class course in brazing. I am currently looking for a workshop where we have enough space to practice.
The instructor also has his brazing stuff for sale, so I might end up with a torch aswell :thumbsup:
I am incredibly excited and thankful for this.

Currently I am planning my first 'from scratch' frame build. My very own learning project.

It might just be this CrMo, shaft drive, looptail, klunker bike I want to build:

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Last edited:
MattiThundrrr said:
What a fantastic opportunity.
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It is! Yesterday was my brazing lesson. We soldered with silver, brass and did some destructive testing to see if it all worked out in regards to quality.

I also bought the brazing tools, so now I can practice at home. Its pretty hard to manage. I can describe it like wrestling a friendly bear while grilling sausages and cleaning some wet lettuce that is being eaten by a slimy snail. In mortal words; its a process with variable speeds and levels of skill at the same time.

And the location... wow...

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