1947 Columbia Build

[NoControl]

Hi everyone,

So this is my oldest resto-build to date. A Columbia that I actually drove to Westfield, Mass to pick up. Not super sure where I'm going with this yet, but it'll definitely get the good stuff.

This is the way I got it. Repainted.











I stripped the paint off, and found some seriously crappy work. Big blobs of slag on the joints. Rough edges. Seams not filled. Looks like Friday afternoon work to me.

After media blast, the poor craftsmanship becomes really evident.





This is crappy work for sure. The wire-wheel marks are factory - not from me. I never use a wire wheel on my bikes.



My plan is to do body work on this frame and have my powder coater guy do a nice glossy cream or ivory color. Should be nice. Any thoughts, wisdom or complaints are always welcome. Thanks for looking!

 

[The Renaissance Man]

I like the frame, Should make a nice bike when it's done!

You said it was repainted, I'm thinking who ever painted it could've been responsible for the gouges. I've seen some rough factory metal work, but that looks beyond acceptable. Either way, it's only cosmetic. You need to ask your powder coater what to use to repair it to make sure it is compatible with their process.
Another bit of advice is to do a complete mock up before sending to the powder coater. You don't want to deal with straightening a warped frame or parts that don't fit after you get it back!

Good luck!

 

[Scribble]

Cool project

 

[Dizzle Problems]

Nice one! Lookin forward to seein where this goes

 

[NoControl]

I like the frame, Should make a nice bike when it's done!

You said it was repainted, I'm thinking who ever painted it could've been responsible for the gouges. I've seen some rough factory metal work, but that looks beyond acceptable. Either way, it's only cosmetic. You need to ask your powder coater what to use to repair it to make sure it is compatible with their process.
Another bit of advice is to do a complete mock up before sending to the powder coater. You don't want to deal with straightening a warped frame or parts that don't fit after you get it back!

Good luck!

Oh, I agree fully!

I'll space the front and rear for the wheels that I'll be using, and check frame for alignment even before I begin smoothing everything out. Strange - I'm an educated and accomplished welder, yet I do not own an OA torch setup. I just retired last year, and I've come to realize how much I relied upon my company's equipment.

I would certainly fill in all of this boogedy-boo with bronze, but since I don't own a torch, I'll try Lab Metal. My powder-coater guy is totally cool with Lab Metal, and uses the hell out of it himself. We'll see how it goes, but a nice Victor J28 is definitely on my radar.

 

[léocwc]

It's a beautiful challenge, congratulations. I learn a lot by following these restorations

 

[NoControl]

Its been nice weather so I've been concentrating on finishing the staining of my house siding. Consequently, I didn't get much time to work on the Columbia. So far I've removed the wheels, fenders, seatpost, and the fork. Bit of a problem with crank removal, however, because someone in the past has welded the pedal to the crank. Its nothign that a cutoff wheel wont cure, but I would have hoped to have saved the part. Oh well.

 

[NoControl]

Sadness.



At least with the kickstand and the fork removed, we can determine the original color. :thumb:



I'm fiddling about with this right now because its 48F outside, and I don't feel like standing on a ladder with a paint brush in my hand right now. The hot cup of coffee I have here at my desk is telling me to stay put for a bit. :lol:

 

[NoControl]

Any updates?

Yes, yes there are. Sorry to be remiss. Its been a hellish Fall season here and there are a few too many irons in my fire and the coals are dying...

Basically, I'm going to be using some Lab Metal to smooth and contour all of the shoddy workmanship. Its even more evident after the media blast.



I going to make it all smooth and creamy.



These wire wheel marks were under the original finish. I was surprised to see such poor quality. I thought post-war was the start of real quality American goods, and pride in the workforce.



I understand brazing. I've actually taken classes for gas welding and brazing, so this comes as a shocker to me. I just don't see how they could have slopped all of the braze around. My guess is that they may have used a flux that contained bronze dust, sort of pre-tinning the joints for easier brazing with fewer pinholes, etc.



Overall there's a lot of cleanup here to bring this frame up to par. Lots of sharp edges, and burrs.

 

[NoControl]

Any updates?

Yes, yes there are. Sorry to be remiss. Its been a hellish Fall season here and there are a few too many irons in my fire and the coals are dying...

Basically, I'm going to be using some Lab Metal to smooth and contour all of the shoddy workmanship. Its even more evident after the media blast.



I going to make it all smooth and creamy.



These wire wheel marks were under the original finish. I was surprised to see such poor quality. I thought post-war was the start of real quality American goods, and pride in the workforce.



I understand brazing. I've actually taken classes for gas welding and brazing, so this comes as a shocker to me. I just don't see how they could have slopped all of the braze around. My guess is that they may have used a flux that contained bronze dust, sort of pre-tinning the joints for easier brazing with fewer pinholes, etc.



Overall there's a lot of cleanup here to bring this frame up to par. Lots of sharp edges, and burrs.

 

[NoControl]

Also, if you look at this pic, you can see that there is a seepage of some sort of oil. I thought it was just a shadow at first, but after running my finger inside the head tube, I did find a bunch of goo. A can of cheap brake cleaner should take care of this. I'll Framesaver this frame once it comes back from powdercoat.

 

[NoControl]

Here's the filler that I'll be using. I've used it before and its great because it can be powder-coated.



Here's the Lab Metal applied to the crappy joinery. I thinned it out, and applied it with an acid brush. MUCH easier than using a spatula or popsicle stick. More precise too.



:thumb:

 

[NoControl]

Checking frame alignment. Its a good thing I did. The rear was a full .250 to the port side!



10-15 minutes of tweaking brings it in compliance. :thumb:



And every time you teak the rear triangles, you should ALWAYS recheck your drop-out alignments. As you can see, this was off as well.



Dead nuts now!



All dressed up and ready for the powder. I'm headed to my son's house today to help him bust loose a frozen 350 chevy engine, and then I drop this off at the powdercoater.



More to come!

 

[Scribble]

Those frame bending tools are awesome, I got to use a set at a local bike co op. its amazing how much better a bike will ride after using them.

 

[NoControl]

Those frame bending tools are awesome, I got to use a set at a local bike co op. its amazing how much better a bike will ride after using them.

Thanks! I started buying all my Park tools a little at a time. Every payday I would order a tool or a set of something like hex bits or torque wrenches. Eventually I got all I needed. The only thing I'd like to have now are the BB and head-tube facing-tools. Those are big bucks, and I probably won't use them as much as I think I will, but still...

 

[RustyGold]

An alternative theory...maybe what you see as the original finish is a previous 'restoration'. Maybe the brazing everywhere is what they used for filler?

Jason

 

[NoControl]

An alternative theory...maybe what you see as the original finish is a previous 'restoration'. Maybe the brazing everywhere is what they used for filler?

Jason

Hmmm...

A good theory, but since the sloppy braze was under the original paint, I doubt that there was any prior resto.

I did just get the frame back from powder, but been too busy to do anything other than set it down and walk away. Today I am busy as a one-legged man in a butt kicking contest, and tomorrow I have surgery which might lay me up a while. We'll see. I'll try to get this build back on track and some pics up by the end of this weekend. Stay tuned!

 

[RustyGold]

Good luck with the surgery!

 

[ozzmonaut]

Rather than Friday afternoon work, it might have been a Monday morning hangover production.

 

[NoControl]

Rather than Friday afternoon work, it might have been a Monday morning hangover production.

Lol, yeah. Looks like they puked on it.