John, your welding skill is moving along at an amazing rate! I'm not sure everyone realizes this is what, just the third bike frame you have built (at least in RRB-ville) ever? Your ideas, methods, jig building, and the actual welds are really top notch-ed! (welding pun intended)
I've been working on it slowly, watching a lot of tutorial videos and reading a lot. Wasted a lot of steel just practicing, too.
First RRB was BOTEN (Build Off Ten, 2015) with
The Scrapper - DNF due to distractions and, well, I welded the BB in backwards....TWICE!
Second RRBBO:
Mid-Western Flyer X16 BO11, 2016. First time Finisher. Light, but twitchy due to head tube angle/trail. Maybe could'a fixed it with a different fork, but, oh well. (though that seat, handlebars, and crank keep making a comeback1!)
BO13 in 2018 saw me try a recumbent,
Black Cat 13. Hey! that rear wheel and derailleur look familiar! Handed it off to somebody else who needed a recumbent. (I have another.)
2022 saw
A Zombie Reborn in BO17. Hmmm... maybe I kept the cranks from the Black Cat? This seems to be when I built the jig (>insert Irish dance joke here<) Didn't keep it despite the cool factor because it was a bit heavy, steering weird, and other things. Great learning experience.
Also, reminds me of
It's a Bird, a Winter BO2018 that I did not finish, but was some inspiration for the Zombie, and also details my perforated tube jig and "Shower Saver" tube cone hack. Though, seems I never got to welding that.
And then there was last year's
5-G Conspiracy - the Great Green Grocery Getter, Greyhound edition. Hmmm... those cranks again....
So, 5 is the RRB scratch count.
Zombie Resurrection raises it's hand (and the dead). er-hmmm...
OK, 6 scratch built frames documented on this forum. Resurrection was never made into a bike, but was a quick and fun project for practice.
So, yeah, started with a simple Everlast welder nearly 10 years ago, lots of tutorials, some prior exposure to welding, and TONS of
failure practice. TIG can be done for not a lot of money, just be willing to learn and find the cheapest sources of steel you can to practice with. I think it's a much cleaner method than MIG with just a slightly higher learning curve. Of course, taking a course or two and having professional guidance will speed things along.
PRACTICE MAKES BETTER
Thanks for going down memory lane with me. Now back to your regularly scheduled Build Off!
