Filed In: Process

Father/Daughter Project - Part 17

February 07, 2020   |   Chris Blandford

Stem:

1. Miter Stem Pieces
2. Tack and Braze Stem
3. Finish Fillets
4. Braze Binders
5. Slot and Relieve Binders

I’ve only made a couple of stems like this one previously, but the process has been straightforward.

I begin by designing the stem in BikeCAD, printing the miter templates, and mitering the stem’s main tube. This tube is, essentially, a very short downtube; I miter it exactly as described previously. The other tubes (both made out of .058” tubing) are cut to length and squared up on my belt sander. I leave the tube that clamps onto the steerer long so that I can grab it while brazing. I’ll trim it to length once the binders are brazed on.

Once mitered, I drill vent holes in the clamping tubes, clean, flux, and load the tubes into a stem jig (Sputnik). I tack the stem together in the jig (obtuse angle first, as before), let cool, then pull the stem from the fixture. To braze, I clamp the stem onto a longer length of tubing.

Braze, let cool, and then soak.

Filed In: Process

Father/Daughter Project - Part 16

February 03, 2020   |   Chris Blandford

Getting closer.

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21. Cable Routing
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Now that I have the rear brake mounted, I can determine how I want to run its cable. I begin by installing some handlebars, and cutting a piece of housing. I hold the housing up to the frame, play with it until I’m satisfied with the run, and make marks with a Sharpie. For this bike, I decided to run the cable internally, in full-length housing. It will run from the bars, around the non-drive side of the head tube, and into the underside of the drive-side top tube. It will make its tube-exit in a spot that I hope minimizes how far out the v-brake noodle will protrude.

I understand that most (proper?) internally-run cable housing runs through a brazed-in brass or stainless tube (and is done up front, before any tubes are connected together). I decided here, however, to merely braze on a little reinforcement plate and drill an angled hole for the cable. (This is similar to how I’ve internally-routed lighting wire in the past.) I’ll probably do something different on the Father bike--we’ll see.

Filed In: Process

Father/Daughter Project - Part 15

January 31, 2020   |   Chris Blandford

All right, BRAKES!

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20. BRAKES!
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I’ve decided to go ahead and put hand brakes on this bike, as originally planned. I went back and forth a bit, but I think this is the right decision. I can always add a coaster brake if need be; it’d be tougher to go the other direction.

Brake bosses, I’ve found, are straightforward. Here I’m using a Paul brake (see Nerd Note A). For any Paul rim brake, I’ve used the simple, spring-hole-less Paragon bosses. To get them located, I install them onto the brake arm itself, insert a wheel into the frame (see Nerd Note B), and place them on the frame/fork. I mark the location with a Sharpie and that’s that. I usually check my placement against the recommended distance-from-axle spec, but--imagine that--the spec for brake stud distance for a 305 BSD rim isn’t listed in any of the obvious places.