Painting the metal drop outs.

My pal Lew Gardener kindly brazed up the rear drop outs for me again having also done the brazing on the bottom brackets and head tube fixings. It is a tricky job as there is a big difference in thickness of the drop out and the tubes. Also the alignment of the tubing had to be good to my wooden frame and not necessarily square and as there was no jig to hold it all in place we resorted to the method we devised on the plycycle mk1. This involved me offering up the rear stays and fitting the wheel with it all essentially loose. Then when I was happy with the alignment I tacked the metal parts together with tiny dabs of a super strong epoxy. This held the pieces in place until Lew could tack weld the components then burn off the epoxy. Not ideal but it worked. We bolted the drop outs onto an old axle and surprisingly they lined up perfectly together, my frame turned out remarkably true.

Drop outs tacked and ready to braze.

Drop outs all brazed up.

Drop outs primed.

Drop outs all sprayed and lacquered.

 So the next stage is a big one. Fix the back end of the frame together. The end is in sight, after the final structural bonding there is final shaping and sanding, fitting the cable guides and finish the seat post fixing then I can varnish and fit components........ Ooooooh so close.

Drilling and carving.

In order for the cable fixings to attach and bed into the frame properly I decided to carve out little trenches for them to sit in. I think it will look much nicer with them sitting flush with the wood and I also think that the strength of the bond will be much better. 

I tried hand carving with a chisels on a test piece of ply. It was fine when on the flat surface but carvin end on was a bit of a mess. I think my small chisel needs sharpening.... again. Anyway I found that my router has a blade that is a perfect fit and on the placements along the frame where there it is flat or convex I can rout out a good shape. The ones on the complex curves will have to be hand carved, once I have sharpened the chisel.

  Cable holder trench and test placement.

The other thing I have tackled recently is the seat post hole. On the Mk1 I really made a hash of the seat post, it was all on the wonk. Essentially because I rushed it. So this time I carefully set up my workbench and braced and clamped the frame making sure it was plum square with my small pillar drill rig. After lots of fiddling and checking I was ready.

I used a orger bit in a standard drill to get started. The bit worked a treat and once I got to the limit of the small pillar drill action I did the rest carefully by hand. I orger bit works best at a sower speed and with the straight hole established it didnt deviate as it is such a strong drill bit.

It got quite hot and I had to take it slowly, constantly clearing the chaff and letting the bit cool down. 

Drilling the seat post hole.

I would still like to have an adjustable seat but I am trying to figure out the best way to fasten it. At least I know it is straight this time and I can permanently fix it in if need be.