day one

first i interviewed Chris for a few minutes about business and frame design. i'm planning to build at least a couple frames for family members while i'm here, so i asked some questions about what materials to use. my dad is a big guy, 230 lbs, 5'6", so even though i'm planning a road bike for him, Chris said to use OX Plat tubes in a thickish gauge, like a mountain bike. Henry James doesn't list them, but i'll see if Monica knows anything. or else i'll see about some Heavy Mettle.

got a lesson and practiced some TIG welding. it's much different than MIG, a little like gas welding. more finessed than MIG, much less bulky-looking.

Chris took me to run an errand at a metal store. it was unlike anything i've ever seen...it was warehouse-sized, and filled with metal of all kinds in all shapes. no tools, no hardware, just metal. alu, steel, copper, brass, stainless. 4" diameter by 3" long steel cylinders. bars of solid copper--never knew it came like that. i saw a guy cutting down about 30 tubes at once using a super-sized horizontal band saw.
in Maryland there's a store i get sheet steel from. everything they sell is listed on one sheet of paper. this store needed a book.

at the end of the day we worked on a Ti bike that's getting S&S torque couplings. still not sure how all the parts will come together. a couple Ti rings needed their ID enlarged slightly, so i've been using a die grinder on them for a couple hours.

we're also working on a bench/table for the Trek store in Tuscon. welded square steel tube TIGed together. so i spent a lot of time cutting down 10' lengths and deburring. tomorrow i think i'll TIG the thing together.

learned:
the jig is an Anvil Journeyman.
tungsten is used for TIG electrodes because it has a melting point thousands of degrees higher than welding is done at.
In and Out Burger is far superior to Jack in the Box.
everything is bigger in Arizona.