Kirk Frameworks

[suhacycles]

Taiwan, = good food!
My short trip there was a buzz

Good eats and pretty cheap! I have an aunt who lives in Taichung and if I ever visit again I hope I can stop by the Long Shen factory for a tour. =)

[Peter Polack]

Dave-

From your photos, I get the impression you do most of your work in your garage. But considering you live in MT and the winters must be punishing, isn't the garage COLD?! Either that, or heating it must be expensive with a concrete floor and uninsulated garage door, no? Your most recent photos show you working in a T-shirt, then what, a pack of mule deer outside in X feet of snow? I'm impressed with how clean and organized your work area always is.

I was snowshoeing in our local park yesterday; CT had a record snowfall of sorts last week, 18-24", which I know is poseurville by MT standards. I hike these trails weekly as a volunteer trail caretaker, so when I came upon this T-shirt hanging from a tree that I'm sure wasn't there the previous week I thought, "Who would remove their T-shirt when the temps have been in the 20's all week?"

[Dave Kirk]

Dave-

From your photos, I get the impression you do most of your work in your garage. But considering you live in MT and the winters must be punishing, isn't the garage COLD?! Either that, or heating it must be expensive with a concrete floor and uninsulated garage door, no? Your most recent photos show you working in a T-shirt, then what, a pack of mule deer outside in X feet of snow? I'm impressed with how clean and organized your work area always is.

I was snowshoeing in our local park yesterday; CT had a record snowfall of sorts last week, 18-24", which I know is poseurville by MT standards. I hike these trails weekly as a volunteer trail caretaker, so when I came upon this T-shirt hanging from a tree that I'm sure wasn't there the previous week I thought, "Who would remove their T-shirt when the temps have been in the 20's all week?"

Good morning,

You are right - winter is long and cold here and good heat, at least for me, is an important thing. I know some guys can just do there thing in the cold but I am not one of those guys. I like it warm. When I started my business I bought a propane heater and used it for about 2 weeks before I was over listening to it......... they sound like a small jet taking off. I then researched getting a natural gas heater installed and it was very expensive and they also tend to be loud. So I ended up getting a wood pellet stove and it's just about perfect. I go through one pallet (2000 lbs) of pellet fuel per winter and they cost about $220. So heating the shop for $200ish for the entire winter is a very good thing.

If I keep the shop fairing warm then the floor doesn't get too cold an the shop then heats up pretty quickly in the morning. Couple that with the insulated garage door and it's very comfortable.

On occasion I get mocked for having a neat and clean work area but the mocking is more than worth it. I really enjoy a small and tidy work area and it's worth the few minutes a day needed to keep it that way. I get more done and enjoy the process more with a neat shop - even if it does mean I'm not an 'artiste'.

Stop by for a shop tour some time. Bring some good walking shoes and check in at the front desk and inquire about a tour. They are offered on the hour from 9 - 5.

Thanks for the question,


dave

[nahtnoj]

Dave,

I saw the pictures of the crate you made for NAHBS. I'm wondering what you ship raw frames to JB in? Have you made a similar reusable container?

[Dave Kirk]

Dave,

I saw the pictures of the crate you made for NAHBS. I'm wondering what you ship raw frames to JB in? Have you made a similar reusable container?

A good question.

JB and I reuse boxes for a number of trips and they are all double wall boxes - meaning a box in a box. This allows us to have the outside box wear out in time while using the inner one for a very long time. This ends up being very safe for the bikes and easy on the wallet.

I looked at making crates but the weight is so much higher that the shipping costs go way up so I never went there.

I wish there were a better way and I'm open but this is the best way I've found so far.

Thanks for asking.

Dave

[Dave Kirk]

FWIW there is a filletpalooza going on over at my place over the next few days. lots of words and pictures fro you visual types.

dave

Kirk Frameworks Custom Bicycles

[Tim Porter]

Well, last year at this time on Dave's blog I saw one of these with specs that were perfect for me. I got in touch with Dave and did the deal. This one represents the bike featured on this year's blog and is on its way to 2011 NAHBS:



As of a few minutes ago, this bike is available.

Mine turned out like this:



It took about 5-6 months to get the completed bike and Dave couldn't have been greater to work with. In just the one summer, I've had some of my most memorable rides on it. I'm not so gaga that I'd call it the chance of a lifetime, but it kinda is. You will not be disappointed. Tim

[Pi Guy]

FWIW there is a filletpalooza going on over at my place over the next few days. lots of words and pictures fro you visual types.

dave

Kirk Frameworks Custom Bicycles

Hi Dave,
That was a really fun post to read! Thanks! A few questions about your process if you don't mind sharing. How do alignment checks fit into? I am guessing you check perpendicularity of BB/ST unit post tinning. Do you then take the tinned main triangle from the jig to the alignment table, check it, then build all the fillets in one go? Check alignment between fillets? Sorry for the barrage of questions and thanks in advance for any response!

-Jason

[Dave Kirk]

Well, last year at this time on Dave's blog I saw one of these with specs that were perfect for me. I got in touch with Dave and did the deal. This one represents the bike featured on this year's blog and is on its way to 2011 NAHBS:



As of a few minutes ago, this bike is available.

Mine turned out like this:



It took about 5-6 months to get the completed bike and Dave couldn't have been greater to work with. In just the one summer, I've had some of my most memorable rides on it. I'm not so gaga that I'd call it the chance of a lifetime, but it kinda is. You will not be disappointed. Tim

Thanks for the kind words and for posting photos of your very clean build. It looks just right to my eye.


dave

[Dave Kirk]

Hi Dave,
That was a really fun post to read! Thanks! A few questions about your process if you don't mind sharing. How do alignment checks fit into? I am guessing you check perpendicularity of BB/ST unit post tinning. Do you then take the tinned main triangle from the jig to the alignment table, check it, then build all the fillets in one go? Check alignment between fillets? Sorry for the barrage of questions and thanks in advance for any response!

-Jason

Good Morning and thank you for the question.

Yes, you are right I am posting the Cliff's note version of the build and if I listed every step I'd fill too much bandwidth.

That said there are alignment checks built into the process. When the tinned front triangle comes off the jig it gets the BB faces squared up and then put onto the plate. I check and make note of how the bike sits and then pick my brazing order and direction of laying the fillets so that the heat and timing will make the bike come into alignment as I go. I do not cold set the tinned triangle. Once the brazing is done the the flux removed I recheck the BB faces and it goes back on the plate to check my work. 99% of the time I'm good to go. If not then the triangle will get a very small amount of cold setting. Once the front is verified the rear can be added and I go through a similar process of checking the alignment and using the brazing itself to pull the bike the way I want it to go.

It took me a silly long time to get the pattern down - so that I could manipulate the alignment with the brazing but now it's nearly foolproof (a the risk of jinxing myself!)

Let me know if that answers your question and be looking for the next installment very soon.


Dave

[Dave Kirk]

Show bike fillet bike blog entires II and III are up. Take a gander -

Kirk Frameworks Custom Bicycles

Dave

[Mike T.]

Very nice.

[timto]

Wow. Just freaking wow. thanks for sharing. I've learned some great tips for the next time I build a frame. Bravo!

[roguedog]

that is beautiful work, david. wow

[Dave Kirk]

that is beautiful work, david. wow

Thanks so much.

Part IV is up today - all forks all day.

Kirk Frameworks Custom Bicycles


Dave

[Lionel]

Nice !

The blade bending "tool" looks pretty basic. How do you calculate precise rake with it?

[Dave Kirk]

Nice !

The blade bending "tool" looks pretty basic. How do you calculate precise rake with it?

Hey,

You'll notice that there is an adjustable stop that the blade touches when fully bent. This is set up and down to get a given rake and has calibration marks on it so that I can set it to XX mm of rake and bend the blades and get that rake. when I first set it and was calibrating the stop I figured the spring back of the material and made a rough stab at the settings and then made test bends with scrap blades until I got it fully calibrated and repeatable. Now I set it and forget it.

Dave

[drewgh2o]

Dude! You are freaking going OFF on your blog right now! Jesus P. Great photos, man. Yes, the wrench pic is good. The letters are good and black from use and it's great old font, but I personally like the shot with the tap in her nose! You're KILLING it. Thanks for the inspiration.

[Dave Kirk]

Dude! You are freaking going OFF on your blog right now! Jesus P. Great photos, man. Yes, the wrench pic is good. The letters are good and black from use and it's great old font, but I personally like the shot with the tap in her nose! You're KILLING it. Thanks for the inspiration.

Thanks for the note and the enthusiasm.

It's funny........ the 'wrench photo' was very much unplanned. I use my dad's old wrench on every bike I build and it is always sitting on the bench. I looked down at it the other day and saw it differently for some reason. The dropout was sitting next to it and there was this great late day winter light and it just struck me. I set the camera on macro and snapped off a bunch of photos and forgot about it. I only remembered it when I downloaded the photos and that one was so perfectly focus and the lighting so right - it was like a gift.

Thanks for reading here and on my blog. This has been a really fun experience.

Dave

[Dave Kirk]

Just a quick note to say that the final in this blog series is up. If anyone is interested in this frame please let me know and we can check the fit for you.

Thanks again for reading. It's been fun sharing the build from tip to tail.

Dave

Kirk Frameworks Custom Bicycles