Bikes By Stewart

[Andrew R Stewart]

DSC00067.jpgSo to continue the tool theme, I put together a Flicker album of many of my building tools from the last 30+ years. Many are self made. A number have had revisions or remakes. A couple are other's tools.

Flickr

Andy.

[Andrew R Stewart]

IMG_1350.jpgThis winter has been one of my more productive ones in a long time. That red CoMotion tandem from a few posts ago has been painted and it's reassembly started. I'll post more shorts when it's completed but for now a tease with this one. CoMotion did a really nice paint job. Not just the very smooth and consistent paint but they laid down a chain stay protector strip, placed a new SS bolt in every threaded boss (all 20!), included two new seat binders and painted both stems (one that I had made all for the same cost that I'm about to pay for a single frame paint job. I really have to take my helmet off to them.

This shot shows the great blue color and the AL tape I used to plug the vent holes. The OEM state had used what looked to be masking tape for this. Of course I Frame Saved the blades first. Andy.

[Andrew R Stewart]

Exceptions- We all have some in our lives, personal and professional. Ethics, responsibilities, standards, Golden Rules, mission statements guide us but every so often there needs to be an exception. I just now delivered a bike for a long time client and friend. With exceptions come explanations... When I started out building I worked for another guy, doing a few frames for his customers and myself. Then for a few friends of mine. A few years later I put in a season at another shop and again built for another guy's customers. For the next 30 years I built only for myself and the wife. During this time I gained understanding as to what made a professional frame builder (which I wasn't) and the responsibilities to one's customers that it included. A few years ago I returned to my home town and reacquainted myself with old friends and one I had built a bike for when I was first starting out (#11). We quickly grew our friendship and she asked me to be her POA and HCP as she had no family (and trusted my judgment more then other friend it seems, and I had gone through life ending decisions with a wife and parents recently so I'm emotionally capable of these responsibilities). Sandra still rode that 38 year old bike I had built, we converted it from drop bars to better deal with her aging body. She asked me to build her a new bike with some other changes. Hence my exception to not building for others when liability was a possibility. I did think about this for a long time. I could have helped her with the design and worked with another builder to get her bike built. But she is "almost family" and we came to an understanding. I posted some shots of this bike on Friday Night Lights a short time ago.

This experience has motivated me to consider my building future. It's time to reenter professional life and become fully legit. This will take time. My Summer will be spent fulfilling a bucket list item with a Portland to Portland tour. I'm in no rush to hang out a shingle or even to take on clients. My building will still be for my needs of creativity and progress, just now I can expand my horizons with peace of mind that I'm taking care of others ethically, as we all should.

So this exception has led to another big word- Growth. Andy

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[Andrew R Stewart]

Nearly two years since I posted here. That's a lot of days and thankfully miles. I rode my bike 2/3s of the way across our big country. Adding a bunch of states to my list. Three frames have been built and a fourth is now started. Got a lot of little shop projects done. I heard the nasty noise of a bike/rider hitting the road behind me in TN. Thankfully my wife is OK and road on that day, she hit pretty hard.

The last three months have been kind of crazy. I had toe fusion surgery, was off my foot for weeks but finished the two frames and within days of being able to drive delivered them to the guy who paints for me and others here. Foot #2 get's it's work in a couple of days. I'm getting fat from the lack of mobility, beer doesn't help:) But I hope the down time and pain will result in being able to ride long and hot miles again.

Soon I'll share photos of my recent projects. The frames won't be anything amazing for most here but I'm happy with how they turned out. I've started my first disk braked frame/fork. learning little bits as I go. But the cool project is a seat tube holding beam modification to my HJ Universal jig. The material has been ordered, plans drawn up and the couple of items that I can't make myself are underway.

Thanks for reading about me and I promise to have some interesting photos as I complete or assemble cool stuff. Andy