I'm building a road frame for my brother, and thought I would document the build here.

First - Thank you to all of you who regularly post. The community on this forum is amazing!
Second - I am open, and looking forward to, any commentary and/or questions about my process and workmanship. Don't hold back.
Third - Just trying to give back myself. My resources are fairly raw... I have no jig, no true surface plate, a basic set of files, a hack saw and a torch. I hope my make do methods will help others also with limited resources.

I'll post pics of my daily work, but don't be surprised if occasionally weeks go between postings.

Let's start! To work with, a set of PegoRichie pipes and Rene Singer Lugs. A steel fork will be built to match.

Beware of the Shop Dog! She licks!
Beware of the Shop Dog.jpg

The design.
Richard Gordon.Road-1 Drawing.010315.jpg
Richard Gordon.Road-1 Specs.010315.jpg

Rolling the tubes between a set of homemade wooden v-blocks.
Rolling the Tube.jpg

A hand me down dial indicator helps me to find the high spots.
Dial Indicator.jpg

I mark a center line down the length of the tube on the high spot using a piece of aluminum angle as my guide. I was playing around with a few different markers to see which ones I liked best. Previously I have preferred the Sharpie Ultra Fine Point, but the Milwaukee Inzall was very nice. it is a lot like the typical Sharpie Fine Point, but the point seems much firmer, so we'll see if it holds up better over time. The typical Sharpie Fine Point is ok when new, but still a little on the fat side. The Komelon Fine Point I found at Farm & Fleet was not good at all for this application.
Markers.jpg

A nice new set of maple tubing blocks... all from a $2.75 remnant piece from the lumber yard.
Tube Blocks.jpg

Yes, I got it now Richard, the painted end of the seat tube goes into the bottom bracket. Regardless, checking the other end with the seat post won't hurt. Measure 5 times, cut once. Bicycle tubing is expensive!
Seat Post.jpg

Showing the tube who's boss. A few minutes with the hack saw and files. A mill would be nice for production work, but unless you have a dedicated machine for it I think it would take longer to set up than this took.
Seat Tube Miter.jpg

A little bling will do. These should braze up nicely!
Water Bottle Bosses.jpg

The prepped seat tube.
Seat Tube.jpg

The prepped head tube, and that will be enough for tonight.
Head Tube.jpg