Quill stem/bar combo

just finished this quill stem and straight bar combo(actually the bars curve back slightly)

it will be a prize for the Burro's 4 Year Anniversary Holiday Deliverycat & Party

i dont have any build photos because i just got a new camera, but this means that i will have more posts of my work with much better photos. 

about this stem:

i machined the quill tube from 4130 stock to get it down to the standard 22.2mm. then i machined the inside of the tube to lighten it up( i could have used thinner tubing, but its what i had laying around)

i made the extension out of 4130  and used some bars i found at Krank It Up community bike shop

i wanted the stem to have a classic look, so i cut the extension tube so that the quill could slide all the way through. i then fillet brazed the bars in place and then made stainless steel caps for the ends of the bars. i capped the back of the extension tube with a Florida quarter.

instead of powder coating or painting the bars, i thought using a gun bluing technique would keep it looking classic. the nice thing about bluing is that you can touch it up easily and you can see the bronze in fillets along with the grain of the metal. the quill and extension took the bluing solution well, while the bars came out a little splotchy.  I think that this must be due to whatever alloy the bars are made from or possibly due to the heat treatment that these bars may have gotten when they were made. whatever the case, i think it adds to the look. 

after the bluing process, i finished the bars with some boiled linseed oil to seal the metal.

more pictures of Matt's touring bike

racks for matt's touring bike done

finished the front and rear racks for matt's touring bike. they are made from 304 stainless steel. they are designed to be taken apart so that they will fit in the S&S suitcase. the lowrider racks can also be removed when not needed.

matthew's touring bike

here are some pictures of matt's touring frame just after soaking the flux off and reaming the headtube.   ill do some filing and sanding on the lugs and then attach the seatstays and chainstays.

Cross frame back from getting powder coated

we went with pearl white, goes well with the fillet brazing. this thing is gonna get so dirty. 

Eians cyclocross frame in the works

here are some photos of Eians frame. still in need of some finish work. 

front rack for "The Hammer"

just finished this front rack for Erin "the hammer" Hammes. its built with 304 stainless steel and i just did a brushed finish.  its designed to take front panniers, but she is unsure of the kind she wants to use, so we plan on adding mounts for the bags once she gets them. thats the nice thing about using stainless, you can easily go back and braze bits to the rack and you dont have to deal with chrome or paint. this alloy of stainless is also easy to bend in the tube bender, which is a plus. we also may add a light mount in the future.