General: Custom Frame

Story time...my girlfriend is a hippie and does fire hula hoop dancing, and one of the other hoopers boyfriends ended up being a frame builder.
So he is going to teach me how to build my own frame. I am super pumped about it.
Here are my questions.
1. What kind of tubing should I get?

2. What kind of lugs should I get?

3. What kind of track ends should I get?

This is going to be my perma track bike with my Phil Wood wheelset and Sugino crank. So I want to make it perfect.

I wouldnt know, like benson said, its your frame, do what you want, have fun, tell us about it and this... please ohhh please do a build thread about it...we all would enjoy that..

While I agree with Benson, I am pretty ignorant as to lug and end manufacturers. I've heard of a few: Henry James, Nervex/Newvex, Pacenti, Nova... Some of these guys make ornate designs, but most of them are plain jane. I would love to see some of them ornate shits. Anyone?

I would like to build a streetish tarck bike at some point. My thoughts are something along the lines of True Temper Verus SHT (4130+++) with some ostentatious, ornate, gaudy lugs. And cast track ends, but I know shit about them. Then I'd paint the crap out of it. Right?

I had a custom frame built a few months ago. I knew I wanted a track bike, steel all around, with a certain look and geometry. The fellow enlisted to build the frame, Malcolm Munro here in Toronto(biseagal), had all the hard information. He told me what kind of tubing was available and at what cost. He asked me what era or what look I wanted and he made recommendations. We chose the lugs, he made suggestions. Some lug choices were possible, some were not--based on geometry, choice of tubing, and geometry. He told he used silver for the lugs because of the melting temperature and lug/tubing solidity. The project took longer than expected because of suppliers and availability. He said most suppliers work very slowly--whether it's Henry James, CeeWay in England. I don't know about Pacenti. He found me a Cinelli Aero BB shell and turned it into a track shell. We discussed everything. He told me something all you wannabe builders need to know: Anyone can build a frame, not everyone can build a good frame that works, that lasts, that does everything it's supposed to do. And look fantastic. That's the standard set by the Italians.
Does your friend know the tubes and sets, old and new? It's more than just putting tubes together. It's chemistry, it's science and it's art. I wanted my frame to be IT. And it's the frame I imagined I wanted. You want yours to be THE FRAME. Maybe you should have a real builder make it for you. If you have some money, but no time, let it to a professional. Also consider failure rates. With the equipment and supplies you'll need--and time--it'd be cheaper to go to a pro. Find a builder in your area, ask if you can watch the process--it's fascinating. He'll know more than you. That's the point. You'll get a better bike for it. I know why Merckx and De Rosa became such friends. The building of a frame should be a personal effort. My guy had already built 20 frames, and repaired countless more, before building mine. And he knows his stuff.
Go through the Columbus tubing website. Try Kirk Pacenti and CeeWay UK. And LongShen. Then try to decide. Silver or bronze. And everthing else involved. Guy takes a course and ends up making the same bike over and over again. What is your dream bike? What's it going to look like? How much money do you have? Answer those questions then find a professional.
Just saying.
coppi68

There is no question, if weight it a concern, Platinum OX, 853, and all those other high end tubes have a significantly better strength to thickness ratio. Tubes can be lighter because they can remain strong at smaller thicknesses. They also cost a lot more. If you're building a frame yourself for the first time, you're better off using something more cost effective.

do what s.d said. go for cost effective. chances are you will do somthing wrong or just not great so it would be stupid to go balls out on tubes and all then mess up. then if you still ant to do somthing with better tubes then go for it, chances are the other frames will be much better than your first.
and keep us posted on what it looks like, and what you want to do with it.

Henry James makes such nice lugs. Fuck all that though have this dude teach you how to TIG weld and get smoooooth about your joints!
Well, maybe not the first time out, but later on I wanna buy a TIG welded frame from you :)

Posted By: fixedpuchI have an experienced builder who is coaching me through this. I think I'd like it to get real nice tubing.

no matter how experienced he is, he isn't building the frame. one quick mistake can ruin a tubeset. once you feel you have the hang of it, then try a nice tubeset.

lugs r beautiful

would it be possible to chop up an old frame and build a sort of dummy frame before spending a grip on a nice tubeset?

Posted By: jerereremywould it be possible to chop up an old frame and build a sort of dummy frame before spending a grip on a nice tubeset?

My buddy threw that idea out there, I might make a 29er trike for the deep snow. Just to get the hang of it all.

Gone, thanks for the heads up on staying away from the "sprint" tubes.

[a href="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/158/427407534_9f1686dcdf.jpg?v=0"]clickable text[/a] ^^

didn't mean to spam, figuring out html

BTW I love your quote. And the accompanying "We didn't measure, WE DIDN'T MEASURE!!!"

i know this is a cheap comparison but brazing lugs is alot similar to soldering pipes (mechanically speaking).
you could always practice with some copper and pipe solder. now this really is a cheap comparison but it may help you understand what is supposed to happen in a brazed lugged joint.

while i have never built a frame (lugged or otherwise), i could fillet braze my kilo back to taiwan.