First Steps

Ah, here we are, on the eve of a new frame build....gotta love it! This will be John's fixed gear commuter/long ride/fun bike. Since John can't be around to see the progress first hand, I though a little on-line build chronicle was in order.
After all the dimensions and geometry is hashed out, I draw up a full size blueprint for the frame- no computer needed.
Then, all the tubes have to be cleaned inside and out and inspected. I look for any imperfections, mark the butt lengths, check the tubes for straightness (by the way, no tubeset is perfectly straight), and orient the bows in the tubing so that when the frame is built the bows won't affect the alignment. I'm using a Dedacciai tubeset here, and as is typical for this brand, everything is very nice and within 1mm of being true.

Laying the tubes against the blue print to balance the butted sections and make the marks for the rough cuts....looks like there's a rogue spider on there too!Checking the downtube lug angle. This lug will have to be adjusted a bit as this frame has a taller fork (fender clearance) coupled with a higher BB (pedal clearance) that puts the lug about a half degree out of spec- well within adjustment (read: bending to fit) limits though.

This is my first time using a Pacenti fork crown too, it is super nice!

Drop out mods underway.

Next: sub-assembly fabrication.