Friday Heat // - Wrapped up Chris’s Hunstman Ti this afternoon. All the little bits go on Monday. Then into finishing and anodizing. This one’s going to be a pretty sweet build! Steel fork next too to match I’ll start next week. - Every once in a while someone will ask me why I wear a PPT while I weld steel and Ti. I send them a pic like the 6th pic up above. What’s that saying? Something about a picture being worth a thousand words? Protect yourself kids. You only get two lungs. - #titaniumisreal #weldeverydamnday #weldporn

Hot Seat // - Chris’s Huntsman Ti UDH getting the heat treatment. I think I need new distilled water hence that darker halo. Also has been more humid so not sure if that’s effecting things a tad. Just a bit more clean up with finishing! - #titaniumisreal #weldeverydamnday #weldporn

Subtle // - Here’s 3 Marauder prototypes spanning 2018-2024. All are very similar but all are very different. The changes at play were HT angle, front center, reach, bb drop, CS length/rear center and seat tube angle and observing how these all of these assembled as a system effects handling. - Attributes of each prototype were observed and those that were preferential, aka “oh, this one really climbs well” or “boy, I’m having a tougher time picking up the front end but damn this descends like no business!” were over-analyzed, understood and decoded so only those attributes that were preferential carried over to the next iteration. Through repetition, observation and analysis can you actualize and build a better handling bicycle. And doing it objectively? That’s another challenge. - All of this is to say I’ve done my homework and I’d encourage all of you out there to stay in school, do your homework, stay diligent, immerse yourself and revel in the details and do your best work day in and day out. Rinse and repeat. That’s the only way you progress, and reach a higher standard. There’s absolutely no short cuts to reach proficiency. And without proficiency you can’t even get close to mastery. Thus ends today’s lesson. See you first thing tomorrow morning. Now go get to it! - Edit: I somehow posted the geared version of the 2018 prototype. HERESY!! So here’s all 3 in their proper configuration: SINGLESPEED. - #stayinschool #framebuilding

DS0001 Ti Purged Heat Sinks // - These have LONG been an assembly in my mind. This past spring I transferred that concept into Fusion 360 and with the help of @sean.handerhan of @threeriversprecision we made them a reality. - What is this over the top sorcery you may ask? Well, let me tell you: @paragonmachine makes their Ti hooded sliding dropouts (Part No. DS0001) which can be tricky to manage back purging of the backside of the hood. You can use tin foil damming and such but I’ve found that to be insufficient and I often get arc strikes between the foil and tubes. I’ve made a few purge parts but the hoods have some delicate radii between surfaces, so it’s an ideal candidate for a CAD and CNC. These parts match Paragons STEP file of their dropout perfectly and are essential a bronze sandwich that will help manage heat but also deliver argon to the back side of the hoods so little to no clean up post weld is required. The parts are also reverse engineered versions of Patagons SS inserts with a few modifications to deliver argon and serve as a heat sink. To help keep some cost down, I handled tapping and location/drilling of the purge vents as that would have required a bunch of additional steps. These are to the moon and back again!! - Thanks to @sean.handerhan and @threeriversprecision for getting these done. YINZ know what you’re doing! And if anyone needs thoughtfully machined parts, hit up @threeriversprecision !! - #titaniumisreal #heatsink

6 Days of 29 and Single // - Day 6+3: Builders own personal vanity project. - I’ve built a lot of prototypes for myself since starting this adventure in 2007. Out of all those builds, this one actually feels done. The last piece of the visual puzzle for just the right balance of titanium, anodized fade, gold and hits of stainless steel surrounded by a field of matte black was black top caps for the fork. @fox finally decided it was ok to offer black damper and air side caps in black. But that’s been a dream since like.. 1996. So I now have a totally stock matte black fork top to bottom. Oh, and don’t forget: remove decals. Just enough mind you, but not too many. But this build is DONE for me finally with fine tuned geometry and handling and a well balanced visual palette of colors and select components to mirror my own riding style and taste. You know.. important stuff for boys. - #singlespeed #titaniumisreal

6 Days of 29 and Single // - Day 6+2: Dan’s Silver Lightning Bolt.. - #singlespeed #steelisreal