Occasionally, I take a picture of what I see. Not what it is that I happen to be working on, but what I “see”. A lot of what I see is often looking past the surface. And that gets at the type of work I do. It’s the type of work that requires you to …
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What I See
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2016 in Review
2016 has had plenty of hills to climb. Reviewing my Flickr archive, which is pretty much where I catalog all of my work at length in addition to the words written here, there’s been a lot of great bikes that rolled out the door, an enormous investment in time and machining in making new tooling …
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THERMLX™ Branding Project
With the departure of True Temper as a U.S. supplier of bicycle tubing, many in the small niche of Bicycle Framebuilding had some concerns, including myself, as to who may fill that void. For myself, utilizing as many U.S. suppliers as possible is paramount not only for my own brand, 44 Bikes, but in a …
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Sunsets and Basketballs
When I was home over the holidays, I was reminded of just how sweet the sunsets are at good old 138 Jefferson Street. Being in town has it’s negatives compared to living off the beaten path (it does have some benefits too) but one of the perks of growing up where I did was the …
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My First Precision Tool
The year was 1996. I was a student at Penn State University. I had recently been given permission to access a machine shop across the street from my studio on campus. I was turning and machining my own bicycle hubs and I needed my own dial caliper. The cheap one I had purchased from a …
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Thoughts on Soil…
I feel really lucky to have grown up in the Upper Perkiomen Valley. There’s a strong Pennsylvania Dutch heritage there (of which I share) and as a youngster, my grandparents would share lots of stories, their stories, that painted a picture of times long gone. Part of those stories were a fondness for that “simple …
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Titanium : Looking Back and Towards the Path that Lies Ahead
So if you’ve been following along via Flickr and Instagram and reading along here via the 44HQ blog, you’ll have taken note that I’ve been working with and working towards offering Titanium as a companion material to the tried and true offerings in Steel. At first, I was hesitant to share my work and journey …
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Set the Example. Lead by Example.
Although I have lived a life so far of relative comfort, I haven’t lead a life of so called “success” in the most traditional sense of the word. I’ve had my share of steps forward only to be met by steps backward. Narrow victories followed by immediate and devastating losses. Improvements made while then faced …
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Lessons in Plaster
I want to say it was my second year at Penn State which would be the fall of 1996. I still hadn’t discovered that whole industrial design thing which would eventually lead me to the Rhode Island School of Design’s I.D. Department. It’s funny how chance encounters can lead you in a new direction. But …
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What Season? Hunting Season!
Every year, with the coming of fall I’m looking to the state’s resources on when one particular season starts: Hunting Season. And we’ve got our fair share of seasons up here in the Great State of New Hampshire. It runs the gamut with Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter, but then there’s those pesky intermediate seasons …
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