TOPIC:

i want to add the braces to my frame this thanksgiving. what is the stock frame made of? should i use 4130 chromoly for the braces? a teacher of mine said it was good metal, will it weld nicely to my frame? any special wire needed to do it? thanks, ryan

machinist sitting next to me says 1018
you're gonna lose temper on the 4130 when you weld so unless
you're gonna heat treat it's a waste of $

AFAIK these old bikes are all mild steel tube anyway

Persomally, would braze it rather than weld. You'll get 70% of the strength and a good brazed joint is gonna be stronger than a crappy weld...
unless you can weld a lot better than me

-Duck

Stock frames are mild steel,c/m is great for bracing.. Kosman's kit is c/m, but you have to TIG weld it !!!! I tack fitted my Kosman kit with a MIG welder, but had to take it elsewhere to get it TIG welded. Has something to do with heat, metal, magic fairy dust, or something like that.

Where are you bracing?

Yep- I forgot TIG. If he's gonna TIG weld it and can TIG weld well(as in good), the temper's not lost. Benefit is he can use thinner material for and save weight. IMO these bikes are already pretty heavy and since I can stand to lose 20lb myself, the hassle & $ for C/M is wasted

Now when I get to the scratch built frame...
We'll see how the welding skills have progressed. MIG Al or TIG C/M?

I'm still real fond of brazing, highly biased 'cause I can do it well(as in good).

IIRC the Rickman frames were all brazed.

-Duck