Just watched this great video of a Rookey Bikes build. Some really fine craftsmanship.
I’ve messaged him but thought I’d ask here too. Anyone know what BB shell he’s using? I’m assuming Columbus but I can’t find it.
Happy new year!
5 Likes
They are building a Columbus Cento frame which has this fancy BB with it.
Thanks! Anyone in the states selling it?
Beautiful build. It’s amazing to see what you can do with hand tools.
That is the Cento BB. I have been curious about it as well. Does anyone have any experience using it?
I believe this BB is only available in a full kit. Metal Guru had the kit for sale but I believe Carl has since sold out of them.
Matty
Interesting way to pre-cut the mitres using the metal shears! Probably tough only works up to a wall thickness of way under 1mm…
I’ve had a tubeset like that in my hands before, it is ridiculously thin, and the BB is fancy but super complicated to build with…
2 Likes
This was a good listen cheers for sharing!
1 Like
At work we use this service when our in-house machine shop gets backed up. Many of you are familiar with Misumi and this is their (North American I believe) machine shop. Prices are very competitive but it is mostly limited to simpler geometries. Lead times are usually pretty impressive.
2 Likes
Thanks!! Not the prettiest solution, but it gets the job done and makes much more accurate miters than I’ve ever been able to do with just a file.
2 Likes
Here is a cool video of the Maxway Factory in Taiwan:
I am a big fan of the 90’s style voice over 
2 Likes
Using a wood lathe is brilliant IMHO! They are small, cheap, and readily available on the used market.
I’d love to see more detail on the rotary table + vise setup you have mounted in front of the lathe. Is it something like this?
https://www.amazon.com/BACHIN-Horizontal-Milling-Drilling-Machine/dp/B0CFZJS2GR/
Thanks!
-Jim G
3 Likes
I think it it is. I have one in my drill press they have some play but I can make decent miters with it.
That is a great solution! Thank you for sharing, plenty of good ideas there - SUBSCRIBED!
2 Likes
Thanks! Here is a pic of the whole set up. Doesn’t get much more DIY/garage hack than this. The vice and rotary table are 2 separate pieces. The 80/20 extrusion gets everything up to the right height and I used aluminum plates to connect between the 80/20, rotary table and vice.
18 Likes
Yes clever and seemingly effective. I gotta say though, I winced when I saw him doing the rough cut with an abrasive cutoff wheel. Too slow, but my main complaint is the abrasive dust being showered all over the shop*. I would only do that outdoors. Not to mention the smell and the noise. And the fact the two hacksaw cuts do it just fine in half the time.
Back when I worked at a shop where we hand-filed all the miters (early '80s), we got to where the two hacksaw cuts and the right-size half-round got us near-perfect miters in a New York minute. Then after we got a cute little Austrian milling machine (Emco, not Enco!), I raced with Glenn Erickson. Me on the mill and he with hacksaw and file. Glenn won, by a little, but I consider it a tie since my miter was slightly more perfect. We were brazing not TIG welding though, so a little more forgiving on miter perfection.
*I realized after I wrote that cutoff wheels have to stay outdoors, that’s because I don’t want the grit on my lathe and milling machine. Which you don’t have, if you’re mitering tubes this way! So, never mind, and carry on!!
Oh one more thing to add, before I got lathe and mill in the home shop, for hobby framebuilding I mitered on the 2 x 72" belt grinder. Same basic idea of making several sizes of contact wheels to make different miter sizes, with the advantage that 72" belts don’t heat up as much or wear out so fast. But that grinder, and my bench grinder and other dirty tools, still have to stay outside. Too much grit flying around.
-Mark
7 Likes
Interesting Carbon bike, and it is not ugly.
https://cdurobikes.com/
8 Likes
Whoa! That “ILT” winding is pretty wild looking. Seems like there’s a lot of innovation happening in the DIY carbon fiber space right now.
3 Likes
whoa, thats cool.
The video of their winding process deserves its own highlight:
2 Likes
Very cool to see this framebuilding school’s setup
Having three individual stations so three people can learn at once must be a fun experience.
4 Likes
As I know…they produce tubes for Festka https://festka.com/
2 Likes