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Thanks for your interest in the bicycle
framesets which I manufacture and sell under the trademark
STRAWBERRY.
My friends sometimes ask me how I
started cycle framebuilding and how the framesets are fabricated, so
I'll take this space to tell you.
Upon graduation from University of
Washington School of Civil Engineering in 1970, I travelled to
England to tour and race my bicycle. My interest in
framebuilding developed after visiting several English Pro
shops with the typical frame shop out back.
In 1971, I bought oxy-propane tanks,
Harris brazing torches, a vice and some files, wrote the trig
equations defining mitre lengths and angles and started in. Today
I represent the Italian firm Marchetti S.p.A. in the U.S.A. and
fabricate steel framesets from Reynolds tubing in my home-shop.
Construction of a frameset begins after
the design calculations for tube lengths and mitre angles are
completed. With a completed design card, I select the
appropriate Reynolds tube gauges and then turn on the mitre machine.
Fork and rear triangle brazing is next, then the main diamond tubes
are degreased, mitred and jigged for brazing in the Marchetti
301/G-500 calibrated frame fixture. Finally, brazing of the
main diamond and attachment of the rear wishbone proceeds.
After a soak in the hot tank to remove
brazing flux, out come the files and in go hours of elbow grease.
Silver soldering of the braze-ons, a final check on the
alignment table and the frameset is ready to ship to Acme Paint
Shop.
Built with pride - one at a time.
Maybe I'll get a ride in tomorrow!
Andy Newlands
Strawberry Cyclesport
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Bottom bracket tapping with Marchetti
179/E
Cold sawing with IBP Super
Brown 2000
Frame alignment with
Marchetti 307/A
Frame brazing with Harris torch
and Marchetti 301/G-500
Lathe work with EMCO V10P
Tube mitring with Marchetti
102/M and 317
Sandblast cleaning with ICM 25
Water bottle boss drilling with Marchetti
102/M and 320
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