Tom Dalton asked:
> Would any of the frame builders on the list care to
> elaborate on the tack brazing vs. pinning issue
and Dale replied:
> E-Richie and then before him Brian Baylis both talked about
> this at length in the Cirque seminars
Dang, I would like to hear what they said, on this and so many other subjects.
My own opinion: it depends. A clumsy, inept tack braze could hurt the frame, as could a bad enough pin job. If either is done adequately, there is no damage to the frame. I have done hundreds each way, and can't recall a single problem except when we were pinning thin, tapered seatstay tops to the seatlug - not enough metal around the hole, and a couple cracked during brazing. Fixed before the metal was cool, and no problem to the rider, just extra work for the builder, so we stopped pinning there.
Then again those tacks may have been washing all the "resilience" out of the tubing and I just didn't notice.
Pinning done really well involves drilling while the tubes are assembled into the lugs dry, no flux. Then the frame is disassembled, the holes deburred and drilling chips cleaned off, then the pieces are fluxed and reassembled. NOBODY does it this way if they are trying to make a living - I'll bet all I can afford, $5, that Mondonico doesn't do it that way. But this is my favorite way for the very finest frames. Actually if time and money are no object, tiny fine-thread screws are even nicer than tapered pins; the tube is tapped for the screw to thread into. I made only 2 or 3 frames that way.
Mark Bulgier
Seattle, Wa
USA