Tom Martin wrote:
>
(cut)
> So I agree to a certain point. The same can be said of American builders.
> But what are we talking about here- the sign of the hand of the Euro
> 'masters' was unsteady and shoddy in most respects if you take an objective
> view of their work. Bad paint, poor weld penetration, overheating of
> surrounding metals, out of true frames and forks, etc are all 'signs of the
> hand' that the Europeans are guilty of too- not just the Taiwanese or
> Mexicans. If we want to celebrate the sign of the hand then maybe we should
> look at the artisans in Mexico, India and western China too- all those low
> end bikes are hand made and not robotically welded since human labor costs
> are still cheaper than a robotic mig/tig welder doing the same thing.(cut)
I would say "the sign of the hand" analogy... finger marks in raku pottery translates illogically (my opinion) to a flawlessly brazed and filed custom lugged steel frame. No "machine built" frame is as refined in its execution.
Chuck Schmidt L.A.
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