Re: [CR]Re: More Facts About the NOS 1972 Masi (I.P. Merkin)

(Example: Production Builders:Peugeot:PX-10LE)

Date: Mon, 30 Jun 2003 10:40:24 -0700
From: "Brian Baylis" <rocklube@adnc.com>
To: IPMerkin@aol.com
Subject: Re: [CR]Re: More Facts About the NOS 1972 Masi (I.P. Merkin)
References: <162.22aa8055.2c318c39@aol.com>
cc: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org

IPMerkin,

I can tell everyone from personal experience about both wheel building and mounting tires, from the perspective of Faliero Masi while in Carlsbad, CA in late 1973. I did both jobs. As a matter of fact, I was probably hired at Masi for the reason that on my "resume" I mentioned that I had built some of my own wheels, and that I had painted a few bikes using an air brush!

Someone recently asked me exactly what my chores were while I worked at Masi. I have decided to recount what it was like to be one of the first Americans hired to work at Masi, CA. Faliero was in attendance for part of the time. The very first task that I was assigned to was to build wheels for the bikes. Faliero Masi taught me to do it EXACTLY his way and no other. We accomplished this with very little language in common because the previous interperter had been let go, and the replacement, Gian Simonetti, was still a week or two from being hired. We used "S" brand 15 ga. stainless spokes, Martano rims, and Campag. small flange 36 hole record hubs. All wheels were built cross 4.

Faliero paid no attention to which way the label on the rim reads. I would start out by putting the nipples onto the washers and getting a whole bunch of them ready and sitting on the bench. I sat on a stool that allowed me to rest the rim on the bench. I would drop in the first 9 spokes and attach them to the rim in every fourth hole beginning with the first hole to the left of the valve hole. Anyway, the process had to go exactly as he dictated; bending the spokes to the angles, etc. during each step and so on. Faliero had made two simple truing fixtures that were used to true the wheels using only ones' thumbnail as a gauge. The Wheel dishing tool was used, and between the fixture that allowed me to prestress the wheels a bit as he insisted upon, I was able to true and stress wheels to his standards. After about a week I had no thumbnail left to true wheels, and I had built probably 100 wheels. Faliero decided it was time to put some tires on these wheels. They were fitted with Clement 250 gm. Criterium seta tires. Faliero taught me to glue rims by brushing on slightly reduced (contact cement reducer) Clement glue onto rims with an acid brush. I would wipe the rim with Lacquer thinner, brush on glue, set aside to dry for at least an hour. I was taught to stretch each tire over my shoulder and knee, inflate slightly, scrape the basetape of the tire with the edge of a 6" file (to deburr the excess "tire buggers" and give the glue exposed cloth that would absorb the tire glue eventually), and mount without getting so much as a SPECK of glue on the tire. Faliero would not allow any glue on the sidewalls of the tire. He never made any mention of which way to mount the tires relative to the labels. If it had mattrered to him, trust me, he would have made sure I did it. I learned his method and it still works for me. Falieros' wheelbuilding sequence is obsolete. It will not work with modern hub widths and other factors related to modern rims and hubs.

I probably built about 200 wheels and mounted tires on them in my first weeks at Masi. I had lots of close personal contact with Faliero as he taught me to build wheels his way. He insisted that I stand up while truing wheels. He said it made you pay attention better and kept one from becomming lazy. The great thing about working in a low production factory like Masi was at the time, is that you are exposed to any given task for a week or two in most cases. You see the whole process going on in the shop every day. During that time you really learn to do the job very well. There was first class supervision and teaching to start you off, then you got lots of practice at it in a very short time. I was extremely fortunate in that not only was I one of the first workers to arrive, which meant that I saw more assignments than almost anyone else in the shop; but I also never really was stuck doing only one thing for the whole time. Two of the guys were frame filers from the very beginning, and that's all they ever did. I had previous experience that led me through wheelbuilding and bike assembly, then on to some filing operations, and eventually into the paint and decal department. I even got a few brazing lessons from Mario Confente along the way, as I was taught to braze dropouts into fork blades and rear stays. I also brazed on some seat stay caps. My time there was very compact with learning and doing. It was an ideal learning situation and an excellent beginning to becomming an independant framebuilder. The Italians knew from the beginning that within the framebuilding community, those who learn from established framebuilders who have the aptitude, will eventually go out on their own. It is a fact of life. Masi did it, Colnago did it, DeRosa did it, everyone did it.

Anyway, there is the Masi view of rims and tires and the graphics thereon. Masi didn't care. Special care might have been taken on certain occassions; like if something was going to be photographed for something special. I will continue bringing back some memories of my early experiences at Masi. I haven't thought about it much until someone inspired me to think back to what I actually learned at Masi, and from whom. I use these skills every single day. How I picked them up is sort of interesting. Hope this won't be too boring.

Brian Baylis La Mesa, CA Time to use the Ex-acto knife with skill of a brain surgeon on some lugs. Too bad it pays the wages of a typical beet farmer in Bora Bora.
>
> John Barron (aka Velostuf) noted:
>
> "The wheels are both laced 4-cross with "Martano" decals that read correctly
> from the right/drive side, and the front tire label reads correctly from the
> right/drive side while the rear tire label reads correctly from the left side!"
>
> When did builders switch to showing both tire labels on the drive side?
> Would having both labels on the same side be considered "incorrect", or was it one
> of those things that varied from day to day, depending on the individual
> builder/tire gluer? As noted in another post, I'm working on my circa '77 Gran
> Crit, and might as well get it right (ps - thanks, Chuck, for your Benotto
> suggestion). I'll quit pestering you guys now.
>
> Thanks in advance.
> I.P. Merkin
> Providence, RI