Re: Fillet Brazing, was: [CR]Interesting Paramount track tandem on ebay

(Example: Production Builders:Peugeot)

Date: Sat, 15 Nov 2008 18:01:03 -0500
To: Classic Rendezvous <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
From: "John Betmanis" <johnb@oxford.net>
Subject: Re: Fillet Brazing, was: [CR]Interesting Paramount track tandem on ebay
In-Reply-To: <491F3A05.2090907@verizon.net>


At 04:07 PM 15/11/2008 -0500, Harvey Sachs wrote:
>Item # 120329578794
>++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
>Well, David, looking at the pix, a smile came to my face thinking about
>stripping the paint from one of our Town & Country tandems way back
>when. The fillets looked lovely under the factory paint. Nice and
>smooth, but that wasn't done quite the way the brothers Jack Taylor did
>it in the Olde Sod. As my propane torch flame flickered across the
>joint, the lead melted and flowed out from under it... :-(

As many older folks here know, lead was the proper material for smoothing auto body seams back in the fifties and sixties. It was used by body shops and manufacturers. Using body filler was considered a cheap and dirty solution and in most cases the filler didn't last long because people used it over rusted metal. Obviously one had to start with clean body metal for lead to stick. As the grinding of lead became recognized as being toxic and plastic body fillers improved, the use of lead was phased out. I would not doubt for a moment that lead may have been used to cover irregularities and file marks on fillet brazed bicycle frames back in those days. Using body filler would have most certainly have been considered low quality shortcut. As for adding excessive weight to the frame, I don't expect the small amount of lead left after sanding would have weighed a significant amount more than the same volume of brass.

John Betmanis
Woodstock, Ontario
Canada