At 6:55 PM +0200 4/20/10, Amir Avitzur wrote:
>I took an old Philippe "MajorTaylor" stem to the plater's recently
>to remove the old pealing chrome prior to polish & replate.
>
>Under the chrome I was surprised to find that it was made from two rather
>than three pieces:
>I expected three pieces: quill, lug and extension with some fillet brazing.
>
>Instead there was only a quill with a "built-in" lug and an extension.
>
>See photo at: http://www.flickr.com/
>
>It looks as if the built-in lug was bulge-formed.
>But bulge forming dies are expensive ... used only when the quantities
>justify the expense.
>
>Could there be another explanation?
It probably was welded. When you remove the chrome from an old Alex Singer stem or the hand-made lugs on a Rene Herse tandem, you find they are "one piece, all-steel." The pieces were gas-welded together.
Reyhand even built entire bike frames that way. He felt that the all-steel construction made for more uniform material properties of the frame.
Jan Heine
Editor
Bicycle Quarterly
2116 Western Ave.
Seattle WA 98121
http://www.vintagebicyclepress.com