Back In The Shop, Etc.

Where have I been and what have I been doing for the last month and a half? I have been to Victoria and to Edmonton for conferences; I have turned thirty and celebrated Canada Day; and I have defended my thesis. (DR.A.HAMMOND cycles now, my friends.) I have not been riding my bike very much, I'm afraid, and I haven't been in to the shop at all.

Until today, that is. It's been months since I've done any brazing—but apparently making bicycles is like riding them. It all went perfectly well. My friend Cory has a Surly that he wants to convert into a fendered city bike. I thought adding a bunch of braze-ons would be a good way to reacquaint myself with the torch. Here are some photos. (Cory is my kind of guy: he drilled all the holes for me, and outlined all the positions with a Sharpie, and wrote exactly what braze-on he wanted where.)

The above photo is the only one that warrants commentary. That's one of those brake-retainer-things for the Nexus front drum brake Cory's going to use. Normally it clamps on; but I've chopped it up, given it a shape (more shaping to follow) and turned it onto a braze-on, which I will braze on when I'm in the shop again, next week. (One comment about the other photos: I used brass for everything except the internal brake cable housing entries/exits. And no flux has yet been removed, and nothing cleaned up.)

I'll be out on another Zoo ride on the Curnoe bike tomorrow. My love of routine and habit means there is a limit to how many ride reports I can make. But I will soon post photos of Curnoe bike, two months into his life. And I do hope to ride to London soon, to visit Curnoe's former studio.