Frame building school.

[Ralph]

Doug....I believe my son Jonathan Greene went thru your school. I'm currently on my second "Jonathan Greene" Cycles frame. They just keep getting better. Started with you.

[Doug Fattic]

Originally Posted by Mzilliox

Geez brother, sign me up soon!!! thats fantastic stuff. these guys were beginners?

Steve, Robert, Sam and Jason didn't have any framebuilding experience before class. Julie had already apprenticed with another builder but wanted to fill some gaps in her knowledge like how to do a bike fit and convert that into a frame design. Even though she came with great torch skills she was surprised at how much more she learned. One of my side specialties is lug cutting and she wanted to augment her great skills in that area with any tricks I knew.

Every student takes a different amount of time to make a frame. And different styles of frames require more or less time to do. This means it isn't practical or possible to dictate a specific time when certain tasks must be done. I allow students to work as late as they want in the shop to refine their work or to catch up. However this flexibility means a student may or may not be able to paint a frame in class. Sometimes they will take them home and do more finish filing. A few of them come back to take my painting class.

My life has been dedicated to teaching others how to build frames and my techniques have been refined over many years. There are methods that greatly shorten the learning curve like identifying common rookie mistakes and how to avoid them. It is important to me that our craft can maintain the highest standards. It is a totally unregulated business and anyone can join and even teach if they want not matter what their qualifications might be. I can't worry about what others are doing but I can try to provide the best way possible for those that want to build frames. I can explain how I do this with the example of my latest student. We will call him Frank even though that's not his name.

More than a year ago Frank discovered he had some serious medical problems that would require big treatments. This meant he could no longer be in his profession and had to take time off from doing anything. During his recovery he found bicycles and wanted to learn as much as possible about them. He went to the framebuilding class at UBI and enjoyed his experience but realized that what he got was only the very beginning of his journey. He needed a lot more training to turn his new hobby into a business. A google search told him that I not only teach more advanced classes but also do a charity bicycle project in Ukraine where we make frames on a college campus. About 10 of my former students have gone over there to make heavy duty steel transportation frames to up their skills. This repetition helps them build frames faster. They stay for 2 or 3 months and Frank is looking forward to taking his turn. He is an illustration of a process a rookie can take so he/she can eventually turn out a decent finished product for others.

[Doug Fattic]

Here are more pictures showing the variety of treatments students have done on their frames. They continue to show the professional quality someone can do on their first try in the right class. Those from art (represented in the cut lug pictures) or engineering backgrounds (with simpler tastes) are my most common students. I get 3 groupings of ages, late 20's (maybe it will grow into a profession) around 40 (an activity that can provide balance to life's stresses) and then 60's (with their growing free time they can make something really nice for themselves and/or family member). The oldest guys are usually the best students. They grew up learning how to work with their hands and are comfortable asking me to repeat myself and for help if things start to go south.

The biggest problem in learning how to build frames is remembering all the many details involved. This is why I focus on how well students are catching on and have methods to make details stick better. I've heard often that "l'll show you and copy what I do" is the most common way other classes teach including the most well known one that has 8 students to one teacher and his assistant. Brazing involves many subtleties that are hard to pick up without extensive explanation.

Not everyone has the innate ability to be able to make frames. Just like singing on tune or being able to hit a fastball, some will never do it well no matter how long they practice. A framebuilding class gives someone the chance to find out if they have the sustainable interest and ability to do this detailed work. If they don't then Herbie and I can do the harder parts so every student will leave with nice custom frame.

One of the reasons my students make nice frames is because I set a high standard I expect them to achieve. It is a balancing act to have high goals and provide a way to get them but not push so hard they break. One of my first lessons when student teaching was that not every student will like a teacher. This is why it is helpful to have 2 different teachers in my class. This makes it possible to adjust who is helping whom to keep interpersonal friction as low as possible. The reality is that doing something difficult can be very rewarding when finished but really stressful and frustrating during the journey. The process needs to be carefully managed so it doesn't become too much and their only smile is when they are leaving class. Keeping a light atmosphere can make learning easier and more fun.

[Ronsonic]

Good work, Doug. Even more impressive getting such nice work out of other, inexperienced hands.

My brother, a very smart guy, once pointed out "knowing how a thing is done isn't the same as knowing how to do it. If it were, we would all be journeyman brick masons." Anyone who ever so much as repaired a chimney or built a backyard BBQ pit has learned the truth of this.

This is a higher manifestation of that same principle. Pretty well every one in this forum knows how frames are made, but to do it, and do it in a way that makes sense in the long run that's a different thing.

Good work. I'm working on my luthiery skills, but ya never know I may feel the need to do metal and you'll get another one of those sixty somethings in there.

[Doug Fattic]

For students that want to have repetitive work to refine their skills, we provide an opportunity for them to make basic transportation frames on a college campus near Kiev, Ukraine. Since 2000 we've done a charity project in that country to provide bicycles for pastors. Originally we bought the bicycles from the 3XB company in Kharkov. They used to make many of the bicycles used throughout the former USSR. When that eventually didn't work out we started making them ourselves. Our philosophy was to try and spend as much money in Ukraine that we raised as possible (instead of bringing in boxed bikes from Asia). Their economy is in shambles. We have most of the frame pieces like the dropouts and kickstand plates laser cut in a local factory. Some students go for 2 or 3 months to build the heavy-duty frames. This project benefits their own development and helps make the world a better place with bicycles. It is a reasonably comfortable setting. The dorms are nice and the cafeteria food good.

The first picture shows some of the campus. The second is our frame/bike ship with the finished bikes lined up outside for delivery. Right now they are headed to the eastern part of Ukraine where they are most needed. The 3rd picture shows one of my students Jesse lighting the torch. The 4th is Yuriy applying "Messenger" decals before he puts on all the parts. Frames are made on the left side of the shop and put together into compete bicycles on the right. The 5th is me interviewing a pastor with the help of a translator that works in the eastern war zone. He was explaining to me that vehicles are not allowed on the roads and the only way he can get around is by walking or bicycling. Putin's take over of the eastern part of Ukraine isn't much in our news lately but the situation on the border between them is still very serious. It is a mess.