Couple of shots of the down tube replacement on Yancey's race bike. This was the first time I had to replace a down tube but it went smoother than expected, not much to talk about. It does feel good to repair one of my earlier frames and put it back out on the starting line. A couple of years ago I probably would've just started over with a whole new frame but with a little careful attention this frame is as good as new, soon as it gets some fresh paint of course. The worst part of the whole deal was stripping the paint. I have stripped 3 or 4 completely and thats for the birds. You just can't drop off an S3 frame at your local sand blaster unless you want holes all shot in it, and the last time I did take one to a sand blaster he was so careful that he couldn't get any paint to come off. When Paul and Wayne paint a frame its not gonna come off easy. Starting on a new frame is actually a lot easier and I can probably have a frame built in about as much time. I threw a couple of extra photos in for fun. One is of the dropout alignment tools. I seldom use these and am not an expert with them at all, but anyway, Yancey's dropouts needed a little tweaking so with both tools still in the dropouts I put a good grip on the handle with one hand and the other hand I wrapped around the black adjusting dial between the dropouts and put a good push on it. So I pushed it in about a quarter inch past the other because its clearly gonna spring back and when it did come back it grabbed that big web of skin between your thumb and index finger squeezing it between both tools. "Don't panic, breathe!" I was so busy thinking about how to get my hand out I forgot to scream. I only had one hand to solve a problem that it took both of them to get into. Ever zipped your wanger up in your corduroys? You're just not quite sure which way to move. It was a similar feeling just not as embarrassing, or scary. The other picture was lunch. Angus burger, carmelized onions, cheddar cheese, with a fried egg on top. It looked so good and the camera was sitting right there so I had to shoot it. Perfect sandwich for a frame builder in the winter time. No shortage of calories here. As soon as I get Phil's 650B tourer back from paint Yancey's will be going. Chow. Chao.
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