This is another JK Special frameset that just went out the door. This one is headed to the DC area and should be there soon.

The thing that is very hard to show in the photos is that it has a special pearl clearcoat on top of the gray. It really pops and shines out in the sunlight but less so in my basement!

Have a safe and warm weekend,

Dave

This bike is on it’s way to Belgium as we speak. It looks even cooler in person and in the sun.

Another frameset tomorrow.

Dave

I just finished up a JKS today and sent it off to JB for paint. I had to complete the fork before it went out the door and ended up with a few photos you might like to see.

The fork may be small compared to the frame but it’s just as complex to build and in ways requires it’s own skill set. One of the things about making curved blade forks like I do is that the blade needs to be bent the correct amount for the designed rake of the fork. Since different steels react differently and have different amounts of ‘spring-back’ this can be difficult to get just right. I use tooling that I designed and built myself and it allows me very good control of the curve radius and duration. I like bending tools.

Anyway, here’s some photos of a fork build. Tomorrow I should have some photos of a few fresh paint jobs just back from JB.

Dave

I had a good productive day today on this latest JKS. I added the rear to the completed front and it went very smoothly and I was able to get it machined and aligned so the only thing left now is to clean it up and give it a polish.

I’ll have the frame done tomorrow with any luck and then I’ll jump into the fork and get the whole shoot’in match sent out to JB on Wednesday.

Dave

It feels very good  and proper to be back at my bench full time. I have a lull is show prep while I wait for things to happen and I’m full on building a JKS. I brazed the front triangle together yesterday and today I got it all cleaned up and ready to have the rear end added. I also did a bit of subassembly work and attached the rear dropouts to the stays and brazed the crown to the steerer.

On Monday I’ll add the rear end and it will start looking like  frame.

Have a warm and safe weekend.

Dave

I’m sorry that this space has not been updated in the last week. I had the perfect storm of the mother of all head colds, corporate tax time, show bikes to pick colors for and a cat that was thought to maybe have cancer. That was a mouthful. The most important thing is the cat doesn’t have cancer and will be just fine once it heals from it’s biopsy and that after 5 days my head cold/flu like sickness has finally left me so I’m back at the desk and the bench.

I started a new JKS today. Well I actually started it a week ago and got about 1 hr of work done before the shit hit the fan so it feels like I started it today. The tubes are mitered and the lugs get cut tomorrow and then the front triangle will be brazed.

I look forward to it.

Stay well,

Dave

Thanks for all the interest in the JK Special listed in this space a few days back. The bike has a new owner who is excited to paint it some combo of orange and white. Once JB as done his thing I will post photos of it here.

Thanks again.

Dave

The final show bike of the 2010 season was just completed and I’m happy with how it came out and pleased it will be seen in person by so many. There is something about working with fillets that I love. They start out a bit rough and dull and as you start working with them and they start to take shape. They have file marks and emery scratches all over them and I can see the work I’ve done and what still needs doing. I can see my hand in them. Then as the process goes on they look less and less like something I’ve made and more like something that just ‘is’ and has always been. At some point, after they have had the final polish and have been exposed to the air for long enough to tarnish just a bit, they look more like something that has grown organically as opposed to something I made. Honestly this is an odd feeling and hard to explain. When they are done and they look like they’ve grown on their own I tend to miss the ones I made. Oddly I feel funny taking credit for them once they’ve hit this point. Hell they just grew – I didn’t do anything but watch them grow.

Well maybe I watered them a bit and gave them some sun but they did the hard work.

I’ll get some good studio shots of the bike soon and share them in this space.

Thanks for reading.

Dave

Hey,

I have a good customer who ordered a JK Special from me awhile back and right after the frameset was completed he suffered a back injury which will require that he have a much different fit from here on out. I’ll be building him a new JKS with his new fit soon and that means that this JKS I built for him is immediately available. It’s still unpainted at this point so the new owner can have any paint scheme that they want. The frameset is at Joe Bell’s and ready to paint so the new owner could have it ready and waiting for prime riding weather this spring.

Contact me for pricing if you are interested. Normal lead time for a JK Special is just shy of a year right now so you could save yourself a good 9 – 10 months. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Dave

I appreciate the emails and calls I got about the bike in yesterday’s posting. It’s nice to know so many were interested. One lucky guy is the new owner and the bike is now sold.

I’ll be posting photos of it soon.

Dave