Have a look at the original Plycycle here .

18 September 2014

Bonding the main frame.

Like many of the steps in this project this bit was one was a one way journey, no going back. I had to join the two main halves of the frame together and bond the head tube and bottom bracket into place all in one go. There was no other way to do it.

So after an hour or so of checking and prepping all the contact surfaces, I started to mix the epoxy. There is something wonderfully focusing about mixing up the resin, the chemical reaction starts immediately and the clock is ticking. Despite having gone through the procedure a few times now, there is still a huge element of nerves and excitement.

So after wetting up the two sides of the frame and the two metal components with straight West System epoxy I added microfibers to the remaining mix and spread an even layer over one side, filling any dents or cavities along the way. It was then a case of marrying up the two halves using the registration bolts and gently clamping the whole lot making sure that even pressure was applied as far a possible and not too tight.


All clamped up.

Head tube and bottom bracket sticking out of the frame sandwich
 




All clamped up - video.

Having got it all clamped together I just had to wait. Twenty four hours later i took the clamps off, and it had all worked brilliantly. 

First look at frame with the clamps off -Video.


The good news is that it worked! I now have the main frame in one piece. I will have to be very careful about not knocking the head tube and bottom bracket as I cant take them out for repainting. The next step is to remove all the excess resin and get down to the final shaping of the main frame. I still have to epoxy in the rear stays and the reinforcing plat in the down tube which will all need cleaning up and refining once set.

I am considering making additional supports around the bottom bracket, i will mock some up and see what I think.