Machines

They've been waiting patiently all weekend for us to return.

Not only does it take awesome people to build our bikes but it also takes some awesome machines. Our machines have about as much character as our people (minus the alive part).

One of our Bridgeport vertical mills, above. These are some of the most versatile ever made. It is said to be one of the few machines that can actually build itself.

The above machine is named Sajo... our Swedish import outfitted to cut our front triangles.

Another Bridgeport, this one named Kathleen (above).

Milwaukee horizontal mill outfitted to cut seatstays.

A couple of Nichols horizontal mills (above and below).

Our stay slotting machine is really old, years ago it was converted to be able to run off of electricity. Originally this machine was run off of long belts driven off of turning rods attached to the ceiling, usually driven by the power of rivers. Sort of like in the image below.

There are just so many machines... if they could only tell the stories of all the things they have made throughout the years.

Another Milwaukee horizontal mill, this one is outfitted to cut chainstays.

Bertha, the TIG Welder.

The gang of drill presses.

The seat tube reamer.

And the newest member of our team, the cold saw.

Details, details, details.... Part 3

Titanium
Crown
Jewel
.

Details, details, details.... Part 2

Adjectives
describing
a
vicious
crockodile
bite
.

Details, details, details.... Part 1

A
close
look
.
More
to
come
.

Corvid Build: PDB

Yet another fabulous build.

Signature Snapshot: Titanium Cyclocross: 04

The titanium cyclocross bike we have been working on for Signature Cycles has arrived in the paint department where it has received its primer coat. Each bike that gets painted gets one of our seat tube handle inserts installed.
This device is the only place that the frame is touched by human hands during the painting process. As you can see it slides into the seat tube and has an expander wedge that tightens up to secure the frame to the device.... old-school quill stem style.
After priming the frame's dropouts are masked off.
After the frame has been painted it goes over to the detailing station where the masking is removed and the entire surface is buffed out by hand to a mirror finish.
There is an entire doorjamb at IF covered in the little painted circles removed from the frames.
There is also a bin of the screws that we use (and re-use) to protect the threads during the painting process. It looks like blue and green have been pretty popular lately.
The next step for this fine bicycle is to build it up.... as soon as Clint finishes painting the fork... gosh Clint, hurry up!
The parts kit has arrived from Signature and is being prepped for the build and resulting studio photo shoot to come.
Stay tuned....

IF Owners Gathering at NYC Velo!!!

If you currently own an I.F., or are just thinking of buying one, we are co-sponsoring a ride with the fine folks from NYC Velo (our newest NYC shop), on Saturday, November 7th. Show off your bike on a comfortable ride to Piermont, NY with like-minded individuals, and afterward I.F. will be on hand with some demo bikes and to answer questions. Don’t miss an opportunity to ride with a great bunch of people and get all your questions answered. We look forward to seeing you there.