Richard Sachs Cycles

RICHARD SACHS CYCLES
No. 9, North Main Street
Chester, CT 06412 USA


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The Art of the Framebuilder
by Chistopher Koch
Photography by Michael Furman

Richard Sachs is a foremost practitioner of the high art of building steel frames. We asked him to show us how it is done.

Pinning a seat lug. I miter the tubes on a lathe and then hand-file them to make sure that they fit as closely as possible. I'm trying to dial out any possible problems I could have with the interference fits between the tubes and the lugs. If there's any twisting, that stress will ultimately work against you in the brazing and alignment process.

The last thing I do before I flux the tubes for tacking is I drill little holes in the seat lug and bottom bracket and pin those joints together. That way, I can make sure that when I insert the other end of each tube into the head tube lugs, all the miters are dead-on. I probably wouldn't lose much if I assembled it without the pins, but they are just another safeguard.

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The above article (including prices) originally appeared in the June 1990 issue of Bicycle Guide, reprinted courtesy of Christopher Koch.

Richard Sachs is a craftsman framebuilder who has been refining his skills for over a quarter-century.For more information, please contact:

Richard Sachs Cycles
No. 9, North Main Street
Chester, CT 06412
(860) 526-2059

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