Front Wheel Drive Recumbent with Underbar Steering

Step 3 Step Three: Weld and Weld Again

Before I started this project, I had never welded in my life. I had planned on asking my buddy to do the welding, but he declined as his previous attempts to weld a bike frame resulted in disaster. So, after much deliberation, I broke down an bought a $50 oxygen torch from Lowes and set to teaching myself how to braze weld.

There was a lot of trial and error involved. (Or I should say a lot of error and trials.) The three basic rules I learned were: 1) prep and clean THOROUGHLY before attempting a weld, 2) use the right flux, and 3) consistent heat. I attempted to use a separate flux paste and a borax mix that I found on a welding site, but wound up having the best results using flux coated rods. Your experience may vary.

Using a piece of the seat tube I had cut out, I created a 'bridge' from the rear stays to the down tube to replace where the bottom bracket had been cut out. On the front triangle I added bolts on the dropouts to which the fork would be mounted, a new brake bridge, and brazed the seat post into the seat tube once I measured and measured again to be sure.

Once complete, I filed off the excess to smooth it down for painting.