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Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Rochester, NY
Posts: 18,167
Bikes: Stewart S&S coupled sport tourer, Stewart Sunday light, Stewart Commuting, Stewart Touring, Co Motion Tandem, Stewart 3-Spd, Stewart Track, Fuji Finest, Mongoose Tomac ATB, GT Bravado ATB, JCP Folder, Stewart 650B ATB
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Mark is, of course, correct IMO about the need for a true machinist's flat surface. Over the years I have read of counter tops, grave stones, doors, table saw tops, milling machine beds, lasers, bright back rounds, and more used as "flat surfaces" just fine.
I do make other things besides the annual frame so the steel flat surface (2'x3' and about 300lbs) gets used as a base for stems, racks and other machining projects. I also do a few frame alignments a year. having a solid and massive set up makes me happy.
As Mark mentions, building a few frames before spending the big bucks on a real jig is also what I suggest. it was after about a dozen+ frames before I got my surface plate and another dozen + before my first real jig (HJ Universal). By then I had built on two other real jigs and had begun to formulate what I wanted in a jig. But after the Universal and another 15ish frames on it I ran across an Anvil for sale at a great price and moved the Universal on to another. Andy
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AndrewRStewart