As you may have noticed, our classes are focused on the skills it takes to build a bicycle frame, and do not promise you'll walk away after a week or a month a certified frame builder. That's because in reality, it takes many years of practice of each skill in order to build a bicycle frame. The skills that we focus on are the ones that most people associate with frame building....welding, brazing, mitering, etc....
These are the hands-on skills that require a talent for the task, as well as practice over hundreds of hours.
Our classes are designed to help people learn the basics, but if you want to weld and braze metal that is extremely thin in a safe way, and have it be strong, realize that you're in for a lot of practice time on your own. If your goal is to build a frame for yourself, by yourself, the skills that you learn in any class are just a starting point. We can set up a class so that you end up with a frame at the end, but realize that the crucial welding and brazing will be done by a professional here at the shop. That's the way that most frame building classes function.I know that there are some classes out there set up for the student to wind up with a frame, but the students don't actually build the frame themselves. They are introduced to some of the brazing and welding skills, and may be put some of the braze-ons onto the bike themselves, but an insurance company won't issue a liability insurance policy to a shop that is allowing inexperienced welders to perform crucial welds.
We provide some time for supervised practice of the skills taught in the class. If you want to build a frame from scratch, you'll want to use the skills you've learned here, and practice in your own garage, basement, etc. until you've mastered welding and brazing before you attempt a build.
We only offer the classes in the winter time when it slows down.