I'm James Morikawa, a framebuilder in Honolulu, Hawaii, USA. This is my personal website dedicated to the fine art of bicycle framebuilding. It's a collection of my various written framebuilding thoughts, and opinions.
WEBSITE CONTENT
NOTES ON FRAMEBUILDING
In the following pages and using pictures I've taken over the years, I'll attempt to document some of my framebuild processes.
I use a beltmiter system for the mitering (fitting) of tubes. There's a brief description of it on the webpage "Belt-Miter (Coper), My Current Design".
Much of my present framebuild process evolved around the development of this mitering system.
Page 1: My Frame Specification Note-Book 7 Sept 2006
Page 2: Checking The Internal Tube Dimensions 7 Sept 2006
Page 3: Setting Up The Frame-Jig 7 Sept 2006
Page 4: Some Tools for Measuring 8 Sept 2006
Page 5: Mitering and Fitting the Chainstays 16 Sept 2006
Page 6: Mitering and Fitting the Seatstays 16 Sept 2006
Page 7: Checking "Fastback" Seatstays for Matched Heights 18 Sept 2006
Page 8: Expanding Heat Sink Sleeve Tool 19 Sept 2006
Page 9: Mitering the Front Triangle 21 Sept 2006
Page 10: Building the Rear-Triangle, Welding and Brazing Chainstays 26 Sept 2006
Page 11: Building the Rear-Triangle, Welding and Brazing the Seatstays 27 Sept 2006
Page 12: Checking and Correcting for Rear-Triangle Alignment 4 Nov 2006
Page 13: Welding the Front-Triangle 9 Nov 2006
Page 14: Rechecking Alignment After Welding Front-Triangle Joints 19 Nov 2006
Page 15: Squaring Off The Head And Seat Tubes 15 Dec 2006
Page 16: Reaming Out the Head-tube, and Thread-chasing the Bottom-Bracket 16 Dec 2006
Page 17: Installing The Rear Brake-Bridge 22 Dec 2006
Page 18: Slotting The Seat Tube 29 Dec 2006
Page 19: Installing Braze-Ons 31 Dec 2006
Page 20: Installing Water Bottle Bosses 5 January 2007
Page 21: Pressuring Testing Tubes, Checking For Leaks 7 January 2007
Page 22: Dehydrating, and Sealing The Tubes 11 January 2007
Page 23: The Frame, Ready For Painting 12 January 2007
NOTES ON THE BELT-MITER (COPER)
Belt-Miter (Coper), My Current Design 9 March 2007
Yes, You Can Use A Drill-press 28 February 2007
Cutting Out A Tube's Rough Miter Joint Shape, Prior To Abrasive Beltmitering 2 January 2008
NOTES ON CARBON-FIBER
Carbon Fiber Pictures for Daniel
Dave's Carbon Fiber Frame 8 February 2008
MY ATTEMPT TO BUILD WITH TITANIUM
Attempt To Build With Titanium 12 February 2008
Welding The Seat-Tube/Bottom-Bracket Joint 18 February 2008
Post Weld Alignment Of The Bottom Bracket/Seat Tube 20 Febraury 2008
Welding Up The Rear Tiangle 22 February 2008
Welding Up The Front Triangle 29 February 2008
Post Weld Frame Alignment Check 1 March 2008
Correcting Post Weld Misalignments 3 March 2008
The Rear Brake Bridge 14 March 2008
Welding On Cable Stops, And Water Bottle Mounts 10 April 2008
The Completed Ti Frame 30 May 2008
NOTES ON DECAL MAKING AND APPLICATION
Screen-Printing Decals 04 February 2007
A Unique Way To Apply Water-Transfer Decals 18 February
NOTES ON FRAME PAINTING
Some Of My Thoughts On How I Paint Frames 8 February 2008
Paasche Airbrush Resevoir 20 October 2008
MISCELLANEOUS WEBPAGES
Frame-Sizer
Frame Photos
The Bestest Welder
The Black Dog