I have an old Gary Fisher Piranha that I have stripped all the paint off and I have taken off the old brake line / shifter cable stays and polished them off to get an even more simplistic look. I also have drilled out the screw things (whatever they're called) that hold the bolts for the bottle holder, etc.
I went to Gary Fisher's archives and I found out what type of aluminum my bike was made of. (Gold Series 6061 T6 internally and externally butted aluminum)
If I have a friend with aluminum welding skills and the equipment, do you think it would be safe to try to plug the holes with aluminum and then buff it down?
I don't want to ruin the frame and I'd like to match the color of the aluminum as close as possible so that the welds plugging the holes aren't noticeable.
Also, if I'm converting it to a single speed, would welding on new horizontal dropouts be a good idea? My whole "theme" for this bike/project is minimizing the the clutter on the outside of the bike and I don't like the look of the chain tensioner.
(As for the buffing of the frame, I'm using a large (stationary?) buffing wheel, not a handheld sort (except I will for tight places) so I should get a very uniform polish))
Thanks all,
Henry
(I hope this is the right category to post this in)
I went to Gary Fisher's archives and I found out what type of aluminum my bike was made of. (Gold Series 6061 T6 internally and externally butted aluminum)
If I have a friend with aluminum welding skills and the equipment, do you think it would be safe to try to plug the holes with aluminum and then buff it down?
I don't want to ruin the frame and I'd like to match the color of the aluminum as close as possible so that the welds plugging the holes aren't noticeable.
Also, if I'm converting it to a single speed, would welding on new horizontal dropouts be a good idea? My whole "theme" for this bike/project is minimizing the the clutter on the outside of the bike and I don't like the look of the chain tensioner.
(As for the buffing of the frame, I'm using a large (stationary?) buffing wheel, not a handheld sort (except I will for tight places) so I should get a very uniform polish))
Thanks all,
Henry
(I hope this is the right category to post this in)