I used to joke that Natalie got to use the big tools, and that on occasion, I got to use the little tools – and only under adult  supervision.  But in all honesty, it is really satisfying work to take a file and some emery cloth to an unfinished frame and put all of your focus and attention into making a spot smooth and beautiful.  I am sure that some people would find it boring; but for me, when I get the chance to do it, the hours simply melt away.

We keep a lot of our pictures up on Flickr, and so do a lot of other builders.  So selfishly, I created a group called Unpainted featuring bikes before the paint goes on.  There is a lot of work and a lot of love that goes into these bikes, and I think that it is sometimes easier to see it without the paint.  So if you have a shot, add it to the group.  If not, just admire the work that it takes to build a bike by hand.

The bike that these racks belong to is going to be amazing.  Its off to paint and should be back in a couple of weeks.