Punching a hole for a head tube

(88 days until the 2012 WHPSC)

I took a holesaw to the subframe today to accommodate the head tube. I wasn't thrilled by the thought of using a relatively coarse toothed holesaw on such thin tubing, but the material cut with no problems.

After punching the hole, I clamped everything down in preparation for welding.

Here's a closeup of the interface I'll be welding:

Plates and first welds

(89 days until the 2012 WHPSC) 

I read somewhere that mitered tubes could benefit from reinforcement plates. I think the purpose of the plates is to maintain the elliptical cross section, preventing distortion.

The first welds (yes, plural, as there are two root passes followed by a larger pass). 

A quick check of the angle tells me I'm right where I want to be. 

Getting ready for the second set of welds: 

Here's a closeup of the reinforcement plate before welding: 

Tomorrow I'll stop procrastinating...

(94 days until the 2012 WHPSC) 

"Time flies when you're having fun." I must have been having a lot of fun because I'm having a difficult time reconciling where the past nine months have gone.  Last year I reached the conclusion that I can't bend 2-inch by .049 wall chromoly tubing. At some point I had an epiphany - I could miter and weld the tubing.