Don talked about these 2 bikes at the January 2002 meeting where we were again demonstrating the MAPP gas brazing method.  He sent me these photos to share with everyone else.  A list of materials required to get started with MAPP gas brazing has been created in the meeting report.  As Don says, the 2001 workshop was the only introduction he ever got to any kind of metal working and he was able to build an entire bike with 2 torches. Jerry Onufer gets credit for discovering, refining and teaching this technique to others.

From Don:
My first bent was an  epoxy wonder using aluminum tubes to extend old street bike parts.  I was commuting twenty miles round trip on a diamond frame bike, but It caused too many aching parts.  I saw ads for some strange looking bikes.  I sent for the info, thought they looked comfortable,  saw the expense, and decided to cut up my wife's old bike in the back yard.  I cut it up with a hack saw then glued (epoxy) aluminum tubes to extend the frame to look recumbent.  That was almost ten years ago.  I have been riding it since then.  That was the first bent I rode.

A couple of years ago I started using my bent to supervise parking at the Oregon State Fair.  Much of the surface is a mix of grass, gravel, sidewalks, etc.  The rough  surface was too much for the base of the down tube and it broke.  I did a quick repair, but intended to make another bike (Bent #2) before the 2001 Fair.  I only had three days to build it.  I got it made, but the paint took too long to dry so I didn't get to use it last year.  I'll use this bike (#2) for the 2002 Fair.

I went to two of the Seattle builders meetings where they talked  about (and tried) brazing .  This bent is the first time I have brazed anything other than the two pieces of metal brazed together at Jerry's place. Thanks Jerry.    I cut up three old bikes to make this bent (#2).  You can see the main donor bike with the cuts for the new "Fair" bent.  The other two bikes donated tubing.
 
 

The back end of the chain stays are brazed with a short 1" diameter tube to the 1 1/8"d  tubing, then back to 1"d tube half way between the seat down tube to the chain rings.  The top tube starts with 1"d tubing at each end, and has a 1 1/8"d  section in the middle.  The shifting levers are from the street bike, and mounted on the top tub.  That is not a good location for touring or racing, but is ok for slower shorter rides at the Fair grounds.  I did that because the shifting lever for the first bent did not get the chain onto the large rear chain ring.  I thought a shorter cable might help.   It does.  My wife thinks stuff mounted on the top tube is a bad idea--we'll see.  I had to mount the rear brakes on the underside of the chain stays to stay out of the way of the chain run.  It is a 20x26 wheel combination.  The rear has a mountain bike tire for the grass and gravel.  The seat is a closed cell foam--can't push down and hit bottom.  As you can see, it is not a real Tour Easy  clone.

I paid $3 for the donor frame and put another $25 into it, plus old parts.  The cost was nice for a workhorse bent.  I am getting ready to start the next two
projects