Unless you’ve a strong interest in the American custom bicycle scene, you might not have heard of Doug Fattic. Doug teaches frame building classes from his home in Niles, Michigan, drawing on a history of tuition that dates back to 1976. By the end of one of his 2-3 week courses, you can expect to have created a frame to the level of Daniel Schaumann’s Pachyderm CX001.
Doug hasn’t got a website with lavish testimonials from previous graduates. Like a sensei, he prefers potential students to seek him out and contact him via email, thus initiating an interview process which helps him gauge a willingness to learn. Still, you may have to wait for a vacancy in a future class before he will impart his knowledge to you.
Daniel, an Industrial Designer by trade, happened to make the grade, updating his blog daily throughout the experience. It’s a wonderful (not to mention inspiring) insight into what it is like for a complete novice to pick up a torch and two pieces of steel and braze them together. His Pachyderm cyclocross frame demonstrates a natural proclivity for the alchemic process of building a bicycle.
For now, the pictures can do the talking. But for the full story, click through to Daniel’s blog.