darnellrm wrote:AJS914 wrote:The hard thing with carbon bicycle frames is that you can make one in your garage if you were so inclined.
It's much easier to make a steel frame. A torch, tape measure, hacksaw, file and and large measure of ingenuity and you can build frames with the best of them.
Try making all of the needed molds to make a carbon frame properly and develop optimal layup schedules...
Funny you mention that. Damon Rinard, an occasional poster here, did just what you suggest and he documented it beautifully:
https://www.sheldonbrown.com/rinard/howibuil.htm(AJS914 may have been referring to Rinard specifically).
In the '80s and '90s, it was fashionable to dismiss carbon frames because they were "unrepairable." Well, they're only unrepairable if you don't know how to repair them. Similarly, it's only easier to make a steel frame if you already know how to use a torch and/or welder. Any privateer dirt-track (car) racer will be pretty comfortable fabricating a steel bike frame. But somebody who has patched a hole in his (or her!) fiberglass fishing boat already has the basic skills to build a carbon frame.
Many custom carbon builders essentially lash their frames together using pre-made tubes and carbon "twine," wetting the lashed bits with epoxy and then curing them. There's more to it than that, but you could absolutely build a carbon frame this way in your garage. The main challenge with prefab tubes (whether steel, carbon or bamboo) is making a workable jig.
darnellrm wrote:It's much easier to make a steel frame. A torch, tape measure, hacksaw, file and and large measure of ingenuity and you can build frames with the best of them.
Ingenuity is all that matters. The rest is just details.