How cool is this project. While Peter built his own jig and frame, I have been thwarted at the amount of work to get the frame aligned while welding. This is taking care of that issue, and according to the post, they did reach their funding goal on Kickstarter
Mixed Media Engineering is proud to introduce ‘The Jiggernaut’: an affordable bicycle frame jig that enables anyone to build a high-quality, custom bicycle.
Dave and I have wanted to build our own bicycle frames for years. Being bike enthusiast as well as handy people, there’s just something about a unique, hand crafted frame that resonated with us.
While researching frame building, we discovered that there’s a tool called a frame jig that is really nice to have when building your own frames. Basically, the frame jig holds all of the tubes in 3D space while you fit and weld them. We found some pre-made frame jigs for sale, but they were over a thousand dollars, which was more than we wanted to spend on a hobby that we’d never tried before. We racked our brains for ways to solve the problem and realized that we could probably build one out of MDF (inexpensive and flat) and have the pieces CNC routed (automated manufacturing). After prototyping a few jigs and building our first frame we knew that there had to be other people out there in the same boat as us. So to test the waters we launched our frame jig, The Jiggernaut, on Kickstarter.
The Jiggernaut begins life as a half sheet of ¾” thick MDF and is CNC routed into an easily assembled, lightweight jig that can be packed flat for shipping. Once unpacked, the jig is transformed into a 3D structure using the included fasteners.The jig is highly adjustable and can accommodate most types of frame geometries and tube sizes. We want to make this product a reality for every aspiring frame builder and help spread the word that ‘Made in America’ is back.
The Jiggernaut starts at just $299 and we also sell kits that include tubing to build either a road bike or a mountain bike starting at just $499.
We’ve had a positive response so far and are trying to spread the word to as many people as possible before our funding goal ends. You can check it out here. Press for The Jiggernaut here.
Then from Kickstarter the following was posted.
ABOUT THIS PROJECT
Thanks for checking out our project! We are excited to bring you a great DIY frame building product.
The Jiggernaut is an affordable bicycle frame jig that enables anyone to build a high-quality, custom bicycle.
A frame jig is an essential tool for building bike frames. There are some jigs on the market today, but most are designed with the production builder in mind and are well beyond the budget of the average person that just wants get started in bicycle building. We didn’t want this hurdle to stand in the way any longer. We have designed and built a high-quality frame jig that is affordable to anyone wanting to try their hand at frame building.
The Jiggernaut begins life as a half sheet of ¾” thick MDF and is CNC routed into an easily assembled, lightweight jig that can be packed flat for shipping.
Once unpacked, the jig is transformed into a 3D structure using the included fasteners.The jig is highly adjustable and can accommodate most types of frame geometries and tube sizes.
To make building a frame even easier we offer kits that include not only The Jiggernaut, but a tube set and accessories to build a beautiful lugged bicycle with track dropouts or a mountain bike.
The best part is, when building your own bike the possibilities for customization are endless. Want decorative lugs? Carve them up to your heart’s content. Thirsty? Solder on as many water bottle bosses as you want. Looking for the perfect fit? Now you can have it.
We want to make this product a reality for every aspiring frame builder but we can’t do it without you. We hope you choose to support the project and help spread the word that ‘Made in America’ is back. Thank you!