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BMX General => BMX Chat => Topic started by: Gashead on January 26, 2014, 04:07 PM

Title: The Jedi meets his the Master! Sawzall v Brian Curtis
Post by: Gashead on January 26, 2014, 04:07 PM: So I had arranged to meet up with Brian to discuss a project and invited Phil Sawzall who wanted to meet the Bristish Master of BMX frame building.

It was awesome to hear them chat about the techniques of brazing and how the jigs were designed and created to build the frames such as, Curtis, Rickman, MRD and many more makes from back in the day.

We could have chatted for hours, however came away chuffed to meet this humble man, who simply loves rolling up his sleeves and creating beautiful hand built frame sets.

Few pics from our visit this morning......

(http://www.radbmx.co.uk/archive/albums/g243/gashead69/fe56e4d13fe3323f77d60376ba93d79d_zpsd44c69c8.jpg)

(http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g243/gashead69/9b0a41b4d92bf9c3a1b48ba0e9b01eda_zps14c5dcba.jpg)

(http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g243/gashead69/39ec7ef8082b7b8b70d418f60ffed7f4_zps49a1c0d9.jpg)

(http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g243/gashead69/d0718a6eac8ce306b65f52780e16872a_zps7f65f26a.jpg)

(http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g243/gashead69/65fe68907d8cd7f80c189ed9b6367405_zps24a69e1a.jpg)

(http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g243/gashead69/7e6a6d43dcc49d59c205e04370cd6a7d_zps949bb358.jpg)

(http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g243/gashead69/848ad27d348e78763926c0e8b071c691_zps8105c74a.jpg)

(http://www.radbmx.co.uk/archive/albums/g243/gashead69/966390ec9c27594d9b47d24f40e637f4_zpsc546f205.jpg)

(http://www.radbmx.co.uk/archive/albums/g243/gashead69/1a937405423cdb63887e23548af603b2_zps88b51a98.jpg)

(http://www.radbmx.co.uk/archive/albums/g243/gashead69/8de6a35c432a01fc5d40b828fc7ba268_zpsa0366cef.jpg)

(http://www.radbmx.co.uk/archive/albums/g243/gashead69/601cb37310ce6a685e9a3b64afb9c3bc_zpsdbc0f2bc.jpg)

(http://www.radbmx.co.uk/archive/albums/g243/gashead69/c8b2edd95fafb93577d789fef190c1bb_zps9e5107fb.jpg)

Curtis - Quad !

(http://www.radbmx.co.uk/archive/albums/g243/gashead69/5be707797b9471ce90c55fe136ee7331_zps75ff06de.jpg)

:4_17_5:
Title: Re: The Jedi meets his the Master! Sawzall v Brian Curtis
Post by: Gnarlyscoots on January 26, 2014, 04:10 PM: :coolsmiley:
Title: Re: The Jedi meets his the Master! Sawzall v Brian Curtis
Post by: Retrodan72 on January 26, 2014, 04:14 PM: Excellent stuff Nick. :coolsmiley:
Title: Re: The Jedi meets his the Master! Sawzall v Brian Curtis
Post by: oldschoolace on January 26, 2014, 04:15 PM: Cool as fook :4_17_5:

Makes me want to do that framebuilding course near me even more now. That braising is gorgeous :smitten:
Title: Re: The Jedi meets his the Master! Sawzall v Brian Curtis
Post by: brummie on January 26, 2014, 04:17 PM: cool
glad you enjoyed cheating ;D
Title: Re: The Jedi meets his the Master! Sawzall v Brian Curtis
Post by: dannyrobo on January 26, 2014, 04:17 PM: loving this :smitten: :smitten:
Title: Re: The Jedi meets his the Master! Sawzall v Brian Curtis
Post by: Skratchski on January 26, 2014, 04:19 PM: Awesome stuff, so glad i never got rid of mine. Even though i stopped riding, in 30 years the thought of selling it has never entered my head.
Never seen a Curtis quad neither!!!
Title: Re: The Jedi meets his the Master! Sawzall v Brian Curtis
Post by: In2bmx on January 26, 2014, 04:20 PM: Top stuff . :4_17_5:
Title: Re: The Jedi meets his the Master! Sawzall v Brian Curtis
Post by: Gashead on January 26, 2014, 04:21 PM: Quote from: brummie on January 26, 2014, 04:17 PM
cool
glad you enjoyed cheating ;D

Eh
Title: Re: The Jedi meets his the Master! Sawzall v Brian Curtis
Post by: rollin72 on January 26, 2014, 04:26 PM: nice1 looks like you and Phil had a very enjoyable day ;)
Title: Re: The Jedi meets his the Master! Sawzall v Brian Curtis
Post by: midschooljon on January 26, 2014, 04:37 PM: Awesome.
Title: Re: The Jedi meets his the Master! Sawzall v Brian Curtis
Post by: griff on January 26, 2014, 04:40 PM: Fantastic :4_17_5:

Thanks for posting :daumenhoch:
Title: Re: The Jedi meets his the Master! Sawzall v Brian Curtis
Post by: martin46 on January 26, 2014, 04:51 PM: Nice one Nick :daumenhoch:
Title: Re: The Jedi meets his the Master! Sawzall v Brian Curtis
Post by: pickle on January 26, 2014, 04:53 PM: How flippin cool is that!! Two legends together :4_17_5:

What a great afternoon :daumenhoch:
Title: Re: The Jedi meets his the Master! Sawzall v Brian Curtis
Post by: BMX1973 on January 26, 2014, 04:56 PM: Nice workshop :daumenhoch:
Title: Re: The Jedi meets his the Master! Sawzall v Brian Curtis
Post by: Jaan on January 26, 2014, 04:58 PM: One of my mates rode for Curtis, i'll see if he still has any interesting memorabilia left.
Title: Re: The Jedi meets his the Master! Sawzall v Brian Curtis
Post by: BADDH on January 26, 2014, 05:10 PM: You know this is a brilliant thread, personally speaking starting out as a CITB Indentured Apprentice Carpenter I am a huge believer in passing down the craft to the generations coming through, keeping alive those techniques and practices and keeping them alive.

Here we have two such masters who have earned top level respect from the community for there truly outstanding ability and knowledge. :daumenhoch:
Title: Re: The Jedi meets his the Master! Sawzall v Brian Curtis
Post by: GavinDavis on January 26, 2014, 05:13 PM: Thats ace!! :daumenhoch:
Title: Re: The Jedi meets his the Master! Sawzall v Brian Curtis
Post by: Discostu on January 26, 2014, 05:25 PM: That sounds like a great day out. :daumenhoch: :4_17_5:
Title: Re: The Jedi meets his the Master! Sawzall v Brian Curtis
Post by: retrogeezer on January 26, 2014, 05:28 PM: nice pics, and can see a photo of my Pro there too. :)
Title: Re: The Jedi meets his the Master! Sawzall v Brian Curtis
Post by: Macmania on January 26, 2014, 05:31 PM: Awesome :4_17_5:
Title: Re: The Jedi meets his the Master! Sawzall v Brian Curtis
Post by: Gashead on January 26, 2014, 05:32 PM: Quote from: retrogeezer on January 26, 2014, 05:28 PM
nice pics, and can see a photo of my Pro there too. :)

Yep, Brian has a picture board of all our bikes !
Title: Re: The Jedi meets his the Master! Sawzall v Brian Curtis
Post by: Badbaldie on January 26, 2014, 05:35 PM: Awsum
Title: Re: The Jedi meets his the Master! Sawzall v Brian Curtis
Post by: fischflo on January 26, 2014, 05:46 PM: ..daylight workshop ..nice 8) ....Bet Phil was rather chatty on the way back :D ;D
Title: Re: The Jedi meets his the Master! Sawzall v Brian Curtis
Post by: rooski on January 26, 2014, 05:48 PM: Great thread,like the jigs and raw parts :daumenhoch:
Title: Re: The Jedi meets his the Master! Sawzall v Brian Curtis
Post by: factory pilot on January 26, 2014, 05:56 PM: fantastic pics :smitten:
Title: Re: The Jedi meets his the Master! Sawzall v Brian Curtis
Post by: Retrodan72 on January 26, 2014, 06:08 PM: Quote from: Gashead on January 26, 2014, 05:32 PM
Quote from: retrogeezer on January 26, 2014, 05:28 PM
nice pics, and can see a photo of my Pro there too. :)

Yep, Brian has a picture board of all our bikes !

That in itself is proof of his passion. :4_17_5:
Title: Re: The Jedi meets his the Master! Sawzall v Brian Curtis
Post by: Spen69 on January 26, 2014, 06:16 PM: Man Phil's aged. Who's the young fella in black on the right ???

Cool stuff lads, that braising is uber cool :coolsmiley:
Title: Re: The Jedi meets his the Master! Sawzall v Brian Curtis
Post by: Gashead on January 26, 2014, 06:17 PM: Hopefully Phil will post his pics later, or his daughter will.......he struggles with modern technology lol
Title: Re: The Jedi meets his the Master! Sawzall v Brian Curtis
Post by: harris on January 26, 2014, 06:19 PM: i still have mine here all these years,imy dad bought me one then it was a tad to short for me
so brian made me a longer one.
Title: Re: The Jedi meets his the Master! Sawzall v Brian Curtis
Post by: sawzall on January 26, 2014, 06:21 PM: what a great day!!!! i was great catching up with nick and meeting the LEGEND

that is mr curtis!!!,i was like a kid in a sweet shop in his workshop,i could have spent all day chatting to him

he is such a nice guy and just loves building bikes,and this quote sums it all up

asking him how many bikes has he built? he replied i was having so much fun i never counted!!!

thanks again to nick for collecting me from the train station and inviting me along :daumenhoch: ;)
Title: Re: The Jedi meets his the Master! Sawzall v Brian Curtis
Post by: pickle on January 26, 2014, 06:25 PM: :daumenhoch: must've been an awesome day for you phil..........other than having to see Nick of course ;)
Title: Re: The Jedi meets his the Master! Sawzall v Brian Curtis
Post by: Pooch on January 26, 2014, 06:32 PM: :coolsmiley:
To love what you do so much. That you forget how many you've done.. Quality :4_17_5:
Title: Re: The Jedi meets his the Master! Sawzall v Brian Curtis
Post by: Bob_Acid on January 26, 2014, 07:05 PM: Radness!
Title: Re: The Jedi meets his the Master! Sawzall v Brian Curtis
Post by: Jaymz on January 26, 2014, 07:54 PM: Awesome thread nick

These bars are making my man bits tingle

(http://www.radbmx.co.uk/archive/albums/g243/gashead69/1a937405423cdb63887e23548af603b2_zps88b51a98.jpg)
Title: Re: The Jedi meets his the Master! Sawzall v Brian Curtis
Post by: Gashead on January 26, 2014, 08:04 PM: ;)
Title: Re: The Jedi meets his the Master! Sawzall v Brian Curtis
Post by: kungfunky on January 26, 2014, 08:04 PM: Cool :daumenhoch:
Title: Re: The Jedi meets his the Master! Sawzall v Brian Curtis
Post by: steve69 on January 26, 2014, 08:05 PM: What a cool day out, Phil's a lucky lad.

Love all the technical side of the scene.

Did Mr. Curtis build/braise all the frames BITD or were there a team of builders??
Title: Re: The Jedi meets his the Master! Sawzall v Brian Curtis
Post by: dancetothedrummersbeat on January 26, 2014, 08:17 PM: Great thread! Loving this!
Title: Re: The Jedi meets his the Master! Sawzall v Brian Curtis
Post by: Gashead on January 26, 2014, 08:19 PM: He did it all himself, hence he turned Mr Spielberg down to make the ET bikes.

He did have a couple of helpers but preferred to do it all himself.
Title: Re: The Jedi meets his the Master! Sawzall v Brian Curtis
Post by: hunterdubber on January 26, 2014, 08:28 PM: What a great day out that was :coolsmiley:

Phil I bet you were dying to get stuck in making a frame set up for yourself there and then :LolLolLolLol: "wantit"

Proper little workshop :coolsmiley: One that has produced so many items of dreams and good times. :smitten:

That has got to be so very gratifying for Brian :4_17_5:
Title: Re: The Jedi meets his the Master! Sawzall v Brian Curtis
Post by: Gashead on January 26, 2014, 08:28 PM: These are pictures Brian gave to me some years ago............it's all he had left apart from a few sterling tubes, rear drop outs and fork ends......

(http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g243/gashead69/5acbf384fd4c2461537c5bd6a7741730_zps3e7f72e6.jpg)

(http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g243/gashead69/e4fa5e9c6a857e59c52f10125cd3177e_zpsde64f951.jpg)

(http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g243/gashead69/968788cd539a37c1c5aa5c4fa1236e1b_zps9f12b4e6.jpg)

(http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g243/gashead69/eb08f9bbea753481d3647b0b60073984_zps72ed04bd.jpg)

(http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g243/gashead69/0f40ff231a0f64a64978f350bbc8c42b_zps327095e2.jpg)

(http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g243/gashead69/eff2e11a331b25849a410aa09d043cf7_zps586346d1.jpg)

(http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g243/gashead69/e31db91da432281734f949d0db8500c7_zps291218c7.jpg)

(http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g243/gashead69/30a8a91e933a19fadca5ae60e5f37061_zps536f2e99.jpg)

(http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g243/gashead69/90e1c38802fe6f8c0a9f5ee4e0d2ed35_zpscd90cc46.jpg)
Title: Re: The Jedi meets his the Master! Sawzall v Brian Curtis
Post by: pickle on January 26, 2014, 08:29 PM: Loving those bars as well :daumenhoch:
Title: Re: The Jedi meets his the Master! Sawzall v Brian Curtis
Post by: hunterdubber on January 26, 2014, 08:42 PM: 16" Curtis ? ???
Title: Re: The Jedi meets his the Master! Sawzall v Brian Curtis
Post by: Gashead on January 26, 2014, 08:54 PM: Quote from: hunterdubber on January 26, 2014, 08:42 PM
16" Curtis ? ???

Yup
Title: Re: The Jedi meets his the Master! Sawzall v Brian Curtis
Post by: hunterdubber on January 26, 2014, 09:06 PM: WOW so are the bikes on those photos ,Prototypes ? ???

THey certainly look different geometry, gussets etc. 8)

Do you know of their whereabouts now ,Nick ? ::) :)
Title: Re: The Jedi meets his the Master! Sawzall v Brian Curtis
Post by: Bfellows on January 26, 2014, 09:08 PM: I reckon he could sort my forks without too much mither seeing as he probably made them........ Nice to see a bit of craftsmanship.
Title: Re: The Jedi meets his the Master! Sawzall v Brian Curtis
Post by: Gashead on January 26, 2014, 09:13 PM: Quote from: hunterdubber on January 26, 2014, 09:06 PM
WOW so are the bikes on those photos ,Prototypes ? ???

THey certainly look different geometry, gussets etc. 8)

Do you know of their whereabouts now ,Nick ? ::) :)

Yep all prototypes, I know of a couple of them ;)
Title: Re: The Jedi meets his the Master! Sawzall v Brian Curtis
Post by: poolysheriff on January 26, 2014, 09:16 PM: WOW :shocked:

Great day out indeed lads :4_17_5:
Title: Re: The Jedi meets his the Master! Sawzall v Brian Curtis
Post by: QUADROPHENIA on January 26, 2014, 09:24 PM: Quote from: steve69 on January 26, 2014, 08:05 PM
What a cool day out, Phil's a lucky lad.

Love all the technical side of the scene.

Did Mr. Curtis build/braise all the frames BITD or were there a team of builders??

He only sold 20 of them
Title: Re: The Jedi meets his the Master! Sawzall v Brian Curtis
Post by: superbikedan on January 26, 2014, 10:46 PM: Thats so cool Nick, proper old skool history right there and I bet Phil loved every minute :)

I'd like to meet my old skool master but I aint got a clue who he is :LolLolLolLol: I've been painting these old dogs since around 1985 so am I my own master ???
Title: Re: The Jedi meets his the Master! Sawzall v Brian Curtis
Post by: NORTY40 on January 26, 2014, 10:49 PM: Cool day out Nick 8)

Can't think of anyone who would have enjoyed and appreciated this trip more than Phil , bet he's buzzing for the next week !!

This country could do with a few more people like Brian who actually care and have a passion for what they do . :Great_Britain:
Title: Re: The Jedi meets his the Master! Sawzall v Brian Curtis
Post by: insectbones on January 26, 2014, 10:58 PM: Ace, just ace.
Title: Re: The Jedi meets his the Master! Sawzall v Brian Curtis
Post by: jimwise68 on January 27, 2014, 12:03 PM: that is super cool. What a great bloke he seems too.

Does he do any bike frames? as in would he make up a bespoke one?
Title: Re: The Jedi meets his the Master! Sawzall v Brian Curtis
Post by: Gashead on January 27, 2014, 04:54 PM: Give me two minutes and read the post.......... Curtis Cruiser
Title: Re: The Jedi meets his the Master! Sawzall v Brian Curtis
Post by: Gizmo on January 29, 2014, 08:59 PM: Great day out lads :) thing with Brian he has got time for people that luv bmx .
A real gent with a wealth of information :4_17_5: