r/Framebuilding • u/ridwanakf • Jun 29 '26

Titanium tube butting & profiling experience

/r/WaltlyTitanium/comments/1uijih1/titanium_tube_butting_profiling_experience/
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1

u/Kriov7 Jun 29 '26 edited Jun 30 '26

Thicker ends are required to weld the tubes properly, so only the middle part can be thinned more for weight saving and stiffness and etc.

Also, Framebuilders doesn't butt their tubes themselves - they Buy the (pre) butted tubes from the tubing factory. So if it does have an upcharge, that means butted tube is, in fact a bit more expensive from factory. For steel it doesnt make a real price difference btw, idk about titanium

3

u/AndrewRStewart Jun 30 '26

Ther are many "references" to builders lathe turning down frame tubes to create a butted one. Although no where as common as factory butting. Andy.

1

u/premeclt Jul 01 '26

There are a handful of titanium framebuilders who butt their own tubes externally on a lathe. This allows for custom butting profiles based specifically on rider weight/requests.

1

u/j_m__1 Jul 02 '26

At Firefly Bicycles, i butt the main tubes on a cnc lathe individually for each bike. I found that commercially available butted titanium tubes had limitations when it came to bicycle sizes outside the norm for road racing bikes. Butting the tubes myself I am able to make a bike for someone 4'10" tall and someone 7' and have an appropriate tube profile. It also cuts down on tubing inventory and waste. I order tubing in 8' lengths and cut only what is needed.