The bicycle is the Scorcher model from Antbikemike. The ANT stands for Alternative Needs Transportation. It's a really nice looking bike that he'd be happy to build for you. He's got plenty of options, including the old fashioned cream colored tires.
He's also promoting a working vacation at his shop. You spend a week and $2,500 and come home with a bike frame that you built, plus the chance to work along side someone who really knows the bike business. If you like that, he'll let you stay longer for a substantially larger sum of money and you'll come home with a half dozen frames and about everything else you need to set up shop as a custom cycle builder. When I first looked at the money (20 large), I thought no way, buddy. But after thinking about it, I see my students enrolling in trade schools and going off to college and they invest sums as large or larger than that. If you want to build bikes for a living, it might actually be a bargain. You can learn the skills needed and get plenty of insight into what it's like running your own custom frame making business. Me, I'd love to build frames and cool bikes. I just wouldn't want to deal with customers. Just put me in the back with my tools and I'd be a happy camper.
I found this at Knucklebuster. It's mostly motorcycle chopper stuff but he's been posting some old how-to articles that are pretty good. He's put up a lot of vintage bike photos lately as well. He's got an article on soldering and a real good one on heat treating if you check the September archive. If you click on the picture, it should be big enough to actually read. If not, check out his site. It's definitely worth a look, anyway.
Check out the sites and see what people with "hands-on" skills are doing these days. Buy a bike and build a vise.
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