Tig Welded 531?

[CREPELLO]

I came across this rather clean looking frame... http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PAUL-DONOHUE- ... SwT5tWKgHN
...which is described as "tig welded Reynolds 531".
It displays a 531 sticker that is in the style of the 631/853 stickers.
It also bares a tear drop OS profile down tube.

I have a vague recollection of reading about this unusual 531 tube set, but can 531 really be tig welded?
I thought that was partly why 631/725 etc were created.

[kylecycler]

I came across this rather clean looking frame... http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PAUL-DONOHUE- ... SwT5tWKgHN
...which is described as "tig welded Reynolds 531".
It displays a 531 sticker that is in the style of the 631/853 stickers.
It also bares a tear drop OS profile down tube.

I have a vague recollection of reading about this unusual 531 tube set, but can 531 really be tig welded?
I thought that was partly why 631/725 etc were created.

You're right about the unusual 531 tube set, CREPELLO - someone had a similar frame/query on the Retrobike forum:

http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/viewto ... 2&t=184821

"I think this was a limited run Reynolds made exclusively for Paul Donohue. It probably is slightly different metallurgically to 531c or ST. It also had a Millenium designation. I think there was an 853 Millenium too with the oversized shaped tubes."

and

"531 Millenium (Paul Donohue / Graham Weigh) was designed to be welded. Not sure if the alloy is subtly different or whether it's just the amount of butting at the tube ends is sized to cater for the amount of heat vs brazing."

That one was for sale - frame and fork - for £120 posted, in 2012. By all accounts they were excellent framesets (usually just sold as such).

[531colin]

http://forum.ctc.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=81458

[CREPELLO]

Thanks for that info kylecycler. I find it difficult to conceive that it was different metallurgically (thinking rationally here) for a small ltd ed, but it should be easy enough for them to have rolled the 531 in the same rollers they used to create the same shaped 631/853 tubeset. I have a 520 Dawes Horizon frame in the same profile (I reckon), although badged as 631