Reddit reviews Lugged Bicycle Frame Construction: Third Edition

1. Hopefully you're wanting to build one for the experience, not because you're expecting to ride it. I know several people who have built a bike at a class or (for those with existing fabrication know how) on their own, that they can ride.. but most of the serious frame builders will tell you that the first 5-10 are throwaways.
   
   
2. Based on the question you asked, I would recommend looking around for a framebuilding class. ( good list here - https://www.velocipedesalon.com/forum/f2/framebuilding-classes-masses-12397.html EDIT - some links in there are dead. most of those schools are still active though. you'll have to google them. Doug Fattic seems to have the best rep amongst folks I know) They are expensive. But ultimately cheaper than you buying the wrong stuff / wasting your time trial-and-erroring. The big upside is that the teachers usually fix the stuff you screw up, so you do in fact get a usable bike on the first go.
   
   
3. if you don't want to listen to me about #1 and #2, I recommend this book - https://www.amazon.com/Lugged-Bicycle-Frame-Construction-Third/dp/1492232645/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1493605725&sr=8-1&keywords=frame+building Yeah, it's about road bikes, and lug brazing as opposed to welding, BUT it's really targeted at the shade-tree bike builder. Instructions on building some homebrew fixtures and doing everything using non-specialty equipment. You could easily apply a lot of the information here to a tig process.
   
   
   Good luck! Post pictures here when you get something build up.
   

If you're serious, check out this book.
http://www.amazon.com/Lugged-Bicycle-Frame-Construction-Third/dp/1492232645/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1450215670&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=lugged+bike+frame+construction

And go check out the velocipedesalon.com frame builders forums. Lot of active users over there that will answer questions.

I think most people who have any success in building high end, custom boutique frames have been building frames for fun for a loooong time on their own time/dime, do it because they are super passionate about it and eventually move up to making frames for money using word of mouth and connections from being part of their cycling community... Or they have a shitload of start up money, go to something like UBI and have savy/trendy marketing. Frame building seems to be one of the most insular aspects or a generally insular culture. It's not uncommon to come across classified/ebays from guys who tried to make a go of it, and then put thousands and thousands and thousands of dollars of specialty tools up for sale.

http://www.amazon.com/Lugged-Bicycle-Frame-Construction-Edition/dp/1492232645/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1395105654&sr=8-2&keywords=bicycle+frame+build this is a great book and very easy to read- you can build a frame for about 400-500 bucks using his method. The tools involved are not super specialized, the most expensive thing would be a rotary tool iirc. You use free a computer program to print out the miters.