In the end you have to decide

Well ive made the decision and the commitment.... Ive ordered my frame tubing. it is more expensive than i'd hoped (i forgot all about the VAT - and i opted to have it delivered) And I've gone for the normalized condition (which is more expensive) - I spoke with a steel stockist who suggested this would be best for bending and welding.

BS 3602 CFS 360 NBK

44.45mm x 3.25mm

3 lens @ 6mt middled

18mt @ £9.39 = 169.02

Carriage 20.00

Vat 33.08

Total 222.10

I think i only need about 12 meters of tubing, but 1) i can only buy in stock lengths of 6 meters, and 2) i have allowed some extra material for practice and cockups. So I guess in theory the ACTUAL cost of material consumed on the trike will be about £150 - that might have to be discussed in the fine detail of the finished project. But as it stands now, it could be argued that i only have £99 left to finish the project!
For those who are interested, I'm buying my tube from the very helpful Zina at Hub Le Bas in Bilston
So i think ive pretty well got all in order now to get on with making this thing...
1. 12 tonne hydraulic pipe bender off ebay for £65
2. brand new scriber and can of layout blue (do you know how difficult that stuff is to find?)
3. Welder sourced (but im not going to buy it until i return from holiday)
4. Redundancy just around the corner