http://www.titaniumarts.com/content/bikeart/anodizing.html

Get paid to buy bikes.
http://www.jobsite.co.uk/job/cycle-buyer-passionate-about-bikes-936448401?src=search

"but will it change the properties of the 853 through the heat process mainly"
a curious question
http://reynoldstechnology.biz/faqs/materials/4
"The chemistry of air-hardening steels like our 853 and 631 means that not only are they stronger than typical chrome-alloy 4130 type steels, but after TIG o r MIG welding, the heat-affected zone (HAZ) will be significantly stronger due to the grain structure formed on cooling in air. The positive result from this is a higher fatigue life for the joint – usually 30-60% better than an equivalent Cr-Mo joint. So less material can be used to achieve a particular target fatigue performance."
http://reynoldstechnology.biz/our_customers_sports_cars.php

"by 'bronze welding' (not brazing) new head and down tubes in"
bronze welding is probably slang for brazing.
Silver soldering is slang for brazing using silver based alloy.

Before cutting out the old head tube and downtube either measure the angles of H/T to Top tube and H/T to D/T plus D/T to seat tube. This will give you a guide for replacing them, or markout the layout by drawing around the frame with it placed on a large sheet of paper or plywood for example. This will make checking the new tubes easier before welding / brazing. Or there is the opportunity to change the head angle if you want, but requires some care and thought.
You can get a selection of tube thicknesses in 853 or 631 or any steel you like. Thicker wall thickness might be the better option (lower stress, stress = load/area).
http://reynoldstechnology.biz/assets/pdf/rtl_2010_parts_list.pdf

If you have air tools and rotary-burrs / small belt-sander then cutting out the old tubes will be easy, but with care though to leave a smooth and even surface on the old H/T and BB shell to be brazed to.

"Waxoyl"
to braze anything it needs to be clean, very clean, so any waxoyl needs to be thoroughly removed.

Renaults if you get a good one then they are good, but if you get a dud then it is a dud.
Why a petrol? They are prone to problems with coil packs (electrics that supply the spark plugs) so find out if the garage warranty covers them.
Also could be coming up for needing a new timing belt (at around 60000 miles) which can be expensive.
The 1.5dCi engine is the one to go for quite nippy and 60mpg is possible.

https://www.bikebiz.com/jobs/job/1938/frame-builder

Even better than a vacuum cleaner

There is some info on here http://www.nimbuscycles.co.uk/html/construction_techniques.html

Other usefull brazing advice in Tubal Cain's book Soldering and Brazing.

The choice of brass to use is down to whatever works for you, and which torch suits your style eg. propane/air, oxy/acetylene, propane/oxygen methane/air etc..
Propane is lower temperature but greater heat. The advantage of lower temp is that the zinc stays in the brass, instead of being fried-off with oxyacetylene and so leaving just the copper. Some of the Japanese builders that you can watch on youtube seem to use propane.
The fashion for massive fillets is achieved by some people by piling the brass on then filing and sanding (power sander) it back. The Taylor Brothers could produce the fillets without filing, as far as I know they were using Sif-bronze (silicon bronze).

Another source of tubes is
http://www.kvastainless.com/bicycles.html

"Nice if I could source the lefthand thread (and even the RH for the at matter..) tap"

Weldtite, Cyclus, Ceeway etc

Highpath

Life is too short , do not get one.

The video tour of Rodriguez (R+E) Bikes is worth watching
http://www.rodcycle.com/

What is a "bending fuse"?
http://cozybeehive.blogspot.com/2009/03/thomson-elite-seatpost-failure.html

The title of Tom Simpson's book 'Cycling is My Life' does indicate how determind he was.

A friendly frame builder is possibly the best place so you can get the BB shell and cable guides etc as well. They can advise on and supply the filler wire / brazing wire and flux etc. Plus a choice of Reynolds, Columbus, and maybe True Temper, Vitus, Dedacciai etc

http://www.framebuilding.com/custom_uk_bicycle_framebuilders.htm

Some tips on how to break stuff

http://pardo.net/bike/pic/fail-001/000.html

"Access to the area is really hard so it must have been tricky to do."
Does appear that it will have been the landowner, but cowboy builders do fly tip in relatively remote areas and it is a big problem for some farmers on the edge of towns etc..
Asbestos cement is not ordinarily considered to de a hazard: but if used in drinking-water pipes can cause intestinal / bowel cancer.

The HSE used to have a book EH40 that had a limit for occupational exposure to asbestos of 0.9 fibres per litre of air. For example if you are breathing at 60 litres a minute for an hour thats 0.9 x 60 x 60 = 3240 fibres that you would be allowed to breath in in the work place, only one fibre is needed to do damage. For the farmer it is a work place, for you it is not.
The thing about asbestos cement is that the fibres are bound up in the cement even when broken. For fibres (dust) to be breathed in and cause damage they need to be of a respirable size, somewhere around 2 – 6 microns, smaller than a lump of cement stuck to a single fibre.
To get stuck in the lung it needs to be bigger than 1 micron (otherwise it is just breathed out again) to get to the lungs it needs to be less than approx 20 microns (no two people agree on this).

Separate to the asbestos cement issue, identifing asbestos is very rough and ready. It is a matter of someone having a look at it under an optical microscope and having a guess. Its not really a test. The asbestos appears more opaque compared to MMMF / glass / rockwool when held up to the light.

"downed branches and logs in the forest"
are all part of the ecosystem of the forest.

Do a chainsaw course: NPTC.
The instructor on the course will advise on what to buy, including the saw, boots, gloves etc

Bike in VW.
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=325401

Has anyone tried these?
http://www.rodbikes.com/articles/bigsqueeze.html

Trillium Big Squeeze™

Have you tried Yahoo?

"that doesn't really tell me what holes I need to be filling with training though does it? "

You might have a point.
But have you put the name of your home town (Sheffield?) in the keyword box?
What options have you considered to broaden or complement your skills?
Have you considered the health and safety professional route, NEBOSH general cert or diploma? Always work there and your background is as good as any. Just having the word construction on your CV is going to get noticed when applying for safety manager / officer jobs.

If you are sure that there are holes?

Could BP throw a lot of Broken Plastic or Bloated Posts into the Gulf of Mexico to soak up the oil?

The wiper seals are polyurethane and in general polyurethane is a fit and forget type of material.
Although not directly relevant the aftermarket polyurethane bushes used on car suspensions are a good idea.

BBA-Reman can sometimes be helpfull.
http://www.bba-reman.com/uk/index.aspx

Not all plastics are the same, even if they are reinforced with carbon fibres. CFRP.

Sometimes worth looking at
http://www.jobsite.co.uk/
for inspiration
just leave the location box empty and see what comes up for various key words.

Plain LHM will do.
It does not need to be Citroen LHM or Rolls-Royce / Bentley LHM.
LHM is just LHM.

What direction do you want to go in ?
Management?
Project engineering?
Mechanical engineering?
Civil
etc

Kestrel do manufacture some stuff
http://www.kestrelengineering.co.uk/repair_stands.html

Anyone tried a Slingshot Farmboy?

you could try one of these knitting patterns.

No wonder your back hurts if you are trying to get the seat post to flex.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOEP8Wxzd4g&feature=related

http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/race-face-cranks-keep-working-loose

Oscar Pistorius finds CFRP is a bit springy.

"'springy' properties it posesses……… "
yes a lot of materials do obey Hooke's Law.

How does one get round the problem of fracture toughness with CFRP?
Fracture toughness not to be confused with fatigue.

Reynolds
Highpath
Scottoiler
HOPE

the monocoque approach would be more successful than trying to make a tubular one.
But CFRP is still not an isotropic material.

Or you could try concrete it is less dense (lighter) than aluminium, but its anisotropic as well.

CFRP is OK for strength in tension, but not so good in compression (think rope) Its the plastic that takes the load in compression and the fibres that take the load in tension.

Are you any good at knitting or crochet?
You could crochet or knit the fibres together to made one yourself then slap some resin on and job done.

"not convinved the basic Truvativ GXP bottom brackets are that great"
they are useless.
Have a look at the Enduro guide :
http://www.enduroforkseals.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/truvativ_gxp_by_rwc_f.pdf
you can remove the trashy Truvativ bearings and reuse the cups and the reducer/ bush/sleeve.

or http://www.hopegb.com/page_mep_force_57.html