Brazing disc brake tabs to Chrome?

[Patriot]

I have a Chrome steel fork, and wanted to add some disc brake tabs before I repaint the fork. My assumption is to paint the area where the tabs are, but have the rest showing the chrome.

Can I do this?

[Patriot]

Also, if I use say, a Dremel to grind off the chrome where I am brazing the tabs on, will this be problematic in the way it applies force to the forks and seatstays. Can they handle the stress?

[Peterpan1]

Are you looking for a nice job, or just a durable job? I really don't know how this would be done super nice, without going the whole hog of strip and redo.

As far as how to do it and not kill yourself. You have to get rid of enough chrome to allow the heat affected zone not to boil it off, those of very bad fumes. How much that is will depend on your method of attachment with something more localized like tig the heat zone will be smaller.

One feature of many forks and stays is that the reduction of diameter parallels an increase in wall thickness, so if you were to abrade off the chrome without digs and cuts into the surface, the mere use of an abrasive would not be significant, given the wall thickness.

I'm mostly into the front brake being a disc. And I would probably just buy a front fork with the tab attached.

[merlin55]

amen on the new fork idea....but what exactly is the reason for going to disc brakes?

[Patriot]

I've decided to leave it alone. The fork has a big curve in the rake at the bottom, right where the mount will go. I can just see it snapping right off from flexxing on a hard stop, or even a really big pothole. Back to rim brakes.

[Peterpan1]

My secret to brutal stoping power particularly where levers aren't optimal, are the pedersen self-energizing brake. I find them on ebay. The trick for the front brake is to use good blocks not super grippy blocks like Kool-stop is reputed to be. That's an additional advantage when touring you can just use short black blocks and it's easier to source them and to work around them.