Originally Posted by
Torchy McFlux
, , , I've got a little experience myself as a machinist and brazer in a framebuilding shop, and speaking from that, I wouldn't butt-weld an old cracked forged steel dropout and call it done - "reinforced" by dumping on the brass or not.
's funny: the guy I took my Motobecane to does framebuilding and customizing and repairs, and he's expert with both brazing and welding. I had actually found NOS replacement dropouts and brought them along, giving him the option to do either a dropout replacement or TIG repair -- and I said that any cost difference didn't matter. He advised doing the TIG repair, and I took that advice.