Originally Posted by
Northorne
I'm not sure! I'm guessing its around 20-30 years old. How do I check?
Also, is it possible to have it re-threaded to a standard size at a machine shop?
Try a known English threaded cup as I suggested above. English and Raleigh threading are the same diameter but the thread pitch is just different enough to prevent interchangability. English is 24 threads/inch (tpi) and Raleigh was 26tpi. The English cup will start into Raleigh threading but will bind after a turn or so.
As to rethreading Raleigh to English, the fact they are the same diameter makes this iffy. The resulting retapped threads will be weak and unreliable. You could have the bb shell reamed and rethreaded to Italian threads which are larger diameter than either English or Raleigh but, as BCRider noted, the cost is probably not justified.
If the current bb cups are in adequate condition but the spindle is scored, you may be able to find a replacement spindle and reuse the cups. We did just that on a friends old Raleigh.