Yes, I am the one who bought the damaged Raleigh Pro frame for $35. Not sure what I was thinking at the time and still not sure what I am going to do with it. Such a pretty frame, too. I figured I had nothing to lose by trying to "repair" the frame with a frame block. Also figured it would be a good experiment in the limitations of using said blocks. Not to mention good experience for me.
So we start with the first photo of the damaged frame. And really it does not show well just how damaged it was. The crumpling is pretty obvious, but what seemed worse to me was the way the tubing was ovalized. Seeing that raised real doubts as to the success of this adventure. Even if the crumpled areas could be removed, I had doubts as to the structural integrity of the tubing.
So with nothing to lose, I greased up the frame and the blocks and started working my way along the tube. I started a bit outside the crumpled areas towards the HT to ease things in. Photo below is actually further along, but it gives you and idea of the procedure. Depending on how "bent" the tube, tighten, rotate the frame, tighten, rotate the frame, tighten until the blocks show no crack. Loosen, slide down, applying more grease as needed, and repeat. I should think if you were dealing with less widespread damage you might not need to rotate the frame.
Next photo is after several cycles and you can see I am starting to get into a crumpled area. You can see the crumpling farthest from the head tube is starting to come out rather nicely. Also visible are small "crimps" (for lack of a better term) on the side which are evidence of the tubing being ovalized in that area. These are more visible in the photo after this one
Photo below is after about an hour of treatment. The crumpled area farthest from the head tube is clearly reduced. The large crumpled area ahead of it is also reduced, but still there. From what I have read, this is not all that unusual. As indicated, the crimping along the side is more visible in this shot. I had not seen anything on this and wonder if it is poor technique on my part. I suppose one could buy several blocks to cover the whole area of damage and not have these appear. But I only had the one and figured the idea is to ease the tubing back into shape. Any feedback in that respect would be welcome. Even after this, the tubing was still ovalized in the horizontal plane.
So today I repeated the procedure and was able to remove most of ovalization. The blocks fit nicely around the TT with no seam showing on the blocks. I wonder if a little judicious application of dry ice might pop out that last dent. Maybe something to try later. Unless someone has some tricks to relay, this is probably the final product. The block worked well, but I think they are more for dents and not a crumpled frame. I do not think I will try to pull the head tube straight as I have my doubts about the integrity of the TT. So maybe sometime in the future, it will get sent to Franklin Frame and have the TT and DT replaced. Kind of hate to do that, but I did one face plant off a bike as a teenager and don't want to do another.
