Originally Posted by
Slightspeed
In restoring my SC I found cracks in both seat stays, and the brazing looked suspect, so I stripped it and had it re-brazed.
End caps on anything Raleigh from that time period are suspect. Many weren't brazed on well. Fortunately, it's not structural, but if you're repainting, might as well get them fixed.
The easy way to do it is to take a hack saw blade and use it to carefully clean out the rusty gap, then silver braze it closed. When I was at French Fender Day I had a chance to talk to Peter Weigle, and was very happy to find out he did the same.