Originally Posted by
thook
i know what the head facing tool is. and, yeah, i was afraid i'd really need something like that to do this right. i was wondering maybe a flat file and gauging my work with a digital caliper around the circumference using the opposite/untouched facing to continually maintain evenness, if that makes sense. and, maybe just stick to trimming at the top of the head tube?
but, how hard is this tubing to hand file? i took a half round file to the underside of a unicrown fork to make a few mm's of tire clearance. i took off that "excess" under the crown you often see on the underside of the steerer. took about ten/fifteen minutes maybe
i have a picture of the frame in question in my email. i should be able to figure out how to get to the forum for illustration, but it'll have to wait until after work this evening
later. thanks for the replies!
I am not endorsing cutting down a HT (although I have done it, hence my not suggesting it). But facing a HT end without a facer is not too hard. A large flat sided file (could be a mill or half round, you pick) and a square with enough blade length are all you need. Cut down the HT end by about 2mm less then you want. File that end flat and square to the HT's length checking with the square held at least three different placements about the HT. One with the blade running down the HT at it's front, another with the blade running down the LH side as close to the TT and DT as possible and the last on the RH side. You will see that the blade isn't parallel to the HT surface and thus which portion of the HT face you need to file a bit more to square that portion up. Repeat all around the end. As you feel the end's squareness is achieved then run the file across the entire end's face with light and smooth strokes to best even the slight highs and lows. Do the other end of the HT.
I use my bench grinder to rough off the HT end as cutting a mm or 2 off with a hack saw can be an ticket to to a major saw slip and scratch.
This can get you very close with care and attention. The key is steady and focused filing with taking your time. Generally a few mms off the ends won't have the reamed ID depth become less then the headset cup's skirts are deep/long. I like to file a slight bevel/chamfer on the ID of the end to better allow the cups to slide in (especially if they're AL). Take care to check out any resulting fork crown/DT contacts as they get closer together.
This is pretty much what I do when building a frame, during the end steps, to reduce the cutting time on my facer. Andy