Originally Posted by
guy153
You don't need to leave it for a few days or a day or any time at all. Steel doesn't "creep". It will spring back to whatever it's gonna spring back to right away.
It may be just that these stays are a bit stiffer than the other ones you tried. So just need to go a bit further. If it moved 1mm then you're in the ball park.
Keep going 10mm at a time. So 150, then try 160, etc. Or 5mm increments if you like. Crank it out then crank it straight back right away and measure it. Wear safety glasses. If you get freaked out then stop a bit short. You can just squeeze the wheel in anyway. I doubt the bridge tubes will pop out as they're quite far away. The stays should bend first.
A top tip from Paul Brodie's videos is actually to go 1mm more than you need. This makes it easier to get the wheel in. It really works. So in that case you'd go to 127.
I pretty much agree with a comment or three.
The board is doing nothing to where or how the stays bend, it's on the wrong side of the stays to do that.
The OP stated he was aiming for 126. What we don't know (and it seems that there's always missing data in these types of posts) is what the "new" wheel is, axle width wise.
The OP seems to be assuming that both stays will bend symmetrically. Often they don't because of reasons like drive side chain stays can have different indents for chain ring clearance that the LH side doesn't. This is the main reason why I do my rear triangle spreading one side at a time. I block the BB shell (what, you mean I have to do more work just to realign a frame...) in a bench vise and work on one set of stays, then the other. Besides controlling where you end more easily you also do a better job at maintaining the frame's chain line and tracking.
That there's so much spring back speaks to both the material grade as well as the construction quality (as in not being cooked during brazing).
If the OP wants to promote the bending behind/below the bridges those pipe clamps should be placed below/behind the bridges, not on top of them. Andy