Originally Posted by
busdriver1959
If the dropout comes off with that little sideforce, it was going to break off anyway. Better to know now than after lot’s of time, effort and maybe dollars had been put into the project.
...this is simply untrue. Dropouts are inserted into the stays, and brazed in in such a way that the expected force on them will be primarily along the length of the stays, pushing inward, with the hub and wheel inserted. This is an entirely different situation than pushing or pulling sideways on one or both of them, without a stabilizing hub inserted. Sketch it out for yourself in a diagram, if you don't believe me. Regardless, it's simply poor practice overall.