Originally Posted by
Doug Fattic
Ordinarily this fork alignment job is done by a framebuilder. There are 4 factors involved. 1st it is to get the rake back to original. That is the fore aft alignment. The rake needs to be the same on both sides. 2nd is the side to side alignment. The front dropouts need to be equidistant from the steerer's centerline. Framebuilders have fixtures for these checks. However I don't bend the blades in the fixture, I bend them outside the fixture and use the fixture to check. Gloves help. 3rd, the dropout faces need to be parallel to each other. There are dropout alignment tools for this job. They are sometimes referred to as "H" tools because that is how they were designated in old Campy catalogs. They were the tool between G and I.
Once the fork has those 3 alignments, it can now be checked that a wheel centers exactly. There are a couple of solutions to do that including filing one of the DO slots. Most frame builders charge a reasonable fee to do this and it can be done while you wait.
Probably worth doing for a high-end, high-value classic bike.
But for a $70 gas-pipe frame Raleigh-type (Robin Hood, actually), it worked out. I felt that the fork was "fixtured" in the frame as it was when the damage occurred, the forces would focus on straightening the point where it was originally bent. As said, I will pull the fork and check for cracks, and fine-tune alignment, etc. I work in the tool and die industry and as such, have precision fixturing and measurement tools at my disposal.
They don't call me a "swampyankee" for nothin'