Today it was my turn with Cuda Kurt's Raleigh professional! I'm thinking he is gonna see this and think he should have called on the Bike Butcher of Portland. The frame showed up with visibly damaged ears for the seat binder which required more metal than was there. So, off I go to the race car shop and we get out the welder to give some needed reinforcement material. I am not always very gentle with the addition of welded material as the photo's will show. The ears are now flat and ready to test my metalworking skills. I'm thinking that the ears with the added material may require a slightly longer binder bolt, but that is a small price to pay for the added security of a good strong weld. Kurt I hope you approve of my work! Pics:
There is a lot of welding material added to the ears, but I can remove some easier than I can put more on.
The other ear and excess material added to it.
This is butt ugly after the welding work, but wait until I can get the ears cleaned up.
This kind of work always requires a lot of bad before any good shows up. You can see I got the paint around the lug a bit discolored but the guys at the Professional Refinishing Shop have matched the paint to the original so only priming and painting of the top tube and lugs will be required. I will post more as I get a bit farther along with this repair. Smiles, MH