superstring

Has anyone had any experience with this reaming/facing tool? It looks good but I can't find any reviews online. Thanks

wschruba

It works fine, used as directed. You won't see many reviews, because it's really only used by large repair shops or frame builders (but just like everything, there are people who have to own the tools...). If you have some strange head tube/integrated bearings, you'll likely need to buy different reamers than the tool comes with.

There isn't a ton of competition in the market...VAR (only recently, again), Cyclus, and Park are the only real current main producers of such tools.

TimothyH

What are you trying to do? Reface the bottom or mill the size smaller? Or both?

Hand files can be used if the size needs to be reduced. I had a Japanese fork with 27mm JIS crown race seat but needed to use an ISO 26.4mm crown race. A coarse file was gently used, checking often with calipers until it was close. I switched to a fine file until the crown race popped on. It's not that big of a deal.

You could call around to shops and see of someone still has one. This work isn't done frequently however but you might be in luck if you found an older mechanic who built frames or custom frame shop. A frame builder here in Atlanta offered to do it for $20 but it was a 1.5 hour drive so I just did it myself.


-Tim-

superstring

Thanks for the replies. I want to mill the collar size smaller AND face the seat. Yeah, I could get a LBS to do it but, after a few bad experiences, I'd rather do it myself. Good bike mechanics are few and far between it seems.

Besides a man can never have too many tools, no?

corrado33

That's an expensive one to buy for a single use.

You may want to ask a machine shop to do it for you. I want to say those guys are usually more trained than the typical bike mechanic.

mtnbke

There are legitimate reasons to want to do it yourself.

The cutters/reamers are sharpened with a general edge or all purpose for most shops that can't afford to have specific cutters optimized for titanium, aluminum and steel. If you've got a nice bike you really don't want some $9/hr hack grabbing a tool that isn't optimized for your frame material nor is it even properly sharpened. I've never seen a shop mechanic use enough cutting fluid, because of the mess, and this leads to galling, tearing of the metal, and overheating. The reality is the important facing, cutting, or chasing jobs as a rule are always done in shops by bufoon mechanics with little experience and less training.

I say buy your own tools. Get them Nitride vapor coated they stay sharper longer (almost twice as long) and the cutting faces turn easier. A metal plater that specializes in coatings usually has a $150-200 minimum setup charge, but the actual piece rate for each die, cutter, reamer, tap can be as cheap as $5 each.

Good shops like Yellow Jersey have glistening Campagnolo frame tools that are professionally sharpened and Nitride coated.

I've always felt anyone passionate about bikes should have their own tools. Anyone who knows anything about bikes knows that there is almost never anyone who knows anything about bikes at the LBS, let alone wrenching on them.

superstring

A man after my own heart!

Andrew R Stewart 

I'll add one detail. Don't try to cut a lot at one time. The chance of over cutting is greater with greater material removal. For crown race seats I file it down a bunch (or for 1" steerers run a 27.0 cutter) first. then cut with the size specific cutter second.


As to the Park cutters- They work well enough. But when you use others you'll see why park's don't have the reputation that some others have. I will say Parks are easy to find, are rather flexible in the cutters available and not too costly. Andy

superstring

Thanks, Andy. Yeah, I kinda figure the Park cutter isn't as high quality as, say, a VAR cutter but I can only justify so much expenditure (my wife comes into this ) and since I probably won't be using it much, it will probably do the trick.

TimothyH

You might be able to find someone capable if you look around.

Here in Atlanta there are two mechanics, older guys who used to build frames from scratch. I know one of them and he actually recommended the other guy because he was closer. Capable people are out there.

Call around and you will know immediately. Most mechanics don't even know that a crown race seat can be cut. I had one mechanic accuse me of trying to do something jackass but eventually someone will point you in the right direction.

Again, you can always use a hand file and set of calipers. That's what I did on a 3Rensho replica fork. Getting through the chrome was the most difficult part but after that it was easy.

This is before it was cut.

branko_76 

I recently purchased one because I had several frames/forks that were impossible to get the headsets adjusted properly. I had called several local bike shops and none of them had the capabilities of cutting a new seat on a fork crown.

The CRC-1 is very easy to use and does an excellent job. I already had the HTR-1 (head-tube reamer/facer) and this combination allowed me to prep the frame/fork making it easy to properly adjust the headsets on my Raleigh frames. I imagine a high-end shop who would invest in these tools, keep them sharp and employ a trained mechanic would charge $75.00-$100.00 to do this work.

superstring

Hey, branko, thanks for the feedback. In the end I took my forks to a machinist and he refaced the crown seat using a lathe. I just couldn't justify the cost of the CRC-1 even though my motto is "a man can never have too many (nice) tools".

JohnDThompson 

One interesting feature with the Campagnolo crown race cutter is that it also has cutting surfaces inside the bore of the tool. I haven't seen that with other crown race cutters.

fietsbob

chrome plated , I'd expect to charge extra, as they shorten the time the tool is sharp..

superstring

I think they are all like this, otherwise they wouldn't work!

Dan Burkhart 

Nope. I have the Park tool, and the cutters are on the face only. The main purpose of the tool is for milling the crown race seat, but it will work to reduce the diameter of the shoulder, even without the internal teeth.

superstring

How does it "work to reduce the diameter of the shoulder" without the internal teeth? (Park does say that "The CRC-1 is a professional quality machining tool for milling both the outer edge and lower surfaces of the crown race seat")

Dan Burkhart 

It cuts it's way down one revolution at a time. It does work. I've taken JIS crown races down to ISO spec this way.

superstring

Sure, but how does it do it without internal teeth? Are you saying it reduces the diameter by pressure alone?

branko_76 

I haven't tried it but it looks like the inner most portion of the facing cutter would do the work.

Dan Burkhart 

No. The teeth are the full width of the face of the cutter, so the inner tip of the cutter teeth will cut away the excess sort of like feeding a tool across a rotating work piece in a lathe, only here you have multiple cutting teeth on a rotating tool and the work piece is stationary.

wsteve464

For the price of the park tool you could have a nice custom fork built.

There are several reputable frame builders in BC that might be willing to do it. ( face and size the fork )

branko_76 

Keep in mind that there are three cutters with different diameters supplied with the tool, 26.5 mm, 27.1 mm and 30.1 mm.

superstring

So it does have internal teeth, if I understand what you're saying. (If you're suggesting that it only has teeth on the bottom (ie the seat cutter) then, once again, how does it cut the" shoulder"?)

superstring

Hi, wsteve, I've already addressed this in a previous post.