dabac

Yes.
I thought that was clear enough by the way I wrote ” Finding a stem to act a donor for a new Allen bolt is usually quite easy.”

Allen heads are nice in the way they allow for easy centering of the drill. Some finesse is required, but it’s not like you need to be a verified power tool genius or anything.

Russ Roth

A drift is similar to a punch but instead of being used to make an indent for a drill bit or counter sinking finish nails its a bit harder and thicker to whack things with, in this case the end of the bolt that's let if the head comes off.
Not certain what is meant by professionally drilled, it looks like holes in a frame to me. Being a shop tech if I dimpled and then drilled the frame you could claim it is professionally done but it wouldn't mean much. Today, and since at least my 88 DeRose there is a tube that can be run through the frame that your cable housing will run through, it starts and ends at a braze-on that helps hold the tube in place while reinforcing the holes in the frame since the tubing can be thin away from the butting. It also serves to seal the top tube so that water can't pour in the randomly drilled hole. That's just my view. Its a nice frame and should be more then worth riding but I'd want it done right.

Geepig

That is a lot of corrosion in there, and I would be surprised (but pleasantly) if that bolt comes out without drilling. A few solid but careful whacks with a medium hammer of the head of the nut might be good to try and break down the corrosion bonding the bolt to the clamp, then apply the hex tool. I usually would use the hammer with the bike leaning against me to absorb the shocks unless I could find something solid to lean the other side of the clamp against.

JohnDThompson 

Just a standard wire wheel.

LeSexyFishorse

Thanks for this!

Ahh I see what you mean now. Would you have a photo of what the braze on looks like? I will drop by some machine shops and see if they can do something for that.
Definitely agree with you on the "professional" drilling. I meant that statement as satire since I wouldve have preferred those block type brake mounts to keep the frame as intact and original as possible. Im just a bit heartbroken coz I only got to ride her once since getting her and now im even more scared to do further damage.

Good point, I have an old thick mattress in the backyard. I might just do the hammer work on that one to be safe. Should I be gentle when torqueing the bolt? I mean obviously not trying to be Conan the Barbarian but given the level of corrosion at some point I think it would be safe to stop worrying about rounding breaking the thing?

dedhed

https://framebuildersupply.com/colle...ver-2-10-packs

Unca_Sam

You're better than this!

Say "I'm using a fine brass wire wheel" so some dope doesn't use a carbon steel wire wheel on the rims!

Unca_Sam

I'm very confused by what looks like pitting on what should be an aluminum stem (right there under the bar clamp bolt). There also should not be any rust at the handlebar/stem clamp interface. Are the bars steel? A magnet is your friend here.

I would try a torch to the bolt (enough to make it too hot to touch) before I used a wrench with a hammer. If that clamp was assembled without grease, you could also be facing the dreaded aluminum weld that locks stems and seatposts inside bike frames.

Litespud

I agree - I'm not sure that that isn't a chromed steel stem. A feel-around with a magnet would be informative

TakingMyTime

All that rust scares me. There would be a lot of sanding, grinding and chemical treatments to that bike before I even thought about keeping it. That rust looks nasty.

JohnDThompson 

No, that wheel is brass-plated steel wire.

phughes

Try this type of impact driver. You hit it with a hammer. It is very effective, and more controllable than the air driven, or electric type impact driver. I use mine on bikes and motorcycles. I bought one like this recently at Lowes, but I cannot find it on their website right now. You would have to get the appropriate hex socket for a 3/8 inch driver.


https://www.amazon.com/CRAFTSMAN-Imp...5227896&sr=8-5

cbrstar

I've fixed up way worse rust then this.

On the rusted bolts you should use a penetrating oil first, and let it soak over night. But an alternative which I find actually works better for me is a product called "Rust Check" I don't know if it's available in America or what the equivalent is there but I've found it to loosens up rusted bolts way faster.

With the frame I use a tub mixed with water and citric acid and leave it a few hours or over night depending on how strong the solution is. You can also use oxalic acid which is a bit stronger but you need to do it outside. After you neutralize the acid with some baking soda and spay a bit of frame saver in the tubes. Then you might need a little scrubbing with some steel wool or a brass brush but it will look much better.

You will have to remove all the cups, but the beauty of powder coating seems to be not as much of prep work is needed. The one I go to he quickly sand blasts everything and frame forks and bars are powder coated for $150-250 cdn. If I was to get the same job done with auto paint I'd probably be looking $500-$900 to get it done by a Professional.

LeSexyFishorse

I will check this tom, have to find my old magnet from the toolshed.

I was actually thinking how do I make sure the inside of the frame is rust free? I might be repainting it only to have a rust problem that spreads again from the inside. The LBS that referred me to the powdercoat company said they treat the metal before painting. Is that sufficient? Should I try submerging the frame in some sort of solution like you mentioned?

Also, is sandblasting ok for this kind of frame given the thin tubes?

Unca_Sam

The treatment before painting is usually an acid etch. Iron in bare steel oxidized immediately upon exposure to oxygen. The surface rust is microscopic, but still interferes with paint adhesion.

cbrstar

If the powder coaters are going to sand blast it then you really don't need the acid bath. And the sandblasting only removes extremely small amounts of the surface so don't worry about it. The reason I do the acid bath first is to see if the rust is hiding any cracks or pinholes. That way I know if I need to visit a metal fab guy I know first and get that damaged repaired properly. Some powder coaters will simply fill the crack / holes with a little bit of bondo and not say anything about it.

LeSexyFishorse

Does the sandblasting cover the inside of the frame too? Or will any rust inside the frame be taken care of by the chemical bath. Also the will the pantographs on the frame degrade from the sandblasting?

cbrstar

The sand blasting might be able to do some of inside like the bottom bracket. The acid bath can remove rust on the inside but you need to spray it with a rust inhibitor like "frame saver" after. On the inside once the rust is gone can "Flash rust" after depending on the climate you live in. A quick google search and I found this guys how to with frame saver. How to Use Frame Saver – Velo Orange (velo-orange.com)

dedhed

With rust you take your chances. This was a couple years commuting after a blast and powdercoat. There was rust around the cable guide and I suspect the bike saw extensive trainer duty before I got it. Reynolds 531 tube.

Unca_Sam

And they all tipped a splash of beer from their mugs in memory of the loss.

veganbikes

The previous owner clearly didn't care for what they had. I am all for running brakes but poorly drilling a frame for them is a definite NO!

That bike looks like it was sadly abused and that ain't good. I would strip it and send it to a frame builder and see if they can take a look and bring it back. There are some parts on that I would just toss or have to spend a lot of time cleaning and polishing and removing rust.

Soody

Find a powder place that does chem stripping, not mediablasting.
the acid tanks will clear rust from inside
Ask to go and have a look at it after it's been stripped, and decide if it's dead or not. Or, you could strip and aggressively remove the rust yourself, just to check. Getting the rust spots back to bare metal won't be that hard. Removing good paint is harder. Then you can decide if it's worth continuing.
I also suggest you shop it around a lot. Some places will do like $100 for strip and powder. Some, many times more. And some will hate bikes and some be fond of them.
It's really a shame because that original paint is great. But this way you can go metallic purple

Russ Roth

That site should have the tube as well, but you want someone who brazes, not welds. Getting them brazed on will help to reinforce the area or at least reduce the stress of the holes while not causing heat issues with the tube.

Result looks like this, looks really slick and this bike is designed to run through the rain, mud and snow and none of that is staying in the frameset to rust it out.

LeSexyFishorse

Going to visit a few machine shops to see if they can do this kind of work for me.

Yea gonna visit the powder coating company that my LBS recommended tom. I was thinking some sort of shade of nebula style purple or blue with the logos in white. Unfortunately the guys that are gonna replicate my decals cant do the sort of swarovski style effect on the Bridgestone logo I am going for.
Will frame saver be necessary after an acid bath and powder coat?
So I took a wire brush mounted on a drill to that old glue and this is the result. I noticed after going through the rim that there were some damaged areas. I dont know if that was cause by me using a steel brush or not. I tried to be as careful as possible and I think it might have been previously existing damage. What do you guys think? Rest of the rim seems fine. Do I need to do another pass to completely remove all of the glue (batteries are currently charging)? The remaining residue is quite difficult to remove even with the brush and the drill.



Does this look like rim damage from the brush?


This is what I used

Tape or Glue?
As for gluing the tire on, I will be using this guide . Although there is no mention of pre stretching the tubulars, should I be doing this? Any additional considerations to follow? I hope I dont screw this up else I will have to get myself a set of clinchers. LBS has been suggesting me to go with a brand new pair of Miche hubs with Legend rims for 170 USD. I told myself if I screwed up with the brand new tubs then I would just get a clincher set.

bitpuddle

This has been a fun thread to read through. A restoration like this can be really satisfying. Some thoughts, most of which have been mentioned:

• That frame is in rough shape. Im not sure if it is from sweat or sitting in the elements, but I’d want to deal with the rust first, particularly around the headset and the home made cable port. The good thing about rust is that it is usually only on the surface, not a structural concern. Either way, strip all the parts off the frame.
• If you don’t care about aesthetics, you could up just use a rust stabilizer around the rough parts. This is cheap and easy at home. I’d be particularly interested to see the inside of the bottom bracket shell, as moisture (and corrosion) tends to collect there.
• If you do care about aesthetics, bring the stripped frame to a powder coater. They’ll bead blast the corrosion off. before powder coating.
• After you deal with the corrosion, invest in a can of frame saver. Also cheap and easy (though smelly) to do at home.
• given the corrosion and possible refinishing, when you’re ready to build the frame again, I’d visit either a good shop or a frame builder to face the headset and bottom bracket, chase the bottom bracket threads, and possibly ream the seat tube. This requires specialized tools, but shouldn’t be expensive. Getting the surfaces faced might be particularly important, as bad surfaces will cause the headset / bb to loosen over time.
• once the frame is in good shape, you can build it with whatever new/old parts you like.
• I wouldn’t bother finding someone to braze on a real cable port unless you want to spend the money. Obviously, you’d do this before refinishing.
• That stem doesn’t look good. I’d call around to local shops to see if they have a used quill stem sitting in a parts bin.
• You’ve removed plenty of the old from those rims. Take a look at the hub bearings to see if they need service.