Okay so during the two weeks in '97 they made 1" threadless forks, they decided to use two different crown race diameter standards. Problem is, I didn't know this when I ordered my beautiful Ritchey WCS headset, and actually didn't even know it until I had already pressed the headset and tried to beat the race on the fork for a good half hour (thanks for the knowledge Dan). Guess what, I have a 27.0mm JIS fork and Ritchey only makes a 26.4 crown race.

So my question is this:

Without taking my fork to the machine shop or buying a new headset, is there a viable way to reduce the diameter at home? I was thinking about wrapping some fine grit sandpaper around it and turning with my free hand to get an even finish. I don't really want to reduce the inner diameter of the race for fear of it not meeting the lower angular bearings in the right place.

Thoughts? Thanks in advance.

*edit: it's a carbon fork with steel steerer tube, but the surface needing resizing is alloy

Any bike shop will have a cutter specifically for reducing JIS crown races to ISO diameter and it's a relativly low cost job. Have it done right.

Oh awesome. So they'll cut the crown race, or the seating area on the fork?

They will cut the seating area on the fork and it's a one-time job. After that, any ISO crown race will fit it.

Thanks for the info HR. The third shop I tried had the tool. 15 bones later, and my a-bike is finally on its way to being a bike again. Appreciate it!