unable to adjust a crank properly
 

I recently overhauled a square taped crank (a campy triomphe). The crank arms were some tight; I have never seen crank arms that tight before. The overhauled the BB; it was fine. Now I can't get the crank adjusted properly. I adjust the BB so it has no play and is a bit tight and put on the arms properly but there is a bit of play.

I take it that if the aluminum crank arms become wallowed out from having been overtightened, there will be some play that I cannot take out? I've never seen this before. The arms are on pretty tight though so I am a little skeptical that this is the problem.

Do you understand that the crank arms have no influence on the tightness of the BB? It is normal to mount the right crank arm before final BB adjustment in order to better detect play, because it gives you a long lever. If you are not sure whether the play is BB or arm you can easily tell if the play is in the BB by putting your finger where the spindle and cup meet as you try to move the arm. You say the BB was fine but not whether you inspected the spindle and cups for uneven wear or pitting, which is critical. It's also generally a good idea to replace the balls.

I replaced all the ball bearings which is why I took the arms off and open up the BB. The BB is in very good shape (spindle and both cups show little wear). So that's useful; I'll give it a try to see if I can determine whether the play is in the arms or the BB. I've never seen a crank on this tight before (it took a lot of elbow grease to get them off) and I didn't know if the play (which I normally associate with an incorrectly adjusted bottom bracket) could be in the arms.

If the crank was on tight before, and you reinstalled it properly, the play can't be in the arms.

I used to install the DS crank to finish adjusting a loose-ball bottom bracket, but found that installing the cranks can mask the problem of a too-tight BB. I now adjust them per Jobst, where I twist the end of the bare spindle with my fingertips to gauge tightness and play.

I do quite the opposite. I find that having the lever arm of the RH crank attached and tightened onto the BB axle helps me feel the slight amount of play in the BB adjustment better. I can use my hands to squeeze the arm into the chain stay then away from the stay (or DT or ST) and feel for the play. But i always start my bearing adjustment final steps with a slightly loose setting. This way one can feel the slop and as you approach the correct adjustment this slop reduces bit by bit. If the setting is too tight you can't feel how tight often. If i only spin the axle by hand and try wiggling it for play I often find that when an arm is attached I can feel a small bit of play. I also let the crank arm pendulum swing back and forth to gage the freedom of the bearings spin. Often with many bikes I find that there is a compromise in the final adjustment. There will be some slop at one point of arm rotation and a tightness at another. (Poorly made axle or cups or a shell in need of facing are the usual reasons).

Don't forget that when you tighten up the lock ring the bearing slop will increase (unless you let the adjustable cup rotate with the lock ring as you tighten it). So all adjustment/spin checks are best done with a tight ring. Then readjust as needed to correct. It often takes 3 or more back and forth to get it right. Only then will i attach the LH arm. Andy.

It could be that I just lacked finesse at first. After removing my crank arms and discovering that the BB was too tight on a couple of occasions, I had to rethink the process I had been using. With the long lever arm of a crank, it's not hard to turn a tight BB, and the "grumble" is masked.

I still do a final check of BB play by attaching a crank arm and wiggling it throughout a full rotation, but it seems that being thorough and sensitive enough with the cranks off will get things just right.

To the OP - I would suggest you check the fixed cup as well if you did not tighten it in the OH process. Sometimes it becomes just loose enough to shift but not loose enough to notice when overhauling.