I was so excited to see a Centurion Semi Pro on the local CL that I said I'd take it, sight unseen. When I got home, of course the seatpost was stuck. Vise and WD40 did nothing. That tilted me a bit. Instead of giving it time, Kroil, whatever, I decided to cut it out with a reciprocating saw.

In retrospect the problem is that I had decided I was an idiot for buying it without my routine seatpost and stem check (I felt I'd committed to the purchase via email,) so I proceeded like the idiot I was. After initial cuts I put it back in the vise, and under torque I bent the seat lug ear out of true, but no movement on the post.

Totally losing my cool, I hit it again with the Sawzall. Here is the result.



How bad do you think this is, forum? It's a frame that I would otherwise be totally thrilled to build up. The cut is less than half the the thickness of the metal at top of seat cluster, then slopes up to nothing after about 4 inches.

I'd want to see a photo of the damage to the seat lug ear but I wouldn't worry a lot about the cut. That area of the frame is nicely reinforced by the lug and the top tube. Take extra care to use the right sized seatpost.
Brent

One thing to be watchful of - the new slot is an entry point for water.

Actually, all the damage is visible in the photo. It's not the lug ear exactly that I damaged--I just torqued the seat tube out of round a bit as you can see at the slot. I assume it will be all right once I clamp it down.

Yes, I thought about this too. I think I will just plug it with grease best I can.

I would clean out the seat tube with steel wool until it's clean as a whistle. Grease everything up. Put it back together. Ride it and fuhgetabowdit.

Fill the slot in with JB Weld, sand it smooth before it fully dries.

I foresee no problem going forward, other than possibly when it comes time to sell it(?).

As obrentharris pointed out, it's a reinforced area that never sees failure due to redundant structural dimensions.

This could have been one of those "Put everything down and walk away from the bike...." moments.....

You know OP, once you get this squared away, and you will according to the experts here, you'll have some good material for the thread titled, "What's The Dumbest Thing You've Ever Done". Reading through that thread, your story here won't even put you into the top 10! 😊

Good luck!

As the owner and rider of several Centurion Semi Pros -- I cried a little on the inside when I first heard about your mis-adventures over on the other thread. I envisioned a ruined, or severely compromised frame. Luckily, seeing your photos was a relief. It sucks there's a groove there, but structurally, it's of little to no consequence. Once you get it filled with JB weld, a bit of matching nail polish across the top will make it invisible.

Please start a thread with photos once you get it finished -- I can't wait. (I'm guessing it's a '79-'81 based on the dark blue paint.) What sort of tube decal does it have? Most of those had Tange #2 decals, while a few early ones still used Tange #1 (Decal didn't specify numbers, just "Tange Champion" with a dark green background.)

I agree with the others, I'd fill that slot with JB Weld, clean it up and build up the frame. Not a big deal at all.

The truth hurts, [MENTION=172094]Chombi[/MENTION].