Absolutely not! The extra material will help keep the dropout from failing again. This one is going to be a rider and not a beauty queen. I would rather have the security of the extra steel than the pretty looks of another potential failure. If the aesthetics were that important I would have sent it to Doug Fatic for a dropout replacement. I am fairly confident in the weld area that has been repaired. The welding was done in the shop where a race care I sponsor resides and has been a proven winner in the Super Stock category. The stress put on the frame of that car has withstood two years of abuse and I would not hesitate to get behind the wheel for yet another race. Pretty is not the same as functional. By putting a bit more metal ln the drop out it will be stronger. Just my stoopid Dave logic. Smiles, MH
PS. When the paint gets on it no one is gonna notice the difference. and if they do what will I care if I feel safer riding it.

A week of non-bike work has kept the Loto on a back burner. So tonight I found out it is trying to quit, and will go on the "Patch", to help in the process. Rust is not a welcome thing here in Honk Land, and the "Patch" is gonna be helpful in localizing the rust remediation. Smiles, MH
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...fa0f884de8.jpg
The "Patch" applied to the area where the Loto is trying to quit rusting. I can't tell what caused the damage, but I suspect it was likely done with a Brian wind trainer clamp.
The patch is soaked in Oxalic acid solution and should reduce the rust to the point I can put a coat of primer on the remediated area.

Success! "The patch" worked and the Loto has quit rusting the tubes at the bottom bracket. A small bit of cleaning and touch up paint can be applied. Next will be a few spots under he bottom bracket. Smiles, MH
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...669ab054f6.jpg
The seat tube de-rusted and ready for some touch up paint.
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...24786802bf.jpg
The down tube rust is gone as well. The OA patch method is a good solution to getting the OA localized to just the damaged area.

The Loto has decided to take a bath, but tub is a bit on the small side. It is currently soaking in the solution designed to make it feel free. Free of rust that is! I am thinking it will stay overnight to clean up years of rust accumulation on the underside of the bottom bracket. The price on this one was pretty right, so I m going to do a bit of extra work to get things closer to correct for the build. Every time I look I see more signs of being ridden hard and put away wet. So sad cause it is a nice frame set.
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...713cb43342.jpg
I am being a bit of a cheapskate but the damage didn't need a big pan of Oxalic acid so the hand cleaner container wins the day.
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...c076da508d.jpg
Just the right amount of clearance for the acid bath after a bit of trimming on the container. I am not going to have a large amount of acid to dispose of after the treatment.
The frame is going to get a bunch of touch upon the rear chain-stays, but it is from a lot of chain damage to the right stay. When I am done I think it will be a rider that is reasonably presentable. Smiles, MH

After 24 hours in the spa, the bottom bracket lost a bunch of accumulated rust has melted away creating a dark yellow solution of Oxalic Acid with rust infused. The damage seems to have been mitigated for a while. I can't say it won't come back, but after a bit of cleaning it is ready for a coat of primer. Some pictures:
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...b86949e43b.jpg
After a wash with clear water, the rust is pretty much removed from the affected areas.
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...b316f08e99.jpg
A bit of wire brush work on the rust and oxidize area has the BB clean enough to give it some primer coat for the time being.
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...76ab82b013.jpg
All dressed up for the painting party. I did a pretty aggressive wire brushing with the Dremel to get down to bare metal. and ready for the primer
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...9dd9a57be5.jpg
After the primer coat. There will be sanding and feathering of damaged areas elsewhere on the stays, with the ultimate goal of an under-coat of silver and then clear blue to get to a color match to the rest of the frame.
Smiles, MH

I'm in Wisconsin - Shop Dog Cycle

Glad to see that Basso getting the help it needs to get back on the road. I almost didn't post it.

Thanks. I was curious because there was a framebuilder in Highland Park IL named (I think) Shop Dog Cycles. Any relation?

No relation, just similar names. We also have the same first name which probably doesn't help differentiate between the two :)

question about Basso Loto
 

Hello and good evening all,
I just purchased a Basso frame and am having a hard time figuring out what model it is? It seems to be a Loto frame however the frame seems to have been painted over. The frame has a lot of the characteristics of the loto. the serial number is 809033.It is a 56.5 frame according to the marking on the bottom bracket by the serial number. If anyone can help I would appreciate it.

I have a 54cm Lotto with that paint scheme in green. Really fragile paint. Gonna get some touchuping and then a heavy clear coat. Then finally into the workstand and built.

Hello and good evening Steel Charlie,
The frame that I purchased is also a green one. I am new to the forum so I cannot post photos till I have like ten post.

You can upload them into your picture gallery I think, and someone can post them for you.

ok thanks again for your help. I will try that and see if it works.

Hi, Your questions would be better answered by starting your own thread and not tagging on to an existing one.....
Best Ben

Bringing this one back to top of mind as it is about to get some love during my off season. Also there is some discussion on frame making about this drop out problem. Smiles, MH

Snowing outside today so some work on the Loto giving it some finishing touches. a little touch up paint where a pump rubbed the paint off. And the some work on the drop out adjusters. A few pictures:
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...ad1343ca98.jpg
Cleaning the threads of the DO's.
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...9bae7d2d23.jpg
New Campy adjuster screws and hardware.
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...c0ebbbab2f.jpg
finished with the install and now on to shop cleaning.
Smiles, MH

great job and nice bike:thumb:

jdawginsc ,
As this one is getting a lot of time in the shop, I am re-assessing the Ochsner and seeing mostly chrome plating under everything. Not sure if it was a thing at Royal, but the chrome builds from Italy are the rarest of the Ochsner line. I am thinking about letting it go to the boys at the chrome shop to get the Faggin treatment. I will try to schedule a trip to the shop to see about a complete re-chrome. It could be a fun story like the Faggin was. Smiles, MH

Interesting. Maybe if you strip the paint in places, you might not need new plating. It might be in good polishable state?

Well now that the Ochsner has been dismantled I am leaning toward taking the Campy group that was originally on it, and using it on the Basso. The NR group is a bit prior to the 1990 type frame but should fit quite nicely on the bike. I will have to build a new wheel set for it. And that is gonna be a tutorial for teaching Jdawgs how to build a wheel. I'm gonna hang the NR stuff on it first and then start the wheel build. Smiles, MH

I still have to find the rims! They’re in the porta-shed I think.

I did quite a few dropout replacements back in the 1980s, and one person didn't have the cash, so I notched the crack and gas welded it for 10 bucks. I saw it years later and, in a bit of a surprise for me, it was still intact and holding up fine. I think every broken dropout I have seen was either broken right there, or the hanger had been yanked hard enough to crack at the adjuster hole. I suspect it's a result of the repetitive pull of the chain that causes this type of crack as I've never seen it happen on the left side.

A little progress. Snow on the ground outside, but 65* here in the shop so a good day for some work. The headset was a bit of a PITA ; I needed to go through six NR headset lower races to find a fit, and it also required an additional spacer to get the clearance to not smash the threads of the steerer with the top nut. So HS installed, and on to the BB. Standard NR races and loose ball with a waterproof sleeve. Nothing special but a few seconds to get the bearings adjusted and then adding the crank arms. Nice clearance on the rear stay and a good Q-line so everything is going well. Went to the shift levers and found the washers missing, so off to the Campy stash and found a new set to get them installed. Next is the seat post and binder combination to fit a seat. Pics:
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...e8e3042052.jpg
Gear installed for the drive train with nice clearance.
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...d0d6ab6765.jpg
Shift levers required breaking into the stash for new washers.
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...8d985b8c38.jpg
Head set required a second spacer to get things correct. The new spacer is not quite the shiny chrome but works and will look just fine at 20mph.
Smiles, MH

That paint cleaned up really well, Dave. It’s really a pretty cool color white.

Another snow day so staying indoors. I went to the PS* and dug out a NR FD and a NR RD to be fitted on the Loto. Interestingly only three FD's in the stash that will fit and two were SR so the other one wins by default. Next up is the seat post fit. Smiles, MH
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...4a35e014c2.jpg
Both are reconditioned but are very serviceable for a daily rider.
*PS personal stash