When I restored my Trek we used silica blasting material (i.e. sand) very fine grit. I asked David about it and the concern that it could etch away too much metal. His response was that I'd have to hold the sand blaster less than 2 inches from the frame, and then apply a constant stream of it for at least 10 to 20 minutes to do any real harm to the tubing.

+1 Stop using a ruler. Invest in a nice micrometer. In the states, I bought mine for $10 at Harbor Freight. You will use it again and again as you work on your bike. A tape measure or ruler just won't cut it.

The easiest way to get sizing advice around here is just take the frame to your favorite local shop. Mine has a stash of perfectly good but used headsets. My last replacement cost me $2.

Any caliper will easily measure this 0.6 mm (0.024") difference. You can get a 6" vernier caliper for very little money at almost any hardware store. A dial caliper can be had for $10 and a digital caliper can be had for $20. Everyone who does any DIY should have one. They are incredibly handy.

Kurt,

The Tange Levin has a stack height of just over 33mm, and when I was looking for a short stack headset for my Palo Alto, it was the shortest one I could find.

Are the Shimano 105/600 headsets even shorter than that?

My understanding is that the use of glass or nutshells as a media reduces the amount of excessive heat that sand creates ... which could possible warp the steel.

Scott

Is the frame for your use? To me, this frame appears to be very small and my guess is that it would best fit someone roughly 60 to 65 inches tall? If it is for you and you are not anywhere close to that height, you may want to get a second opinion whether it will properly fit you when completed?

Thanks for your responses.

I will invest in a caliper.

As for the Tange Levin headsets Kurt mentioned, they do in fact have a very tall stack height (all are above 40mm, besides one which is 37.5mm - I believe). I never doubted you for a second, Kurt

The bike is a bit small for me. I ride a 52cm frame - this is a 49.5cm. I'm really just using it to mess around with - I certainly won't be doing any serious riding with it.

I got the crown race measured. It's 27mm.

I have yet to find a body shop that's willing to paint the frame, lol.

Not true. The Tange Levin has a 33.3mm stack height. I have one on my Palo Alto.

Ah

I was going by https://www.velo-orange.com/headsets.html

I apologize

Interesting - seems we're both right. I was looking at this:
https://aebike.com/product/tange-levi...d1001-qc30.htm

Tange Levin, only chrome steel - not alloy. 33.4mm. Same name, different headset.

I paid 99 cents for a digital caliper on eBay. It came from Hong Kong and shipping was less than $4. I like it better than the one I paid much more for because the battery lasts longer. They both give me exactly the same readings.

This isn't the same deal, but it's close:

https://cgi.ebay.com/6-inch-LCD-Digit...item2a05d1494a

No matter the read out/display type (vernier, dial or digital), they can measure outer diameter, inner diameter and depth (of holes and other recesses). They provide very accurate measurement over a very wide range of sizes (typically 6 to 8 inches), unlike a micrometer which is usually only good over a range of 1". Calipers are a very handy device.

Quick question, what would you guys suspect the bottom bracket sizing to be like?

I'm about to pick up a caliper too. What do I measure to find the appropriate sized bottom bracket? I know I measure the width and height...anything else?

You wouldn't really have an issue with the tubing on a bicycle with heat and warping, mainly sheet metal. By the time you could make enough heat to warp a tube you would have had to sit in one spot to long and other damage would be of greater concern. As long as you keep moving as your blasting and not using to harsh of a media you shouldn't have a problem with heat. The biggest problem I see is people using the wrong sand when doing blasting on finer items such as a nice bicycle frame or a piece of aluminum with a lot of detail, myself I always used glass bead in a cabinet and never had issues with damaging what I was stripping including small sheet metal parts from the interior of a truck I restored.
Glenn

You need to know the diameter and threading of the cups/retainers that thread into the bottom bracket.

A more difficult part is getting the proper spindle. The spindle width is dependant upon bottom bracket width but also upon the chainline needed. This is dependant upon the crank you are using (single, double, triple chainwheels) and the rear axle spacing. You also need to know the taper style on your crank (JIS, ISO).

Gotcha. Thanks for the help everyone

I've blasted frames with sand, glass beads, plastic beads, nut shells and steel beads. Steel and sand are harsh on brass brazes, so you have to be careful, but anyone with any blasting experience knows this.

FWIW, we used silica for blasting at Trek.

I'm probably going to chemically strip the paint, then send it off to be painted.

In the time between, what can/should I do to preclude any rusting?

When you get the paint off, wash it thoroughly with either denatured alcohol or acetone in a well-ventilated area. This will get rid of any dirt and grease and also clean up any traces of the stripper that you used. Then, in order to prevent oxidation, treat the bare metal with a phosphoric etcher. There are several different varieties of this stuff around. If you use one that leaves some sticky gunk, this needs to be cleaned off with alcohol or acetone shortly before painting. Ask your painter what to use for the phosphoric acid etcher -- one popular brand is Metal Prep. It has some detergent in it so it will help clean off any grease or dirt. Once the surface is prepped, try not to touch the metal with your bare hands.

What's more, the Tange Levin headset I have in mind is neither of those two; it's a steel variant on the aluminum Levin sold by Velo-Orange. I have one on my '74 Raleigh Competition - which may or may not have the same stack height of the VO Levin:



-Kurt

I'm most likely going to go with the headset below:

https://harriscyclery.net/itemdetails...D=2090#reviews

It was tough to find a JIS headset (referring to the 27mm crown race) with a short stack height. But luckily I did

I'm measuring the dropout spacing, and I'm not getting a solid number. I'm getting somewhere between 125 and 130. Below is a picture of what I'm measuring...am I doing this incorrectly?



From what I've been reading and seeing, the space should measure 120mm, 125mm, 130mm, 135mm, for instance - not somewhere inbetween.

I'm measuring the spacing to purchase a hub to get wheels built, but I'm stuck

I'm measuring from one inner-edge of one dropout to the other inner-edge of the other dropout, just like: https://www.sheldonbrown.com/frame-spacing.html

Also, when measuring the spacing between the fork ends, I'm getting a measurement of 99mm.

Is it possible that the alignment on either the fork or frame, or both, is off? I would think steel is stronger than that...but what do I know? Hah.

Nominal 6-speed spacing is 126mm though one hub or another came in at 127mm. Looks like you are at 127 to 128 and that's ok for either 126 or 130. A steel frame will adapt readily. Checking that the dropouts are straight and parallel is another matter. There is a tool for that, but I've never seen one in the flesh.

Standard way to quickly gauge the straightness of the frame is to attach a string from one dropout to the other passing it around the head tube. Then, measure the distance from the string to the seat tube -- should be very close to the same on each side. Also, when you insert a well-made wheel in the dropouts and center it at the chain stays, it should be centered at the seat stays as well.

thanks for your reply

I'm mildly frustrated that this is the case with the dropouts

I'm having wheels built for the bike, so I really can't take any chances. Any other opinions on the hub sizing for both the front and rear? I'd much rather go with a 130mm hub than a 126mm one - I just don't want to run into any problems, both safety and mechanical.