I kind of like the cottered cranks. I do have a small supply of used cotters that have saved the day a few times. When my supply runs out, I plan to use the soft cotters. I'll file and fit them, and then heat them red hot and oil quench them to harden them.That's some of the beauty of these vintage Brits, they encourage the old methods of repair skills and craftsmanship.

Update.

Took the bike to the son of the previous owner of Morley. He was very pleased and amazed with the bike. He also had located a saddle bag with tools, old pedals and a original Raleigh owners manual!

Was great to the smile on his face!

I wasn't saying you did anything wrong. I'm saying you found something wonderfully absurd.

That won't work on cotters - you need carbon steel to harden. You would need to use case hardening compound to harden the exterior of the soft steel.
I've read that cotters are soft so that they deform to the hard spindle rather than the other way around.

All done. Seems to work perfectly. All 4 positions ( H N L B )engage smoothly.The newer SA shifter cable end, with the crimps,
is larger in diameter than the original, plain cable end that came on this one. The cable ferrule threads are the same, so I don't
have to make up a whole new cable. I figure I can carefully reshape the end of a newer cable with the bench grinder
until it fits. The rivets didn't come out so easily on this one.The case dimpled inward from driving the trigger rivet out.
I did have a piece of steel bar stock that fit the inside walls of the case perfectly. I used it as an anvil to square up
the case from the damage it had and the dimple I made driving out the rivet. That turned out to be an essential tool
for this project. I got it together by inserting and driving home the rivet in the spring loaded swing arm first. I then
manipulated the trigger and cam with a small screwdriver until the holes lined up with the case. There was enough friction
that the rivet stayed in place while I drove it in without having to hold the screwdriver. I was wondering how
I was going to do that without 3 hands. Guess I was lucky there. So, one early 50s SA trigger rescued.
http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=466818

Figured I'd add my vintage 3-speed to the thread. I ride a Hercules King with a 3-speed B type 2 Hercules hub (and her-cu-matic shifter). Bike is late 40's-early 50's, near as I can tell, and is from before Raleigh bought out Hercules. (if anyone has more info on the model, I'd love to know. I've been researching, but can't seem to find any mention of a "King" model put out by Hercules)

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=466819http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=466820http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=466821http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=466822http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=466823

On another note, does anyone know where one could get a new rear reflector housing? The rubber on mine is completely shot. I need to get the lens out so I can remount the reflector (both screws holding it on have come loose, and they're driven into the fender from inside the reflector), but doing so would probably destroy the old rubber housing.

I can't help with any information about your Hercules but I might be able to help with the reflector: Spares and Accessories for Roadster Bicycles Raleigh Tourist 28" 635mm at Yellow Jersey Westwood Rims is another keyword Rod brakes British spares.

What a cool bike. I love it. Yes, preserving that reflector is a must. If a new housing that fits the lens just can't be found, it would be possible to machine a whole new body out of aluminum and paint it black. A lot of work for a reflector maybe, but that one is especially nice.

I have a SA trigger shifter that works fine in 2 and 3. It wont go into one. 2 and 3 work fine and i can see where the pawl or "catch" is when i pull the trigger back to the 1 position and it is clearing the metal holder but the spring doesnt push down on the holder. Is there a way to adjust this spring to push down farther? Its probably just worn from age IF i use a small screw driver and push the metal holder its fine but as soon as i come out of first again it wont go back in. The spring is weak in the #1 spot and not pushing or engaging at all.

Hopefully this description makes sene. I am wondering if i bend the spring a bit to allow it to give more tension. I dont see any possible way to get the trigger shifter apart. Its press fit together.

What is the diameter of the reflector. I have a Raleigh rubber housing that you can have if it fits. It is white though.

let me know.

Hav

Have you tried more slack on the cable? Might also be a stuck link on the indicator chain.

yup....it pulls way past the first gear pawl/catch on the shifter but the little spring thing that pushes against the block that is supposed to push down the block to catch on the pawl isnt pushing down because there isnt enough sprint tension. Its all in the trigger shifter. It should shift gears 1-3 with nothing hooked up....just some slight pull back tension. It wont catch at gear number 1.

scale - most of my problems with SA 3 speed hubs are that I can get 1 and 3 just fine with the initial cable tension adjustment. After that is done, shifting from 3 down to "N", or 1 up to "N" may fail. Both up and down shifts never fail, but often one direction does.

First go for the high and low, I've always found that a little work with the barrel adjuster will bring "N" into line.

The trigger might only need a cleaning and lube. I have an ultrasonic tank and it is amazing how much dirt comes out of triggers when I clean them. After cleaning I use a needle oiler with Tri-Flow to sparingly get things slicked up again. The triggers are always much improved after this process.

This might be it. I flushed and worked it real good using pb and parts cleaner. It doesnt feel tight at all. It pulls great....its just the last click down to 1 doesnt work. IF i pull into 1 and then push my finger over the spring it puts weight on the thing that catches the tooth on the shifter for 1st gear. IM pretty sure that little flapper thing in there is fine but the spring that pushes it down is weak. 2nd and 3rd are not a problem because the cam that runs it pushes the teeth out farther for these gears where the spring still has plenty of tension.

another topic. I have a 57 red robin hood and the forks look bent in a bit. Has anyone ran these forks as a replacement on a 3 speed?

Sunlite 26x1-3/8, 1" Threaded Fork - Modern Bike

Im almost certain ill never find another set of red forks for a robin hood and black would look weird. Chrome probably would as well but maybe less so.

Well, you could take it apart and re-tension or replace the spring. I just had one apart. It wasn't too difficult. I was thinking about replacing the leaf spring, but the original seems to work fine. What I would have done was mic the thickness and width, averaged them and found a wire spring of that diameter. Then I would have straightened out a length of wire and hammered it flat on an anvil, trim up the edges on the grinder and form it using the original as a template. I know, I'm crazy. I just love mechanical puzzles.

how do you get the trigger apart? I could probably fix this thing quick if i new how to pull it apart.

We've been talking about this on the last few pages of this thread. I've only reconditioned a trigger once and it was an older window style shifter. What it amounts to is the rivets that hold the assembly together aren't really rivets. They're pins that were center punched on the back. So you can drive them out and get the trigger apart. Getting it back together is tricky, but it can be done.

My reflector housing is 2" in diameter (outside edge of the housing)

That would be so awesome, thanks for the offer. I think white would look alright, match the white fender splash.

I overhauled the pedals with new bearings and grease and moved the wheel back in the slots, and the slipping seems to have been resolved :) not sure which of those did more good, but it was fun to tear into the pedals.

My next project might be to replace the bearings/lube in the crank, if I can muster up the courage to smite those cotters. Is it advised that I find replacement cotters in case things go haywire?

Yes. You might not ruin them, but you also might.

I stopped drifting cotters out. Never wrecked one pressing them out. At first, I used a makeshift press. A small clamp on bench vise and a socket.
I finally broke down and bought an official cotter pin press.

Okay, I will put the tape measure on it tomorrow and check size. Glad to help out if I can.