IdahoBrett 

The Bar Keepers Friend is the key (I think). I saw that as a recommendation on here via search. One of the ingredients is oxalic acid. Which I've seen referenced here on BF for rust removal.

I was going to try rags soaked in Evaporust then wrap with saran wrap. But I didn't want to wait 12-24 hours. Plus the idea of wrapping in between the spokes gave me a head ache.

IdahoBrett 

Thanks! I thought for sure my hands were going to hurt today. They didn't. Guess I've got a few years more left of mechanaking in me....

After the new decals reassembly will commence. That is if I do well with the decals. I better have Mrs. Idaho keep her eyes on the straightness for me. All my picture hangin' usually ends up crooked.

bikamper

Starting a clean up on this old old Starrett dial indicator set.

A good cleaning and a new crystal. Anything to get me out of the house yet not spend an inordinate of time on the stupid knee scooter. On that front, I may be able to start hobbling on two feet next week and back on a bike, slowly, the following week.

jPrichard10 

trying to figure out how to make one good derailleur out of these two. Anyone ever replaced the rivets/pins on these?

RCMoeur 

This afternoon is probably the final day I'll have available for working on my bike stockpile for the next two weeks, so I thought "let's see if I can actually finish some partially-rebuilt bikes today."

First up: a Diamondback Ascent that should just need a shifter swap. But the crunchy Tioga Farmer John's Nephew tires were more than old enough to have nephews themselves, so they were swapped for some pre-loved Serfas Drifters. Cabled it up and it came together nicely. One down.


Back to that Miyata Triplecross. Shifters are degunked, so they went back on along with new cables, old grips, and shiny pedals. Two down.



And then from behind me... the unmistakable sound of "fsssshhh" as the rear tube on the Ascent went from 65 to 0 in about half a second. Oh fsshh. Yanked the tire off and discovered the tube may have looked OK, but had an unseen weakness down around the rim tape, and it finally gave way once repressurized. Oh well - swapped it out & pumped it up.


Don't give me that look.

Almost done - I put new covers in two old saddles, and now the bikes are ready to head to the co-op for sale.

Plus I had the ultrasonic cleaner working on two sets of shifters during all this - one set cleaned up great, but the other set is not giving up without a gooey greasy fight.

Between that and doing the taxes, I'm almost thinking I might have accomplished something today.

VintageSteelEU

You can remove rivets with a drill, by gently applying a drill bit to the "dimpled" end of the rivet / pin. Grinder is another option, but I would prefer a drill bit myself. More precise. I don't see why one wouldn't be able to use new rivets to put these back together. It might not be easy wherever any spring tension is involved and might require some robust vocabulary in the process (speaking from experience of re-assembling Huret Success front derailleur, and that was made to be taken apart), but should be possible. Personally, were I to attempt something like this (if I had well enough equipped workshop, which right now I don't have), I would take a leaf from Huret Success Titane book and use clevis pins with circlips to put it back together.
Oh, it might be possible to take both the rear part of the seat tube clamp and the cage from some other Suntour FDs. I'd have to have a look, but I believe several models shared parts of the design.

jPrichard10 

That was the plan, so sounds like I'm on the right track! I knew I wouldn't get rivets to reassemble, but I wasn't sure if I could get a pin for a circle with the ridge in the right place (I don't have a lathe).

A bolt and nut is the worst option, but still exists.

VintageSteelEU

Nothing serious today, didn't have much time. But since I'm waiting for Spidel brake calipers to arrive, I will need pads for them, so decided to make a start. I tend to use Weinmann pads as the basis for any vintage brakes that come without pads. They are inexpensive, easy to find and made of aluminium. Which can be polished quite easily to a mirror finish, if someone had time and energy for that. This time I just gave them once over with a scouring bit on the rotary tool and then a brass brush bit. Perhaps at some point I'll give them a bit more attention, after I tighten all the wings. Donor pads are made by Fibrax (Steel & Alloy compatible) and they are basically identical to Weinmann ones, could be used as they are. But they are made of steel, which I don't like, because it's more slippery in the calipers. The rubber pads are a perfect fit. And the chamfered nuts are also pretty decent and I find them better for caliper brakes than aluminium (or steel) domed nuts Weinmann pads sometimes come with.




A new old stock, 116mm TA 344 bottom bracket spindle arrived today. I've cleaned some surface rust off it (nothing serious) and decied to see whether Sugino cups I have will be a match. It certainly seems so. With caged bearings there is about 1mm clearance between the cup face and the beginning of the taper, so with loose bearings I will use it with, definitely there shouldn't be any issue with cranks rubbing on them (and also, cranks won't reach the bottom of the taper anyway). I will be using this setup with Spidel 105bis crankset, so the chainline should be still alright. 1mm closer to the centre of the frame than with 118mm spindle originally intended, but that should also result in a smaller chance for the chain rubbing against the FD cage in unorthodox gear combinations, so I'm fine with that. It looks like that's another bit sorted. In the end, Superator gets Superbe and SR Royal mix I was originally planning for it (albeit with Spidel brakes). C5 will be rebuilt very close to catalog specification (Belleri stem and handlebar, Weinmann (Carrera) Brakes, Spidel / Stronglight 105 crankset, Selle San Marco Concor saddle, probably SR Laprade seatpost) but with Huret Jubilee derailleurs instead of Huret Success and with Simplex SLJ shifters instead of Huret Success ones.

VintageSteelEU

Clevis pins come in various widths and lengths, so you might be lucky. Another option would be to go for bolts, spring washers and nuts, easier to cut to the required length, but these would certainly add some weight.
I remember when I was overhauling my Huret Success set, spring in the FD gave me the most grief, I almost gave up on it. But it's a completely different design than in typical front derailleurs. Thinking about it now, I believe the FD actually used screws, but would have to dig it out to have a closer look and refresh my memory.

curbtender

Unwanted Sekai got a makeover.

bikamper

Started on the replacement counter-shaft for the 90 year old Craftsman lathe, on the 90 year old Craftsman lathe.

The shaft is not perfect, but neither is the lathe.I kind of have to make the tools to make the tools...

The replacement crystal for the about as old Starrett dial indicator showed up yesterday. Looks good.

seedsbelize2

A few weeks ago, while at the bolt specialty shop, I learned that bicycle mounting bolts are stainless. Today I learned why. Attempting to put pannier hooks on my wife’s Bianchi Forte, I found hex head bolts. One came right out. The other had to ultimately be filed down enough to pop the rack foot off. And then I had something I could get ahold of with the vise grips.

merziac

Not always but mostly on higher end components and getting less so by the day, profit at all costs and all that.

VintageSteelEU

Another SR Royal BB spindle arrived today and was cleaned (not that it needed much cleaning). Really good condition, despite being previously used, so that's 10 quid well spent. Totally forgot it's assymetrical though, so not sure whether it will do as a replacement for the Suntour Sprint one, which is 109mm. With SR Royal I would be getting the chainline 2mm outwards. Not something I have to worry about right now, got other projects to complete.

Today the most time consuming thing was modifying the seatpost to fit Reboul Superator. I had Ritchey branded Nitto S65 which I got on the cheap, but in 26.8 instead of 26.6mm required and way too long. It was slightly mistreated, with snake lines and gashes, so needed sanding down anyway. Not sure why I started sanding it down before I cut it down to the required length, but thankfully few minutes in I realised there is no point in sanding down the part I'm not going to need. That took best part of two hours, then about 30-40 minutes going over with finer sandpaper (ended up with 2500 grit) and then a bit of polishing. It's not quite finished yet, need to even out the edge of the cut and round the seatpost walls on it and it definitely needs more polishing, but for now it will do. If I like the ride, I will put some more time and work in it this winter. But the seatpost fits pretty well now, so I'm happy I've made some progress. Next step will be applying the same procedure to the stem (I have 22.2, need 22mm) followed by modifying chainrings slightly. And then installing brakes, cables and chain and we'll see how this thing rides



Still needs polishing

New version of San Marco Regal (Evo) behind, the old one (Regal Girardi) in front. Looking at the design, name is the only thing they have in common, really. Completely different saddles. I like the modern one and I find it comfortable, haven't tried the old one yet.

repechage

if the “crystal” for the dial indicator is only the plastic… a watchmaker that rebuilds mechanical watches should be able to press it in. Acrylic watch crystals are often a press fit and the plastic is to be deformed slightly to engage then loosen up to bind in place.
I saw this done once and was surprised/impressed.

sbrudno

Great job! Just noted that you have rear and front facing rear reflectors. Any particular reason why? I might change my approach if the answer stimulates some neurons...

bikamper

I've seen that done and it's pretty cool to watch. This crystal, which is acrylic, was a piece of cake. I probably spent more time removing the retaining ring from the gage than I did fitting the crystal and putting it back together. It was an exact fit.

cjefferds 

Had my riding buddy’s 86 Panasonic DX-5000 on the stand today. Performed a bearing service on the rear hub and had to grind down the rear reflector mount with a dremel to accommodate a larger tire. We tried to replace the freewheel but realized that the hub is Italian threaded. Campy hubs and mavic rims. No biggie, the 5 speed he has on there purrs like a kitten and I got to keep the 6 speed. Don’t know much about the bike but it looks the business to me. Shimano 600 group. It’s definitely lived a full life and I was happy to help keep it rolling.


The lighting does not do the beautiful lavender color justice.

VintageSteelEU

I'm afraid there is no funky or mind blowing explanation for this. I needed access to the adjuster bolt as I was swapping the saddles around and the light was in the way

The reason I have a reflector is that it's a legal requirement in the UK and so are rear and front lights after sunset. The reason I have two rear lights is that if battery in one goes flat, I still have a backup. I do also have more than one reflector at the back, in the form of a reflective red tape underneath the saddle. In case someone gets a silly idea of stealing the main reflector. Though in all fairness, they are more likely to take the whole seatpost and a saddle.

Schreck83 

Can you treat the pin as you would a rivet in a chain and only drive it out enough to separate the two parts of the clamp?

VintageSteelEU

Spidel LS2 brakes arrived. In a pretty decent condition, but still decided to take them apart and give them a bit of an overhaul. Which was a good decision, they are working very nicely indeed now. Very smooth. They are designed pretty well and the finish is quite good. Brass bushings and 3 nylon washers for the pivot bolt. Not the lightest, at 345g with pads and tyre guides, but not too bad.
I'd say they wouldn't be far off compared with Suntour Superbe originally planned for this build. I especially like the mounting bolt, it's a brilliant idea. The pivot bolt of the brakes doubles as a nut for the mounting bolt. Which means that I can easily replace the mounting bolt, say, if I wanted to use a titanium one (not that it would affect the weight by much). And it gives a very clean look when mounted on the frame.
Sadly, they don't have cable adjusters. I understand they were made by Mafac and Mafac had cable adjusters on their levers. But then I don't really use cable adjusters much anyway, so this shouldn't be an issue with other brake levers (I'm still planning to use Suntour Superbe ones).
Now the next step will be modifying the stem to fit the French steerer tube, hopefully will manage to do that tomorrow. Progress is slower than I would have liked, but there is some progress nevertheless.


Before. Not bad at all. Ugly modern brake pads were tossed away.

A bit cleaner, much smoother and ready to go on the frame.

mechanicmatt

jamesdak 

Messed around more with the Kamra bike last night while waiting for a buyer come bike to look at a different one. Tore down the headset, degreased it, cleaned off some surface rust, polished the chrome, lubed 'er up, and put it back together. Took a couple of whacks at the stuck seat post with a small sledge hammer but it's holding on strong, LOL!

IdahoBrett 

Reassembled the 74 Continental seat assembly. Working on polishing the paint in preparation for new decals. Doing the areas for the decals has led me to the entire frame. I don’t know if my level of “restification” is appropriate as the overall condition has its share of paint chips and deep scratches. I’m using a fine polish and not getting in a hurry. The fork decals wiped right off with a simple cleaning. The ND side down tube decals took a bit of polishing, but the decal was mostly gone. The DS and seat post decals are going to take me a bit longer.

jdawginsc 

Delivering three bikes to a friend tomorrow (N-3) at long last. Two have been built and sitting in my garage.

The 720 became a project after he happened to ask for his daughter.

It was completely mauled paint wise on the top tube and chain stays. After some creative paint and nail polish solutions it passes the 6 foot test okay.



A little bling.

Drive train is a 2x8. Had an STX rear derailleur that was great until I saw the cage bent. Had a light action LC so...

Oryx brakes front and rear. They are dialed i !

Friction shifters (Shimano something)