You know it’s been too long when you have to search for your own thread
So… had an issue with the nice Bontrager gusseted stem, I guess rust and manglement over the years had destroyed the fork tube clamping end.
The little curved bit just visible below is the top of the original chamfer cut so there was not a huge amount of steel missing
Recently I’ve been in the mood for fixing things rather than buying again which, in the case of this stem, looked to be quite pricey.
I remembered that I had a Kona 1” stem in the parts stash with a very long down tube that could afford to lose an inch or so
Angle grinder time
Then we have this, the velocity stem was a thicker gauge but that can only make it stronger right?
I know Keith wouldn’t approve of using a MIG welder but I don’t have a TIG so it will have to do
I know I’m not winning any awards for that welding but plenty of power and penetration and spent all the time getting it aligned so that it’s sure to fit, then a little careful time with the finger sander and some black plasticote and voila!
That’s the first time I’ve welded a bike, well a bit of one anyway, very satisfying to do.
I suppose I should get on with building it up and riding it soon.