Fixing a Victorian

[Mickeyspinn]

Nabeaquam I've started going through this thread from page one...only reached page 18... got sidetracked by that tubing again ...was searching for any pics of the Bolt/crank set up...if you've got any at hand pop em up!
You say that the thread is much larger than the stock..... intriguing I can only imagine that it's been relieved for weight saving?

 

[Nabeaquam]

Nabeaquam I've started going through this thread from page one...only reached page 18... got sidetracked by that tubing again ...was searching for any pics of the Bolt/crank set up...if you've got any at hand pop em up!
You say that the thread is much larger than the stock..... intriguing I can only imagine that it's been relieved for weight saving?

Spokes have larger threads than the stock to keep up the strength. That is why they are rolled instead of cut unthinkable a die. I had to make the lock ring with the lock tab on it for my headset. The top of the fork tube isn’t threaded so that the clamp will tighten up on it. A standard headset washer tab fit on the one inch tube but was much smaller than the threads. There is a photo of that here. All the fittings seem to be like this with threads larger than the stock.

This I’d the side that wiggles after a ride. The slotted bolt was tightened with an impact wrench.

 

[Mickeyspinn]

Don't suppose you have a picture of the bolt out?

It's not something simple as a washer missing and the bolt is bottoming out? So it's tight but not the actual arm tight on the crank ....that'd allow the crank to have enough wiggle room to start undoing it!

 

[Woz]

As they say, if you can't measure it, you can't manage it.

Can't believe you are supposed to load a crank arm with a flat blade screw driver. There is trick involved.

Is the crank / screw interface counter sunk?

Think it's time to try and describe the bolt - magnifying glass and a vernier caliper time?

BTW: Think we can rule out it's metric

 

[Woz]

I¨ll add this. I'm renovating a knackered old French house. What I noticed was wood screws require a weird practically non existing carpenters / joiners screw driver which is a massive wide and thin flat where you can put a spanner on the shaft. Back then, wood screws had some balls about them, and wouldn't chew up like the Chinese crap of today.

I think that whole crank axle interface needs to be crystal clean to begin with.

 

[Mickeyspinn]

As they say, if you can't measure it, you can't manage it.

Can't believe you are supposed to load a crank arm with a flat blade screw driver. There is trick involved.

Is the crank / screw interface counter sunk?

Think it's time to try and describe the bolt - magnifying glass and a vernier caliper time?

BTW: Think we can rule out it's metric

Depends on what thread was used... And how knackered it is
Things I don't know....does the lhd crank seat on the shoulder of those two flats or on the end?
If those faces that meet aren't happy as in meeting flat and square first bit of flexing on those cranks will get that wiggling! Could be a combo of little problems. As you suggest with your saying the measuring and managing... measuring depths of shoulders and depth of bolt threads etc might throw up some ideas!

 

[Mickeyspinn]

I¨ll add this. I'm renovating a knackered old French house. What I noticed was wood screws require a weird practically non existing carpenters / joiners screw driver which is a massive wide and thin flat where you can put a spanner on the shaft. Back then, wood screws had some balls about them, and wouldn't chew up like the Chinese crap of today.

I think that whole crank axle interface needs to be crystal clean to begin with.

Never ever underestimate the strength in old slotted screws...more shear strength and pull if fitted right than modern stuff.

 

[Nabeaquam]

As they say, if you can't measure it, you can't manage it.

Can't believe you are supposed to load a crank arm with a flat blade screw driver. There is trick involved.

Is the crank / screw interface counter sunk?

Think it's time to try and describe the bolt - magnifying glass and a vernier caliper time?

BTW: Think we can rule out it's metric

It’s counter sunk. Today I’ll take it apart, clean the grease off, put on lock tight, hammer the arm on, put the bolt on with the impact driver, take the bolt out, put on a big wood working clamp and finally tomorrow put the bolt back. For some reason the reverse thread slotted bolt keeps coming loose. I tried lock tight on it but it came loose anyway. Heat will allow it to dismantled if you use lock tight.It was so ungodly tight when I first dismantled it that I’m wondering how that was done. Another antique bicycle myster to think about. They sure had tight tolerances.

 

[Woz]

Perhaps one of these .... think they would have been available back then.

 

[Nabeaquam]

I figured out what’s wrong. The retaining bolt didn’t come loose this time after I used the impact wrench. I took it apart and throughly cleaned it. I put the crank arm on without the bolt and it bottoms out against the spindle threads, it can’t go on any further. It’s still loose. My rust removal took the nickel plating off the inside of the slotted crank hole and off the spindle. The soft nickel was used as a shim and now that’s gone. Time to try a beer can shim, JB Weld steel reinforced epoxy and a big clamp. The seat is loose from the same problem, missing nickel plating.