Quill stem on a threadless steerer

[mikee]

You can buy a die from Tracy tools for about £18

 

[matt24777]

You can buy a die from Tracy tools for about £18

Fine for cleaning out existing threads, but man! that would take a lot of effort to cut new ones! :shock:

Plus getting it square and starting it off would be fun

 

[MADJEZ]

Stupid question but how were they cut originally ?
Was it done in the factory or would the bike shops have been
equipped BITD ?

 

[mattr]

Stupid question but how were they cut originally ?
Was it done in the factory or would the bike shops have been
equipped BITD ?

Usually in the factory, with a big tool (special machine tool in the bigger factories, hand tool in smaller frame builders).
BITD a good number of shops would have also had the tool, or a cheap "non-factory" version of it) along with cutters/tools to do a good number of basic frame repairs. (Straightening and thread tapping mostly).
Since the event of the aheadset, most shops now just carry a steerer cutting guide, and a hacksaw.
And most modern frames can't be cold set easily, or at all, and retapping stripped threads in aluminium is a world of pain, and regularly unsuccessful!

So we end up with a handful of specialists, and most shops simply can't do the job.

 

[Wytze]

^ that, but beware that also many steerer threads were 'rolled' instead of cut. A high end threaded steel steerer used thin high tensile hardened steel. Some you simply could not cut, because it was to brittle and pieces would shatter of leaving anything but thread behind.
Suspension forks spring to mind. That's why they had exchangeable steerer tubes, so you could fit different lengths (next to all the different 1", 1.1/8", 1.1/4" diameters).