A lot of high quality modern headsets eg Hope etc have a split in the bottom race so it can be fitted my hand / fingers. I kid you not. Gone are the days of using a Park seating tool and a big hammer.Wilhelmus wrote: ↑26 Oct 2021, 9:13am Maybe worth bearing in mind that, to produce the item being contemplated, it's not just a case of turning down a piece of mild steel. We are talking about a bearing surface, which needs to be specially hardened. I believe case hardening is the name of the process, and the product name Casenite is lurking in the back of my mind. Also, in my day, admittedly neither yesterday nor the day before, the crown race was such a tight fit on the bottom of the steerer tube that, in order to fit one, it was necessary to freeze the forks and heat the new race, causing them to contract and expand respectively. Maybe, in this brave new world, things are simpler.
I see no reason for the steel to be hardened. In fact I see no reason why alloy should not be used. As long as it is a tight fit on the steerer and the bearing race is a snug it ( finger push fit as above) then I would be happy to ride.