Now With The Benefit Of Hindsight....

[Edwards]

Your loss just could be our gain. We now know of different methods to try. The threaded bar and slide hammer does sound like it has merit.
But the most gain is the timely reminder the get those seat posts out for some TLC.

[cycleruk]

Has it gone to far that you just can't drill it out?
1+" bit in a large pillar drill.

Flame down the seat tube sounds feasible but how close is the melting point of "Alloy" to the joint brazing temperature.

[JohnW]

CREPELLO -

Not everyone will have the same take on this as I have.

From your picture, I had initially assumed that you'd holed the seat tube with your efforts, and that the frame was then a write-off and not worth further effort.

It seems that others don't see it that way.

I have known someone else with just this problem. After weeks of agonoseng thought, he took a fine hacksaw type blade, and cut down vertically into the seat-pin about six or seven times. At that stage he had several arcs of alloy clinging to the inside of his seat tube, instead of an alloy tube. One by one, he was able to carefully insert a tool - screwdrider or bradawl I think - and tremove each arc. The first one was the hardest, but one arc just wouldn't come out, and he filed it away. It was a beloved 531 frame, and this all needed much care.

The process took weeks and weeks, removed acres of skin from his finger ends and knuckles, and taught him more new words from the darker side side of the English language that his Grammar School education - including sixth form - had taught him in six years. Had he been married at the time, it would all surely have ended in divorce.

As far as I know, he didn't try heat.

On completion, he took the frame into Johnny Mapplebeck for a re-spray. He told Johnny of the adventure, and Johnny said that he could have reamed it out in twenty minutes or so, at a modest hourly rate!!!!!!

Re-sprayed, the frame lived to fight another day - well, decade or so to be more exact.

I didn't tell you this before, because I genuinely believed that, due to the damage you'd done, the frame wasn't now worth the bother, and that you would have abandoned it.

Please tell us the ending of the story when you finally write the last chapter.

[CREPELLO]

<SNIP>

John, you are quite right in that I have holed the seat tube - the steel has peeled back like a bit of sardine tin lid. And I have made four cuts with a hacksaw blade down the length of the post. So I was attempting the same as your friend. Probably more feasible to find the various skills locally and hope they don't cost too much.

[ferrit worrier]

Well did you get it out ? one of the difficulties in using a hacksaw down a tube is keeping it going in a straight line. the second one is the teeth marks in the fingers. what is needed is somthing to stiffen up the blade, try a short length of timber and cut a slot down the length with the hacksaw, slot the blade into the wood and tape it up to form a handel. the offer of the big washers is still on.

Malc

[CREPELLO]

Well did you get it out ? one of the difficulties in using a hacksaw down a tube is keeping it going in a straight line. the second one is the teeth marks in the fingers. what is needed is somthing to stiffen up the blade, try a short length of timber and cut a slot down the length with the hacksaw, slot the blade into the wood and tape it up to form a handel. the offer of the big washers is still on.

Malc

Hi Malc,

Thing is, as I probably mentioned, I've also seen that I've cracked the seat lug as well, so feel that I need to present it to a frame builder for assessment. Unless folks here think that the crack can be arrested in some way (drill shallow hole at end of crack and fill with brass when rebrazing the ripped tube perhaps?). The lug does have the benefit of being braced within by the seat post itself. The crack is just above where the screwdriver holed the tube, so...

Other factors in life conspire against this being a quick resolution as well. Not least, the potential procuremnet of an old Dawes Audax (but in good nick), which is tempting, if the price is right. I may also be moving house yet again soon . Thanks for your open offer on washers though.

[glueman]

Your bike has reached the it's-all-spoiled condition we remember from childhood possessions. That is to say technically fixable but in need of a suitable period of grieving for its splendid original condition before deciding what course of action to take.
Once you've attended to other things and possibly other bicycles for a suitable time, you'll be able to assess your precipitate actions in a more considered light.

It won't hurt any less, but you'll have a clearer perspective!

[ferrit worrier]

Your bike has reached the it's-all-spoiled condition we remember from childhood possessions. That is to say technically fixable but in need of a suitable period of grieving for its splendid original condition before deciding what course of action to take.
Once you've attended to other things and possibly other bicycles for a suitable time, you'll be able to assess your precipitate actions in a more considered light.

It won't hurt any less, but you'll have a clearer perspective!

Glueman
That is a very good observation, and well put.

Are you sure it is the lug that is cracked and not just the paint ? One method of testing is to clean the paint off the cracked area get some thin oil and warm the lug drip some thin oil onto the crack wipe away the surplus and dust with talc any oil the soaks into the crack will leach out into the talc and leave a tell tale mark, you can get proprietory crack test kits but they will cost, this is just a cheapo quick test.

Malc

[CREPELLO]

Your bike has reached the it's-all-spoiled condition we remember from childhood possessions. That is to say technically fixable but in need of a suitable period of grieving for its splendid original condition before deciding what course of action to take.
Once you've attended to other things and possibly other bicycles for a suitable time, you'll be able to assess your precipitate actions in a more considered light.

It won't hurt any less, but you'll have a clearer perspective!

Glueman
That is a very good observation, and well put.

Are you sure it is the lug that is cracked and not just the paint ? One method of testing is to clean the paint off the cracked area get some thin oil and warm the lug drip some thin oil onto the crack wipe away the surplus and dust with talc any oil the soaks into the crack will leach out into the talc and leave a tell tale mark, you can get proprietory crack test kits but they will cost, this is just a cheapo quick test.

Malc

Glueman, it's been going all pear shaped (and worse) right from the start. I was onto a loser from the beginning (see the history of the bike from earlier in the thread). I'm very glad it doesn't have the status of future dream bike, otherwise I would have . But no, I feel more , to be honest.

Malc, it's definately the lug that's cracked; I scraped back the paint - it's as clear as day. So question is can the crack be arrested as I suggested?

It's not a prized frame, but it was one that I wanted for it's perfect load carrying ability for utility cycling. So I don't want to spend to much money on it - I was hoping just to give it a nice powder coat (I've even got all the Galaxy decals ready). But it may need to go to a frame builder of which the nearest is Longstaff's and they do seem rather expensive. I should really find a competent local engineering firm to do the repair, then go to a local powder coaters. Or perhaps a good motorcycle workshop may be able to do brazing. They must have to repair a lot of prized old motorcycles.

By the way, if anyone has an old touring type frame, I could be very interested. You'll find more details on the Wanted Board HERE.