Little bent. Fixable?
- Thread starter El Jefe
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This is just a thought so bear with me.
I have a frame with a similar bend,I'm thinking if I get a length of tubing just slightly bigger diameter than the stay tubing and cut it in half length ways this will help.
Use the cut tubing as a back plate,then a piece of flat stock on the hump of the bend. Use a few c clamps to tighten it down,leave it for a day or so.
Metal,for the most part has a memory. So this might work.
Again I have not tried this method myself,it's just something in my head.
I have a frame with a similar bend,I'm thinking if I get a length of tubing just slightly bigger diameter than the stay tubing and cut it in half length ways this will help.
Use the cut tubing as a back plate,then a piece of flat stock on the hump of the bend. Use a few c clamps to tighten it down,leave it for a day or so.
Metal,for the most part has a memory. So this might work.
Again I have not tried this method myself,it's just something in my head.
The Renaissance Man
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Doesn't look that bad, it should be fixable. It's not doing you any good as it is, so go for it. What do you have to loose?
Use heat when you bend it back.
Use heat when you bend it back.
A different way of looking at it..... are the rear dropouts straight with the rest of the frame? Probably not, but if you could get the dropouts correct, I see no compelling reason to work on the seat stay. Call it patina, history, or whatever and go on. I don't see it as a real safety issue if the wheel runs true.
What you need is a park Tool SS-1, some older bike shops still have them:
This is an old thread, and the link to Park tools is dead, but may help you.
http://www.bikeforums.net/bicycle-mechanics/665371-looking-park-chainstay-straightener-print.html
http://www.bikeforums.net/bicycle-mechanics/665371-looking-park-chainstay-straightener-print.html
a heavy flat bar and a clamp is what I use. throw a few shims under each end to take it past flat if you need to.
Lots of gentle taps at the bend area , not enough to dent or move the metal, will tend to let it relax back into shape if you also preload it in that direction with the methods above.
"Use a few c clamps to tighten it down,leave it for a day or so.
Metal,for the most part has a memory. "
The stress relieving you get with gentle tapping will negate any need for sitting over time
"Use a few c clamps to tighten it down,leave it for a day or so.
Metal,for the most part has a memory. "
The stress relieving you get with gentle tapping will negate any need for sitting over time
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Home made jig, won't take the dent out. You can have that filled by a welder with a wire feed, use lead or something softer. Use two car batteries and stick a welding rod to the dent, then use a MAPP torch to get it red hot, put a RR tie plate over the rod, clamp the end of the rod with vice grips and slide the plate against the vice grips to coax out the dent. Here is my jig.
I have done this many times to light Cromo road bikes and to thick walled cruisers. Rides straight.
I have done this many times to light Cromo road bikes and to thick walled cruisers. Rides straight.
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ok thank you all. I will try it. I am not much caring looks wise with there's a little bend in it, I just want to make sure it rides straight and stays strong.
I guess if I really screw it up I could always cut that piece out and weld in a new one.
I guess if I really screw it up I could always cut that piece out and weld in a new one.
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If your a little careful and go slow it should be OK. Like DJ Bill said steel has a memory and it goes back-usually. The only time I had a problem doing this was when a bent top tube had a crease in it. It would not come back and I used so much force with a hydraulic jack that it creased the other side of the tube. It was a lot worse than yours. It was an experiment and I wanted to see if a fairly extreme bend could be fixed.
had to Unbend a frame recently , and i just put the tube on a sturdy table and crank a big clamp over the bent part "with a piece of soft wood between to not leave clamp dents" , it will spring back a little , so just go little at the time till you satisfied , then i clamped the damage tube "between wood again" from many sides to squish it back as round as possible ... small steps at the time is best , maybe heat to? , you just dont want to split the tube by over doing it
