Bent Fork Tube

[Road Master]

I've read posts here where some very talented guys have used trees and come-alongs to straighten out bent fork tubes. My question is are any of these mechanic magicians willing to straighten out one for me? I'm willing to pay a reasonable fee, I just can't afford to take it to a professional bike welder to have a new tube installed. I have a 1936 Roadmaster that needs a fork with the strut supports integral to the fork. There is one on Ebay that is bent sideways - http://cgi.ebay.com/Pre-War-36-37-CWC-R ... 51944a8325 - that I would try to purchase if I could get it straightened. I realize this may not be a perfect fix but I'm willing to take what I can get, otherwise I just don't have a fork. I appreciate any help I can get. Thanks. Robert

 

[JLarkin]

Robert, the guys at my work have an acetylene torch set. I could get it heated up and likely straightened best possible in a vise. The best chance for success is to find a pipe or steel dowel that barely fits inside the steerer and drive it in while heating. That is something I do not possess.

 

[icyuod2]

hey rob

you'd be very surprized how easy it is to bend steel after it's cherry (ie propane torch)
i'm sure that's a fix you could tackle yourself with a torch/pipe/vice (or vice like object to jam the forks into)
worst case, ya totally screw it up then ya gotta send it to a welder.
looks like most of the bend is in the stem.
you just gotta get the top and bottom straight, the middle don't really matter (as long as it's not out too far)
strut mount will be easy to bend as soon as its hot.


edit ^^^^^^^
yeah, what he said.

 

[Walker]

That fork appears to have more going on than a bent steerer tube. Did it get run over. The truss rod bracket is also bent and i almost want to stay the crown is bent too, hard to tell from the photo angles (purposely?).

I've cut, sleeved and spliced (welded) several replacment steerer tubes. I also just bought a fork blade alighnment tool but if the crown is bent I'm not sure it is repairable.

I'm not a big fan of the car jack method because you have no control over where the fork is re-bending. All the force is on the fork legs too, not where you need it at the steerer tube. Lots of pressure on the headtube/headset in a direction it is not designed to support. (just my $ .02 worth)

I'd be willing to try and fix it for free but no guarantees....

 

[user 135]

The legs look bent to one side also. That fork may be to far gone.

 

[Road Master]

Yes, from the angle of the pics no-one can tell what the real damage is so I'll take your advice and pass. Unfortunately, this fork is not listed everyday. Thanks for the input. Robert

 

[rms37]

Most forks are bent back in head-on collisions but this one looks like it took a hard hit to the side. Maybe it got sandwiched between the garage wall and the Oldsmobile. It does look like the damage is spread through most of the fork which would make it very hard to realign satisfactorily for riding or aesthetics. It is not a common fork but they are on eBay with some frequency so I think waiting for a better fork is prudent