Late 40's Cleveland Welding Headset Size?

[slacker]

I have a friend who is building a '47 CWC built Hawthorne. The headset is trashed. He went to the LBS who told him to forget ever finding the part, as it was proprietary and completely unobtainable. The LBS here are usually not too helpful with vintage bikes.

What size is the CWC headset? Where can he find a decent one? I may have one in my parts box, but I don't have his bike available to work with. Luckily, my headsets can generally be rebuilt.

 

[Bettleguise]

Not sure about the CWC size, but I went through similar grief finding a headset to fit my 30's Columbia. The standard (1 inch?) size is a bit too loose.
Ended up buying a BMX headset thinking it would fit, but no, still too loose.I had to shim both headset cups and the fork crown. Used some gorilla glue. Everything was solid but not quite straight and did not spin smooth. I made a little makeshift headset press by removing the bearings and slipping some washers and random headset parts in the right places. Then just cranked the top nut down nice and firm and everything straightened out. Headset works great now. Hope that makes sense, the basic idea is just to clamp/press it together with some glue and some shims without damaging the races. I would suggest making the shims out of a can of beans or soup, something thick.
The BMX headset are a little beefier, with a smaller inside diameter. I think some of them might have a slightly larger outside diameter. Either way you can buy one for 15 bucks, its a good place to start.

 

[deorman]

I have solved many a headset problem with the modern miracle of steel tape. :wink: Aluminum works too, with a little more care. Works for loose inner lower races as well as outer races.

 

[Bettleguise]

check this discussion out too, might help

http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t ... adset+wald