Current Projects chat and miscellany

I've been battling with The Most Stuck Bottom Bracket Ever on and off for a few months, tried all of the above including a 12" plumbing wrench and 6' scaff tube, blowtorching, soaking in penetrating oil... It even broke the tool at my LBS. Have now started attacking it with a drill and hacksaw as I'm stubborn - anyone have any experience of this?

I had one milled out (actually he used a clock drill) by a frame builder. Took him 5 minutes.

The frame isn't worth it to be honest, I should just give up but don't like accepting defeat against inanimate objects. Might see if i can get a similar bit for cheap, cheers

The bit isn't the most important part. You need the proper machinery so the drill is 100% perpendicular to the bracket.

I had to pay the guy 10 € for the job so maybe it's worth asking a frame builder near you?

Cool, I'll have a look around

You need the proper machinery

All cuts are easy once you have the cutter and the workpiece securely held in the correct relationship with one another 🙂

The trick with boring the guts out of a BB shell is getting the frame solidly mounted down to the mill table with the BB axis parallel to the spindle. Frame builders have a head start because they are already 95% of the way to having the right jigs.

There's also the technique of getting one cup out (are you there yet?) then bashing the cartridge out with a hammer, then hacksawing the remaining cup into segments, then cold chiseling the segments out. It has been done!

Not yet, but that was my plan - I've drilled into it to try and get the bearings out to fit a hacksaw in to get the nds cup out to do the above... A complete waste of time but I don't want to just throw it out!

Is it a cartridge BB?

Also sawing a seatpost out of another frame, fun. In other projects - has anyone widened a brake bridge hole in an old steel frame to fit modern calipers? Is that the simplest/best solution?

Yep - think having it milled out may be the only real option now

I get what people are saying above about jigs etc. Buy if you use a smaller milling bit you've got more room for error if you've not got a perfect straight and steady line through the BB. IANAM (I am not a machinist).

Yeah that's what I was thinking. I keep putting it off because after 10 minutes I want to throw it through the window

has anyone widened a brake bridge hole in an old steel frame to fit modern calipers?

It's the leading face that needs to be widened and unless your frame has a particularly strange geo, you won't get a drill inside the triangle.

Have a look on Sheldon Brown, he covers fitting modern brakes to an old frame: I think it's in the dual pivot brakes article.

Gotcha, cheers!

The easiest way to do it is to use a front brake on the back as well, and just drill the fork out.

@yokes I've done it with a HSS drill bit in a pair of pliers from the seat tube side, slow going but did work. Took another frame to local frame builder (Argos) and they did it in a few minutes for free, didn't see how though! Probably with a 90 degree drill chuck

I used a regular cordless drill with a good HSS drill on my GF's mixte. Fork was easy and the rear bridge turned out pretty rough, but it works well enough.

https://scontent-mxp1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t31.0-8/28337552_10155984694640218_510180545888190465_o.jpg?oh=abe68fbf6eec75e29f25266fc180ab29&oe=5B134A01

just gona leave this here, work in progress... now for paint...

ooooft

It was lonnnnnnnnnnnnnnng with my small budget but I can ride my dream bike now

So cool !

Enjoy!

: D I have not yet ride it enough, but I find it well balanced for me : )

do I must I find it a flater stem to finish in Bike Porn ?

cheers Miro_o

Just an Italian one :)

This ?
https://www.leboncoin.fr/velos/1376207612.htm?ca=12_s