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@cino
OK , so I had some time today to strip the beast . First I had to find my random collection of imperial spanners and sockets , once found , the tear down began .
Well everything started good , everything came of easy enough , even the fixed cup . But , as always seems to be the case , the last job was a complete bitch .
Now when I bought the bike , I diligently checked that the h/bar stem wasn't seized , it was tight , but it moved . Of cause , as soon as I tried moving it in the workshop , the bastard thing won't budge . I was applying so much force , the forks were starting to twist , time to stop.
After a bit of a sit down and some logical thinking , it occurred to me , if I could get the steering lock to work , I could lock the forks to the frame , turn the lot upside down and jam the stem in the bench vice . This would give me the whole solid frame to turn and pull out of the stem . Didn't have a key for the lock , but I did have a ghetto key ( hammer , screwdriver ) 2 mins latter the forks are locked to the frame , half an hour latter the stem's out of the frame , it took 2 of us , but the jobs done.
What to do about the paintwork , has been bugging me . so I got some 120 grit paper , and starting sanding , the black paint came off easy enough , only to reveal a coat of gold hammerite , arse , so much for getting back to the original enamel . So , as an experiment , I stripped the paint off the forks, using an angle grinder with a wire brush attachment ( don't try this on your colnago!) . The bare steel underneath has lovely aged tarnished look , I'm thinking of doing this for the whole frame , what to you think?
Next , I'll be tackling the removal of the steering lock , if I mess that up , the projects over , the tension mounts....