Bike rack repair

[Dayton Vintage Speed]

I get some oddball items from fellow bike enthusiast to repair from time to time. Most are simple challenges like cracked frames, or split fenders. I've got to say this one had me scratching my head more so on how it happened than how I was going to fix it. This rear rack looked like someone had thrown it over a grenade to try and stop the blast. I was able to line all the pieces back up and tig them back together. I still need to make a couple of filler pieces for the two notches someone cut into the front corners. I'll start on that this weekend. While I'm fixing the 3 cracked frames that were brought to me to fix.

 

[49autocycledeluxe]

according to a thread I was just on you should have put JB weld on the broken parts. guess you didn't know that thin metal can't be welded.

 

[Saving Tempest]

Looks like they knew what they were doing to me.

 

[the tinker]

according to a thread I was just on you should have put JB weld on the broken parts. guess you didn't know that thin metal can't be welded.

Great job on the rack. Your friend knows what he is doing. I think you misunderstood me in my restoration post thread. It's not that thin metal cant be welded. I only wanted to warn the person that only has one rusted fender and one chance to make it right, that it could ruined it from inexperience. If you are doing something yourself, buying welding and brazing equipment might be out of the budget for a onetime repair. It must be noted, that most of the people that are on the CABE are not experienced tradesman and restoring or repairing their bicycle may be their first major mechanical experience. I'd say that more than 9O% of the people here on the CABE know nothing about welding or brazing and fewer than that have actually attempted it. Welding equipment improvements, like everything, have jumped immensely . The availability of cheap equipment to the hobbyist, from places like Harbor Freight Tools has changed things. Before, it was only sold in welding equipment stores to the trade. I have seen many projects, hard to find parts and bike frames wrecked by a bad welding or brazing job. Remember, brazing and welding are two separate processes. They similar, but not alike. As always, have fun with this hobby....life is short.

 

[Duchess]

Wow, great job on that rack!

Maybe I'm spoiled by building wood kayaks and using West Systems epoxy, but has JB Weld ever actually worked for anything more than a temporary hack repair (outside of advertising)? I tried using it a couple of times for different things and, well, there's a reason it's cheap.

 

[Dayton Vintage Speed]

Most all metals can be welded both ferrous and non ferrous. It has more to do with technique than anything else. I've personally welded sheet steel as thin 26 gauge which is .0187 thick. I've seen guys far better at welding than me weld chewing gum wrappers together which are closer to 32 gauge .0101 or thinner. I've been in the automotive restoration field for 30 years now so tackling small jobs like this just comes naturally to me. This was a challenge but it wasn't hard to do.

Here's before and after pics of a frame I just did that was cracked. The bottom down tube was cracked back to the center support. I had to dig out the brass brazing from around the head tube to be able to weld the crack underneath. After welding I tig brazed the area back at the head tube.