Late 30's/early 40's Claud Butler find

[fat tire trader]

Be extremely careful with your stem. and handlebar. Your original stem cracked because of fatigue. The original stem's quill, which is still in your fork has been exposed to the same amount of stress as the part that broke. These stems were not made to be separated and re-assembled the way you fixed your stem. These old aluminum parts can break and cause an accident. Seeing the crack in your stem, worries me about the Reynolds stem that I have in my Higgins. Check your stem and bar for cracks before each ride. I would also look for a replacement crank arm so that you can easily change chain rings.

 

[Simple.]

Thanks!!! I really like that logo'd lamp mount! I think I will try to get one like that! It's really fun to do things like this, and I really appreciate all of the info you have shared!

I'm surprised you don't have a half-dozen likes on that last post - you've made really good accomplishments here, stuck to it, overcome obstacles - and you're riding the bike!!. Congratulations.

about that fork blade boss:
if you look at vintage British bike restorations, it seems they're not complete without a fork-mounted light bracket, even if it's not in use
('52 Raleigh Record Ace)

SJS Cycles sells a duplicate of an original BSA fork mount light bracket
http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/710-5...0001&campid=5335809022&icep_item=311657439621

I also searched up these examples on ebay,uk
out of those, this one is a nice example that is the age of your bike:
http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/710-5...0001&campid=5335809022&icep_item=112397997054

if you want to simply plug the hole in the fork blade, you can find a 5/16-24 (5/16" Fine thread) bolt, about a half-inch long,, at a hardware store, and a matching washer.

A vintage lamp mounted there would use a bottle generator on the front wheel.

A number of makers made logo lamp brackets for the fork mount boss, and they look really cool even without a lamp (I think this is Rotrax - Raleigh had a heron bracket)
http://www.classiclightweights.co.uk/components/odds&sods.html

found this nice photo of a '37 Triumph with a lamp mounted

here's the fork-boss light mount I put together on my Lenton. The thread is 5/16-24 and I found a speargun shaft tip converter (to M6) that matched the thread.
http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-5...0001&campid=5335809022&icep_item=252552457149
The arm is from Somafab. I tapped a Gino light mount to M6 for the Cygo handlebar light.

I already had the big washer, which was under the boss plug bolt

 

[Simple.]

I think the stem is pretty solid, and the forging was over tightened. It should be just fine as I re-pinned it, applied loctite green (bearing retaining compound) and torqued the thru bolt. This design has a double shear vs the other Reynolds stem which only had the quill bolt. It will be inspected at every ride and get minimal use... I'm a test engineer and I routinely test things to failure, I'm pretty confident with my fix.

Btw, this just happened...

Be extremely careful with your stem. and handlebar. Your original stem cracked because of fatigue. The original stem's quill, which is still in your fork has been exposed to the same amount of stress as the part that broke. These stems were not made to be separated and re-assembled the way you fixed your stem. These old aluminum parts can break and cause an accident. Seeing the crack in your stem, worries me about the Reynolds stem that I have in my Higgins. Check your stem and bar for cracks before each ride. I would also look for a replacement crank arm so that you can easily change chain rings.

 

[Simple.]

Yesterday I burned the brazing off of the bolts on the chain ring, re-machined the bosses with 10-32's and countersunk heads and used a nut on the back side as a lock. Works awesome!

 

[Simple.]

New seat and more cleaning!

 

[bulldog1935]

I see now why you wanted the aged saddle - looks 100% authentic. Congratulations again on the result of your efforts.

 

[Simple.]

Thanks! I put 10 miles on it last night with the new (used) saddle, which brings it to 15 on that seat and 20 on the bike. So far so good on the stem/quill/bars, wheels, etc. Everything appears to be solid. It rides like a dream.. Although I'm new to this type of riding so I wouldn't know what a bad ride feels like. Haha

Now onto this light bracket! Any other sweet vintage accessories I should be looking for?

Jon

I see now why you wanted the aged saddle - looks 100% authentic. Congratulations again on the result of your efforts.

 

[sam]

Any other sweet vintage accessories I should be looking for? --- Velo Orange sells nice mud guards. A vintage set of Bluemels would also look good. Some lights used batteries so you might find one that doesn't require a gen. to work. But what a great bike you now have!

 

[sam]

This is the mark that should be on the back side of your chain ring.

The bottom number is the tooth count---the top is the Williams logo and the center (in this photo ZF) is the date code.

 

[Simple.]

Crazy!
I took mine off for a better look... There are no markings on it whatsoever. I will count the teeth this evening, as I wouldn't mind putting a little bit bigger one on it.

Jon

This is the mark that should be on the back side of your chain ring. View attachment 479369
The bottom number is the tooth count---the top is the Williams logo and the center (in this photo ZF) is the date code.