i guess i agree with john here...
assuming you don't want the frame
dent silver brazed and draw filed out,
leading to a touch-up paint squirt, you
should leave it be.
and tonite, rent 'the red violin', at
blockbusters. you may feel differently
about your hetchins' 'issue' afterwards;
perhaps you're not the owner of it,
only its' steward at this point in time.
e-RICHIE
(50 km after lunch...)
_________________________________________________________
On Fri, 09 Feb 2001 17:22:39 -0000 "John Swarbrick" writes:
Try to think of all the dents abrasions paint chips as a patina of
history associated with your bike. I mean a big part of your bikes
history is that it has left its native shores and headed out to pastures
new picking up a 'scar' along the way. Look at this dent in a kindly
almost paternal light as it embelishes your Nuli Secundus rather
than in a negative way.
Cheers,
John
>
>
> >From: "Daniel Dahlquist" <dahlq@galenalink.net>
> >To: <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
> >Subject: [CR]Hurt Hetchins
> >Date: Fri, 9 Feb 2001 09:59:34 -0600
> >
> >Dear CR Members,
> > I could really use some advice from my brethren. A couple of
> days ago
> >my long-awaited Hetchins Nulli Secundus arrived from England. It
> was
> >first sold in 1954, and still has 95% of its original paint, which
> is a
> >beautiful dark bronze (where the paint has been protected, the
> bronze runs
> >to a deep burgandy).
> > Despite foam pipe insulation on all tubes, the axle of one
> >tightly-packed wheel rode on the downtube for thousands of miles,
> and has
> >put a dent there, right through the original paint. The dent is
> about the
> >size and shape of a screwdriver blade, running perpendicular to the
>
> >downtube.
> > Here's where I need your advice, or, at the very least, the
> assistance
> >of any mental health care professionals who might be on the list.
> > What do I do about this dent? I confess I am a bit anal
> retentive.
> >Many of my friends would simply fill the dent with putty and touch
> up the
> >paint as best they could, and forget about it. But there's
> something about
> >filler that has always bothered me. In antique frames with dents I
> have
> >usually have the dents filled with brass or silver. Would it be
> completely
> >insane to lose the original paint on the Hetchins downtube in order
> to fill
> >a minor dent in this way?
> > When I buy a bike in the states I almost always ask that the
> wheels be
> >shipped separately, in order to avoid this problem of downtube
> damage. But
> >since this bike was coming from England, I tried to save a couple
> of bucks
> >and had everything shipped in a single box. I've no idea why
> plastic caps
> >were not placed on the axles.
> > The transfers on this Hetchins are mostly gone (one can see
> only the
> >"shadow" of the Hetchins name on the downtube), but the paint is
> wonderful.
> > I wish I could keep from staring at the dent, and appreciate the
> bike in
> >its entirety.
> > This must have happened to some of my fellow collectors at one
> time or
> >another. Do I need counseling? Should I seek assistance from
> mental health
> >care professionals? Any advice and comfort, technical and/or
> spiritual,
> >from my CR friends will be greatly appreciated.
> >
> > Warmly,
> >
> > Daniel "Maybe I think too much about bicycles" Dahlquist