Forgive my impudence,
However, would a c clamp work just as well if not better? You'd be able to apply preasure slowly and steadily with a much better view of the area to which you're correcting. I believe vice grips with thier locking mechanism have a fulcrum point that may have a sudden spike in pressure.
R/ William Karstens Spring Valley, CA
-----Original Message----- From: Sxbike@aol.com [mailto:Sxbike@aol.com] Sent: Tuesday, July 15, 2003 7:57 AM To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org Subject: [CR]Re: Classicrendezvous Digest, Vol 7, Issue 46
I
> have laid a straight-edge along the stays and they do not seem bent. I
> have reviewed the archives for "bent dropout" and "dropout repair" but to
> little
> encouragement. Is the dropout beyond redemption? If the dropout must be
> replaced, should both dropouts be replaced? Is this an easily
accomplished
> task
> locally?
>
Most of the time this is not a death sentence for the dropout. I have done
this repair
many dozens of times and have very rarely had one break. The channel lock
method works well. You can also use a large vice grip amd CAREFULLY squeeze
it.
Another method I have found effective, and has less chance of paint damage,
is
to put an old deraileur hanger bolt in the dropout. Then CAREFULLY, SLOWLY
tap on the hanger (padded with a piece of wood) to close up the slot.The
dropouts then nedd to be checked for parallelism and hanger alignment. If
it
cracks ,it's best
send it to Richard for replacement.
Clarke White
Essex, Ct
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