Jerry wrote ;
> I've gotten the HS back together on the 1950 Claud Butler (Allrounder or Avant
> Coureur, we still aren't sure which) after pulling the fork to find the serial
> #. Only lost two 5/32 ball bearings in the process. The HS is marked
> Brampton inside the top cup. As I mentione earlier, the pressed cups aren't
> really pressed, but slide easily into the HT. Also, the bottom fixed cup has
> wrench flats, which you don't see on modern HS's. Was it standard in the 50's
> for HS cups to slide into the HT rather than the pressed fit used today?
Can't say with any 100% guarantee, but I've yet to see any British headset that was not meant to be installed with an interference / tight fit, requiring it to be pressed in.
What you do come across though, are plenty of examples of poorly installed headsets, with slack cups and/or crown races - maybe a lot to do with the manufacturing tolerances in those days, especially when the headsets been replaced since being first installed with one differing from the original make or type.
A fix - or should that be bodge was to have the cups brazed onto the headtube. Creates no problem with those headsets like some Brampton's with a separate race that can be renewed at a later date, but a nightmare otherwise especially 50+ years down the line.
Bob Reid
Stonehaven
Scotland