The problem with the vice grips is that it is cumbersome and you must remove the saddle from the bike. Once the nose bolt has been slotted with the Dremel one can easily adjust tension any time with just a screwdriver and the saddle spanner, with the saddle installed on the bike. Chuck pointed out to me offlist that one can also slot the front end of the bolt, which is accessible where it fits into the nose bracket. This would probably require disassembling the saddle to slot it, but once done, it would be a bit more convenient using the screwdriver from the front of the saddle rather than underneath.
Regards,
Jerry Moos
> From: Ken Freeman <kenfreeman096@gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [CR] old brooks repair
> To: "kevin mccaul" <trackstand@verizon.net>
> Cc: Classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
> Date: Sunday, October 11, 2009, 8:42 AM
> This vice-grip trick is exactly what
> I use. I found a 4 inch long tool with
> the long jaws, and a cheap imitation one, to boot. It
> doesn't need to apply
> a lot of pressure, so cheap is ok.
>
> On Sun, Oct 11, 2009 at 7:43 AM, kevin mccaul <trackstand@verizon.net>wrote:
>
> > The simplest way to work with a stripped nose bracket
> is to slip a smaller
> > size vice grip between the rails onto the tail and
> properly attach (not too
> > tight). Never fails and allows 2 free hands to hold
> saddle and work spanner
> > tool. Saddle should be off bike obviously.
> >
> > I just got my 70s Competition back from the shoe
> repair shop with a new
> > strip of leather over the nose with new rivets. $25
> and it's a brand new
> > FUNCTIONAL saddle. The older rivets were about to pop
> out. Not sure how
> > many
> > thousands of miles are on this one. I've owned it for
> 20+ years.
> >
> > Kevin McCaul
> >
> > Silver Spring MD USA
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> >
>
>
>
> --
> Ken Freeman
> Ann Arbor, MI USA