Since we've been on the subject of odd British threads on older frames, I thought I would add yet another odd bit into the murky stew.
Was there a specific consistent size used for oil hole valves or covers on the bottom bracket shells of older British bikes?
I don't know what others have done in such a case, but, this was my "solution". The brass oil hole valve (or cover) was missing from a late 1950s British made bike... yes, folks... I had simply lost it somehow.
I decided to simply plug the hole with a short Phillips pan head stainless steel machine screw - I love stainless steel. ... To be honest, even that was not easy to find in my increasingly Metric world of bolts. The screw size is 3/16 inch x 32 tpi - which seems to fit just fine in the existing threads of the frame. Not sure what that measure may have been considered back in the day ... perhaps BSC or BSF (fine) threads?
See photo of my remedy here:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/
The "washer" which I placed beneath the screw is a simple piece of rubber (which I cut from a discarded inner tube). This protects the lovely flamboyant red enamel finish from scratches which a larger diameter steel washer might impose and it should also keep any water at all from entering into the bottom bracket shell. The rubber should also serve as a "lock washer" to help keep the screw tightly threaded in the frame.
Has anyone else rigged up their own similar home remedies, or am I the only idiot who misplaces tiny unobtainable parts?
Cheers!
BOB HANSON, ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO, USA
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