Hello Jim,
Get another steer tube and have an expert like Brian Bayless do the work, but you will probably be facing a replate job. I can repair the steer tube with my MIG machine and am a professional at welding steel body panels on vehicles, but I can't insure it. It would have to have the edge around both mating surfaces ground off at 45 degree angles, similar to high pressure gas pipeline welding. If your life insurance carrier finds out you had it fixed like that, they will probably drop your life insurance coverage. The best bet is a steer tube replacement by Mr. Bayliss and then a re-chroming on the fork. Can it be fixed??? Absolutely! It will cost! That is why I get angry at so many people who just pitch the frame in a box and then cart it off to their shipper without packing with caution. "Shippers throw packages". I know because my family works for 2 of the 3 largest shippers in the world. I can not stress enough that to insure your packages. It only cost pennies on the dollar. Best of luck to you and hang in there.
John Proch
La Grange, Texas
> From: jamesabt@charter.net
> To: Classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
> Date: Fri, 5 Feb 2010 12:42:20 -0600
> Subject: [CR] steerer tube repair
>
> Hi all: I made a quick visit to the archives and did a search and came up empty on how to repair the steer tube on a fork. I had come upon an old Ataya with a pretty sweet crown on the fork that is the main reason why I purchased the bike. I got it out of the box to find that the stem was seized in the steer tube because both steer tube and stem were ovalized and the result was an ugly circumstance to the the threaded portion of the steer tube that makes the fork completely scrap. I am looking for a solution to the problem that looks like it would need someone who knows how to replace the old steer tube on a fork with a new one, if even possible without replacing the entire fork.
>
> If I can't find the repair solution to work I would be then looking for someone who would have a replacement fork somewhere out there in vintage bike land. The steer tube would have to be a minimum 5-3/4" long and have the threading for an Atala item # 110479925628 to see the photos. I am not as inetrested in keeping the colors as I am in the intial A and the dual crown if the gray color is not present and the fork is stripped down to the chrome that would be fine. If anyone could be of help I would be interested in knowing how much it would cost for that help. Thank you.
>
>
> Jim Abt
> Wausau, Wi. USA