It has been awhile since I last posted anything here, but I'm still active. The bikes are put away for now, until better weather and the road salt are gone.
Winter is at least an opportunity to fix parts and small items. I recently acquired a really interesting 1930s hub set: a 1937 Sturmey Archer Model K hub, black-out Sturmey quadrant shifter, black-out pulley, and a Sturmey "Mark II" Dynohub.
So I've set about restoring them to working condition. The Model K apparently had water in the bearings and perhaps in the center of the hub for some time, which meant the need to replace the cones, bearings, and clean the innards. Unfortunately, I do not have an unused set of Model K bearings, so I used AW bearings. Thankfully they work.
One interesting feature of the late-model K is that the non-drive side has two dust covers between which a grease-laden felt washer is used to hold the oil in the hub. With the switch to the AW-style bearings with metal dust caps and grease seals, the felt-related items are removed and stored. The old cones are also set aside because they differ from the AW, and are at least worth keeping as an example of 1930s-era Sturmey Model K technology. More instructions on the Model K are found HERE, in this nice article by Jim Gill.
Winter weather may not be pleasant for riding, but at least it gives a chance to clean and repair old Sturmey artifacts like these.
Hello, which type of brass tubing (and where?) and which Bell systems crimper do you recommend (i want to do custom cable for my quadrant shifter and my Clubman). thanks
ReplyDeleteHi, Mark: I use #8126 metal tubing made of brass. It's 3/32 diameter by .014 thickness. The brand I use is K&S Precision Metals, but so long as you have those dimensions, any brass hobby brand should work. It's often sold through hobby shops. I use a Bell Systems "B" crimper (often has the capital "B" on the face plate). Once the crimping is done, you'll need to file the excess down a bit to get it to fit inside the adjuster barrel on the cable. With the cable length, measure twice, cut once, as the old saying goes. Good luck with your Clubman.
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