Tool Tip: Removing Cogs from Threaded Sturmey Archer Drivers

 Older Sturmey Archer hubs, such as AW hubs from 1951 and earlier, have threaded drivers rather than three-spline drivers. This makes removal of the cog more difficult because it is screwed onto the driver rather than snapped-in using the circlip spring.

As the rider rides the bike, it tightens down the driver to a point that it is very firmly in place on the driver. 

 

 

Here is how I remove these threaded cogs:

1. Remove the driver from the hub. Remove the dust cap and bearings. Clean the driver and check that the bearing surfaces are clean and not pitted.
2. Put a stout adjustable wrench into a strong bench vise. Don't use a clamp-on vise for this; use a bolt-down vise on a heavy work bench. 
   
3. Slide the driver onto the thick end of the wrench handle close to the jaws of the wrench. Make sure that the wrench is slid well into the vise. There should be just enough room between the head of the wrench and the side of the vise that the driver can fit. See the above photo and below photo for the positioning of the wrench in the vise (note how close the head is to the vise - it's not sticking way out).   
4. Mount your chain whip (again see the photo above and the one below). Connect to as many teeth on the cog as you can.
5. Trickle some Kroil or similar creeping oil into the threaded joint between the cog and the driver.
6. Heat the cog around the threads using a propane torch. Heat it evenly going around and around. Keep heating gradually until the Kroil in the threads begins to bubble. CAUTION: if you heat it too much, you will start a fire or smoke out the oil.
7. Apply a little more Kroil to the heated joint. Let it cool for a couple of minutes.
8. Begin ramping up torque on the chain whip. Gradually build up you pull.
9. Apply additional heat and Kroil if the cog won't move.
10. Repeat until the cog unscrews.  
11. Carefully remove the cog, spacer(s) and dust cap. CAUTION: they are hot.
    

Once you get the hang of this, you should be able to save many of these old, threaded drivers. Your threaded driver is now able to take a larger rear cog (track style cogs will thread-on), or even a thread-on multi cog, such as a Cyclo bloc for hybrid gearing.

 

New Arrival: Another 1947 Schwinn Continental

 

Here's another find and yet another project: a 1947 Schwinn Continental. I owned a similar bike some years ago, but ended up selling it back to the previous owner when I had to move.

This bike is very similar: standard frame size (about 22 inches), same color (aluminum-blue), and good condition. The rear hub is an undated Sturmey Archer AW hub, and the front hub is a duraluminum Schwinn type.

The frame is Chrome-Molybdenum steel with thin tube walls. It has the usual three-armed spider, 46 tooth chain ring, and cottered cranks. 

 

The brakes are Schwinn-built steel calipers. It is missing the Schwinn brake levers and the desirable (expensive) double-adjustable stem. I'll source some replacement parts that will work for this bike.

These bikes are good riders, and fairly light in weight for their time. The lightened Schwinn stainless S6 rims are a big plus on these bikes.

 

The fenders are made of fairly thin stainless steel. They have the wire braces that connect to the Continental type frame braze-ons.

This bike even has its original bike shop sticker on it, from a shop that sold bikes and baby carriages in New York City.

This project is already taken apart for cleaning and rebuilding.

1951 New Hudson Silver Arrow

 

The New Hudson Silver arrow project is finished for the time being. I won't have a chance to test it out until the riding season starts in the spring. It also will need some light cosmetic work, but for the most part, this one is done. 

 

The Silver Arrow was a mid-level offering from New Hudson / BSA. The bike has Reynolds 531 main tubes on the frame. It has club bike style equipment, but a laid back frame similar to a roadster bike. 

The wheels are 26 x 1-1/4 (ISO 597mm) club types. The rims are Dunlop "lightweight" steel endricks. The front hub is a basic steel hourglass with oiler port, and the rear hub is a Sturmey Archer AW 40 hole from the 1950s. This is a 23 inch frame riding on 26 in wheels, a size I particularly like.

 

This bike is built with North Road type bars rather than the stock drop bars because the North Road is more comfortable for me. 

The bike has peculiar, proprietary BSA/New Hudson brakes with pad holders that sleeve onto the caliper arms perpendicular to the rim surface. The pad holders take John Bull style brake pads. I was able to buy reproduction pads that fit the pad holders. The cables are double-ended proprietary types, similar to Raleigh cables, but with somewhat different cable ends on them.

 

The original Bluemels New Hudson celluloid fenders were destroyed when the bike was shipped to me. I used the claim money to buy a very nice set of replacement Bluemels and added a New Hudson decal from H. Lloyd's in England. 

 

This bike is the third in a series of "sporty roadsters" I did over the course of about a year. The first was a 1953 Raleigh Lenton, the second was a 1949 Raleigh Clubman, and the third is this New Hudson Silver Arrow. The concept was to put blend light roadster ergonomics with sporting or club bike style frames and equipment. This is a style of bike that had somewhat of a following in the 1940s and 50s, but which eventually fell out of favor.

And now comes the wait until spring to see how this one will ride...