mafac braze-ons

[chris fortescue]

does anyone know of a fabricator or supplier of braze-on bosses for mafac racer centrepulls?
chris

[Alex Wetmore]

From: chris fortescue [chrisfo...@gmail.com]

> does anyone know of a fabricator or supplier of braze-on bosses for mafac racer centrepulls?

Amir Avitzur [walawala...@gmail.com] sells them.

I've also made them by shortening canti studs, cutting off of the spring holder on the canti studs, and then brazing on small tubes as spring holders instead. Shortening the canti studs is the tricky part, there is a small tolerance of what works well. Amir's studs are nicely machined and save time. This is not one of his studs (it is a NOS Diacompe), but his studs use the same style of aluminum slip-on spring holder:
http://alexandchristine.smugmug.com/Bicycles/Framebuilding/Ivy-T/14349199_vUdTW#1062388230_JVDf5

alex

[Arthur Marks]

Amir has made the slip-on spring holders in both aluminum and
stainless steel at various times. The latter can be brazed on for a
permanent assembly if that is something you would like. I've used
them, and they are very nicely made. -Arthur

On Fri, Apr 15, 2011 at 9:02 AM, Alex Wetmore <al...@phred.org> wrote:
>> does anyone know of a fabricator or supplier of braze-on bosses for mafac racer centrepulls?
> Amir Avitzur [walawala...@gmail.com] sells them.

> Amir's studs are nicely machined and save time... but his studs use the same style of aluminum slip-on spring holder:
> http://alexandchristine.smugmug.com/Bicycles/Framebuilding/Ivy-T/14349199_vUdTW#1062388230_JVDf5

[jay hartman]

Here's an Ebay auction for a braze on version of Mafac Racers

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&_trksid=p4340.l2557&rt=nc&nma=true&item=160562294135

from this picture:

http://www.listingfactoryhost.com/users/gilbertthei/eBayAuctions/finalproject2/images/STRONGLIGHTMAFAC2011179_238128928_large.jpg

It looks like they use a normal canti braze on and the springs are different.
However, I just went down and looked at my Mafac Racer brakes and it looks a normal braze-on would be too long.
Maybe you could  shorten some normal canti braze-ons and make new springs from some old spokes.

Jay Hartman

[Mark Bulgier]

Jay Hartman wrote:

 

Here's an Ebay auction for a braze on version of Mafac Racers

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&_trksid=p4340.l2557&rt=nc&nma=true&item=160562294135

from this picture:

http://www.listingfactoryhost.com/users/gilbertthei/eBayAuctions/finalproject2/images/STRONGLIGHTMAFAC2011179_238128928_large.jpg

It looks like they use a normal canti braze on and the springs are different.
However, I just went down and looked at my Mafac Racer brakes and it looks a normal braze-on would be too long.
Maybe you could  shorten some normal canti braze-ons and make new springs from some old spokes.

 

 

I’m afraid whoever won that auction is going to be disappointed.  Those are not centerpull braze-ons, they’re canti studs and will not work for centerpulls without some reworking.  I think the auction price was too high, since the brakes and the braze-ons are both common as dirt, but I could be wrong.  Is a set of Racers with gum hoods on the levers, plus some incompatible canti studs, really worth that much these days?  The seller appears to be ethical; I’m sure he just didn’t know those are the wrong studs.

 

Read Alex’s post from yesterday for what you have to do to convert the studs.  But buying Amir’s studs which are correctly made for centerpulls is the smart way to go.

 

Either way you use the regular springs.  Making your own is possible but probably harder than you think, and not necessary.

 

Mark Bulgier

[Olivier Alonzo]

Hello all, first post here.

I also made my own from canti studs. I kept the spring holders and
rotated the boss 45 degrees (rotating them a bit more would have been
better). Some rotate it 90. I also brazed a scrap of seatstay where
the spring is located to make them look like the original, but that's
not necessary.

pics: http://tinyurl.com/4xwqcw8

(there is a lug vise there too)

olivier

On Apr 16, 7:45 pm, Mark Bulgier <M...@bulgier.net> wrote:
> Jay Hartman wrote:
>
> Here's an Ebay auction for a braze on version of Mafac Racers
>

> http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&_trksid=p4340.l2557&rt=...
>
> from this picture:
>
> http://www.listingfactoryhost.com/users/gilbertthei/eBayAuctions/fina...

[Eman Eng]

If anyone knows Eric Zoe in San Francisco, and knows how to get a hold of him, I'm pretty damn sure he has a box of mafac canti and centerpull studs.  He tried to pass them off to me once, but I declined, not thinking that I'd ever build a bike with mafac parts.  That was 5 years ago though.  He might still have them.  

[walawalaoxenfree]

I make repro Mafac Braze-on Brake Bosses.
see http://www.flickr.com/photos/mafac_brakes/4102259031/in/set-72157622676578015

They are quite different in almost all dimensions than Mafac's canti
bosses.
see http://www.flickr.com/photos/mafac_brakes/4347498737/sizes/l/in/photostream/
Canti bosses can be modified, but its tricky and very time consuming.

Amir