painted braze on

CoalTrain

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Apr 27, 2016, 6:56:21 PM4/27/16

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I've been riding my Cheviot for 6 months, and want to add a basket for store runs. What's the best way to prep the braze on since they are covered in paint? When I put a screw in it wants to go in a wonky direction and I don't to force it in for fear of screwing the threads up.

Bill Lindsay

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Apr 27, 2016, 7:03:16 PM4/27/16

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Go to your hardware store and buy a tap, size M5x0.8mm. It will cost about $6. If you don't have one, buy a handle for that tap. It will also cost about $6. Run that through every rack braze on and every fender braze on and every water bottle bolt hole. Or ask your local bike shop to chase out the threads for you. That's the tool they will use.

Bill Lindsay

El Cerrito, CA

Joe Bernard

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Apr 27, 2016, 10:37:02 PM4/27/16

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Can't you do that by just carefully running the bolt in before installing the rack? I agree the tap is a good idea, but I've never needed one.

Bill Lindsay

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Apr 27, 2016, 10:47:49 PM4/27/16

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You can, unless you can't.

Scott Henry

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Apr 28, 2016, 8:38:01 AM4/28/16

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You can always TRY to run the bolt through from the other side to
clean the threads out. Like Bill says though, it will work fine,
until it doesn't.
Buy the taps, if you work on your bikes, you should get a complete
bike set anyway.

Good luck.
Scott

On Wed, Apr 27, 2016 at 10:47 PM, Bill Lindsay <tape...@gmail.com> wrote:
> You can, unless you can't.
>

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Joe Bernard

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Apr 28, 2016, 10:03:00 AM4/28/16

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Does anyone have a link for this product? I probably should get one of these things, and I wouldn't begin to know what to look for in a hardware store.

Brian Campbell

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Apr 28, 2016, 10:09:46 AM4/28/16

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+1 and buy the full set. On my AHH I over-tightened the rea rack and stripped out one of the eyelets. I have tap set (with the handle!) and was able to re-tap to M6. It is good to have tools.

Scott Henry

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Apr 28, 2016, 12:19:11 PM4/28/16

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Park tool sells taps individually
http://www.parktool.com/search/products/p2/?q=tap

Harbor Freight has a full set of taps and dies (for light use for
anything you'll ever need)
http://www.harborfreight.com/60-pc-sae-metric-tap-and-die-set-60366.html

here is what Sheldon used to say on the subject
http://sheldonbrown.com/tooltips/taps.html

Will

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Apr 29, 2016, 9:03:34 AM4/29/16

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Riv should tap these as part of the setup. It's not a big deal.

Kevin Lindsey

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Apr 29, 2016, 10:38:10 AM4/29/16

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In theory, yes. In practice, you risk breaking a low-quality bolt if too much of the thread is painted over and the torque necessary to overcome the friction is more than the fastener can bear. Happened to me when I was trying to install a Nitto rack on my Hunqapillar; things were going well until the bolt snapped in two about 3/4 of an inch inside the braze-on. It took the LBS only about five minutes to extract the bolt and finish reaming the painted-over braze-on, but it was a pain in the neck, regardless. And I was surprised to find that Nitto provided relatively low-quality fasteners, considering that its racks are generally first rate.
Kevin

Bill Lindsay

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Apr 29, 2016, 12:24:00 PM4/29/16

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I agree with Will up to a point. Let me explain:

If you are going to install a bolt into a threaded hole, making sure the threads are clear of paint is part of that job. When you purchase a frameset or complete bicycle from Rivendell Bicycle Works, every single threaded hole THAT HAS A BOLT IN IT should have been cleared of paint with a tap. It's been my experience that every hole with a bolt in it has been clear of paint on every Rivendell frame and complete I've purchased.

If you are not going to install a bolt into a threaded hole, it is my opinion that it is preferable to leave the paint on. So, the fender eyelets down by the fork tips and rear dropouts are slightly better left painted, because generally, people don't leave bolts in those holes. As Will correctly said, it's not a big deal to clean the threads out and expose the bare metal when you are going to put a bolt in there.

Now, would it be better for Rivendell to clean all threads on all holes and install bolts in all of them, protecting the exposed metal? Yeah, maybe. I find it's pretty common practice to leave the empty ones painted over. I'll clean them out when I use them. If there is a bolt installed, then darn right the threads better have been cleaned of paint.