3-speed bike headset removal 101?

"Mike Rocket J. Squirrel Elliott" (clip) extend all the way up, so the
adjustment nut cannot be removed. Did I write that clearly at all?
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Your description is perfectly clear. Obviously, there was a way to assemble
it, so the reverse must also be true. If the slot goes almost to the top,
is it possible to raise and tilt the washer to clear? (Seems too obvious,
but there MUST be an answer, and I can't think of any other.)

Cancel that -- I figured it out. And it was a "doh" moment.

On 6/23/2005 8:49 AM Mike Rocket J. Squirrel Elliott said:

I consider myself pretty handy around bicycles but this one has me a
little stymied. And I bet it will be so obvious that I will feel like a
fool when someone explains it to me.

I just picked up an old Sears 3-speed bicycle from the mid-60's for 25
USD. I'm stripping it down to clean it and make it respectable. I can't
figure out how to get the headset apart or the front fork out. There is
a decorative locknut on top of the headset, which I have removed. Below
is is a captured washer -- it has a tang that goes into a slot on the
threaded portion. Below that is the large thin knurled nut that is used
to adjust play. I can't remove the washer because the slot does not
extend all the way up, so the adjustment nut cannot be removed.

Did I write that clearly at all?

--

Mike "Rocket J Squirrel" Elliott
71 Type 2: the Wonderbus
84 Westfalia: Mellow Yellow ("The Electrical Banana"😉
KG6RCR

Mike Rocket J. Squirrel Elliott said:

I consider myself pretty handy around bicycles but this one has me a
little stymied. And I bet it will be so obvious that I will feel like a
fool when someone explains it to me.

I just picked up an old Sears 3-speed bicycle from the mid-60's for 25
USD. I'm stripping it down to clean it and make it respectable. I can't
figure out how to get the headset apart or the front fork out. There is
a decorative locknut on top of the headset, which I have removed. Below
is is a captured washer -- it has a tang that goes into a slot on the
threaded portion. Below that is the large thin knurled nut that is used
to adjust play. I can't remove the washer because the slot does not
extend all the way up, so the adjustment nut cannot be removed.

Did I write that clearly at all?

Yup. First possibility: The upper reach of the slot may look like
it's not there, but actually be full of crud and corrosion that looks
like metal. A little probing with a pick will find out if that's the
case. If not, some of them had a hole at the top of the slot which
allowed the tang to drop in and permit the washer to be jiggled up
over the top of the tube from the opposite side. You have to pull the
stem before that hole becomes obvious. There's also the obvious
tactic of taking a jeweler's file and extending the slot, of course.
And if all else fails, just force it; the tang's not really all that
essential, and if you bend it, a couple of taps with a hammer will
flatten it right back out anyway. The bike you're working on is close
to Flintstones level in tech and materials; you can get away with a
*lot* on those.
--
Typoes are a feature, not a bug.
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Mike Rocket J. Squirrel Elliott said:

Cancel that -- I figured it out. And it was a "doh" moment.

You're not the first one to have that happen.
--
Typoes are a feature, not a bug.
Some gardening required to reply via email.
Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.

Werehatrack wrote:
<snip>

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I just picked up an old Sears 3-speed bicycle from the mid-60's for 25
USD. I'm stripping it down to clean it and make it respectable. I can't
figure out how to get the headset apart or the front fork out. There is
a decorative locknut on top of the headset, which I have removed. Below
is is a captured washer -- it has a tang that goes into a slot on the
threaded portion. Below that is the large thin knurled nut that is used
to adjust play. I can't remove the washer because the slot does not
extend all the way up, so the adjustment nut cannot be removed.

Did I write that clearly at all?

Yup. First possibility: The upper reach of the slot may look like
it's not there, but actually be full of crud and corrosion that looks
like metal. A little probing with a pick will find out if that's the
case.

Nope. It sounds like Rocket J.'s figured it out, but: those old Sears
bikes had a slot milled *all the way through* the steerer tube. That
is, it's like a large oval hole in the back of the steerer. Naturally,
you can't extend the hole all the way to the top o' the steerer since
the tube would simply flare out or squish, depending on the which way
your were pushing it.

I've seen a few of these- generally the old Wald headsets lost their
tang when you tightened down on the locknut. Frustrating.

Jeff

On 6/23/2005 9:09 AM Leo Lichtman said:

"Mike Rocket J. Squirrel Elliott" (clip) extend all the way up, so the
adjustment nut cannot be removed. Did I write that clearly at all?
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Your description is perfectly clear. Obviously, there was a way to assemble
it, so the reverse must also be true. If the slot goes almost to the top,
is it possible to raise and tilt the washer to clear? (Seems too obvious,
but there MUST be an answer, and I can't think of any other.)

The nail on the head. The trick is to tighten the "large thin knurled
nut that is used to adjust play" down as far as possible. This give
sufficient clearance to permit the non-tang side of the washer to be up
tilted far enough so that it comes up and over the top of the steerer
tube so that the tang can be disengaged from the slot. A /wee/ bit of
screwdriver forcing helped. Yes, this level of bicycle is Flintstones
quality, but I don't like forcing anything on a bike.

Thanks to all that answered, my apologies for wasting bandwidth by
posting before I solved it.

--

Mike "Rocket J Squirrel" Elliott
71 Type 2: the Wonderbus
84 Westfalia: Mellow Yellow ("The Electrical Banana"😉
KG6RCR