RFI:Chris King headset bearing removal

kwalters said:

CK 1" threadless - do I need a special tool to remove
the bearings from the cups? The headset is green and I
want it silver; I'm told Oven Off works well for removing
anodizing, but am concerned about damaging the bearings
if I don't remove them first.

Any help appreciated. Thanks. Ken

FWIW, I did overhaul my CK 1" threadless headset and got the bearings
out of the cups. I didn't want to do this as all I wanted to do was wash
out the old grease and put new grease in. I didn't know lock ring could
be removed using a pin knife and thus exposing the bearings.

The special tools I used to separate the bearings from the cups were one
rubber mallet and one hefty screwdriver. You need to angle the
screwdriver into the seam of the bearing cup and pound away with the
rubber mallet. As the cup sleeve begins to separate you'll have to
rotate the screwdriver's position relative to the cup sleeve separation
angle to get more leverage to pound away with. When the sleeve is free
of the bearing cup the little ball bearings plop right out.

Putting the headset back together is another matter. It's not easy
without a mechanical press. You'll need to find a tool which can press
down on the cup with equal force. Something like a good table vise would
probably work.

I don't recommend taking apart a CK headset unless you're a pro with pro
tools. I got lucky putting mine back together. Will never attempt it
again. The following link may be very useful.

http://www.focuser.com/atm/anodize/anodize.html

Good Luck
Kenny Lee

kwalters <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

CK 1" threadless - do I need a special tool to remove
the bearings from the cups? The headset is green and I
want it silver; I'm told Oven Off works well for removing
anodizing, but am concerned about damaging the bearings
if I don't remove them first.

Any help appreciated. Thanks. Ken

I've been told that Easy-Off will leave grey blotches on aluminum
which will require further buffing. I'd say you should just sand the
portions you want silver with 600 grit wet-or-dry sandpaper. I did
this with a set of Campy BMX cranks and they came out fine.

Jeff

Quoted message said:

this with a set of Campy BMX cranks and they came out fine.

What the... Campy BMX cranks?

--
Phil, Squid-in-Training