Cube Aerial Seat Clamp

Frame repair

This frame had been damaged by tightening the seat clamp bolt too tightly.

 

After considering several repair options, I decided to enlarge the hole and to make a plug to screw into it. I glued the broken section into place to hold it while the work was in progress, using the screw to hold it in place while the glue set. This bond would be held more securely by the plug eventually.

 

Drilling out the hole was simple enough. A couple of old sprockets stopped the drill from going too far or breaking the glue bond.

 

Tapping a thread was a little tricky due to the angled face pushing the tap off-centre and/or at an angle. The paper was to test when the tap was as far in as possible.

 

 

The plug was cut from a length of threaded bar and a screwdriver slot cut in one end. I drilled it in-situ as it probably wasn't tapped straight, so the hole would need to be off-centre. A brake adjuster was a convenient drill guide.

   

 

Using the pilot drill to align the plug in the vice, I opened the hole to the correct diameter.  

 

After gluing the plug in place with strong thread-lock, a clean-up and coat of paint finished the job. Result - a very happy customer.