Anyone got a tool for knurling headset cups?

[rogerzilla]

Raleigh headset arrived, which is great as iit threads onto my fork...but the head tube has been faced and reamed for ISO cups by Argos and Raleigh cups are 0.2mm smaller (Sheldon Brown was wrong - John Allen has agreed to correct the table of Raleigh dimensions).  Therefore the cup is just a smooth push fit.

I can use Loctite 660 - it's worked for heavily-loaded bottom races before and this is only the top race as I'm using an ISO bottom end - but cups can be knurled to make them a little bigger and rougher.  Does anyone have the tool and does it work on steel cups?

[LittleWheelsandBig]

I have knurled the fairly soft crown race seats of steel (and Al) forks but nothing else, using the JA Stein tool. I have doubts that it would work on a chromed and hardened steel cup.
http://www.jastein.com/Html/Tools_for_Frames_Forks.htm

[Brucey]

I have happily used epoxy resin for mounting loose headset races such as these.  Works perfectly, better than Loctite in fact.

Knurling won't work (easily or at all) on thin-walled hard steel parts like these. You will need to support the parts internally and most likely all you will do is ruin/break  the knurling tool on the hard steel.

cheers

[rogerzilla]

Used a Coke can shim ftw.  Guaranteed it was centred properly, which no adhesive could do.

[Brucey]

Guaranteed it was centred properly, which no adhesive could do.

not so.

 Glass beads are mixed with epoxy to centralise joints of exactly that sort. eg golf club head/shaft joints.

cheers
 

[rogerzilla]

I doubt they're the right size beads for my headset problem, though!

[Brucey]

the usual size for the glass beads used for golf club shafts is 0.002". This means that a 0.1mm clearance on diameter is held perfectly central, and the maximum variation in bond line thickness or lack of centrality is +/- 0.05mm if there is a 0.2mm difference in diameter. 

I think in reality, that will make no difference whatsoever  to the way the bike works.

Needless to say you can use almost anything that is of the correct size to space an adhesively bonded joint to achieve a uniform bond line thickness. Having said that, I don't think you would need to worry much about this particular job provided the parts are assembled without lateral load.

cheers

[rogerzilla]

And the top race of a headset has a very easy life compared to the bottom one.