Help! Quill stem won't come off

Bicycle related chatter & discussion
User avatar
marc2131
Posts: 1120
Joined: 03 Jul 2011, 13:14
Location: Ashbury
Contact:

Postby marc2131 » 27 Jun 2012, 21:30

I acquired an old UK made, 531 Reynolds frame a few weeks ago. Got everything up and running, but at the last minute found the quill stem was stuck. The expander wedge at the bottom on the stem has fallen off the main nut and can be heard inside the fork steerer tube. I need to get this back on again.
Gave it some very liberal doses of WD40 over several days - no result. Then got some KillRust/Ranex solution and let it simmer in the steerer tube for about 4 days - no result.
Even tried pouring boiling water into the steerer tube - no result.
Believe the old Cinelli aluminium quill stem may have fused/rusted onto the fork steerer tube, which in turn sits inside the steerer tube of the bicycle frame.
Contacted Ashfield Cycles, but they couldn't provide any solution.

Lizanne
Posts: 1178
Joined: 15 Sep 2010, 13:58
Location: Wolli Creek

Postby Lizanne » 28 Jun 2012, 08:51


timothy_clifford
Posts: 270
Joined: 13 Feb 2012, 19:04

Postby timothy_clifford » 28 Jun 2012, 10:15

peter bundy should be able to help
T-shirt slogan right there

User avatar
Toff
Posts: 1215
Joined: 20 Sep 2007, 14:34
Location: Stanmore

Postby Toff » 05 Jul 2012, 18:10

This is a pretty serious problem, but it can be fixed, especially if you don't mind a bit of damage to the paint.

Brute force is the first option. Stick the stem in a vise, and twist the frame. Stop before the frame experiences plastic deformation though, or you'll be riding a crabbing bike if you succeed in removing the stem.

If you don't care about the paint, I have successfully used a strong solution of NaOH to "dissolve" away the aluminium. Draino is ideal, especially older containers of the stuff which were more than twice as concentrated as newer containers. Cut the stem off at the top of the fork steerer, so you are left with just a plug inside the steerer. Then dip the steerer into the strongest NaOH solution you can make up. Leave it submerged for around a week, and your stem plug will simply be dissolved away. You may need to change the solution over after a couple of days, as it turns to sludge.

WARNING: Use safety glasses and gloves, and extreme care. NaOH is extremely caustic, and at the concentrations I'm suggesting, it will burn through skin, and cause instant blindness if you get it in your eyes. Not for the clumsy.

NaOH will probably also take the paint off, but leaves the steel undamaged. There usually isn't much paint on a steerer anyway, so you can usually get away with it if youre careful. (Which you absolutely must be, considering the substances you are messing with.)

If you are precious about the paint, or you don't want to mess with NaOH, then you need to cut the stem out. You'll need a circular file, and a fretsaw blade or two. After cutting off the top of the stem, file out the inner hole until you can get a fretsaw blade in. Then attach it to the fretsaw, and cut through the stem plug until you've removed enough material for the plug to be tapped out with a punch.


Return to “Conversation”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 25 guests