3½ headset cups and cones

[Galligaskins]

My front fork rebuild has shown up the shocking state of the head bearings which have been massively overtightened and become notchy beyond belief. Might explain the wandering front end when cornering
Mdina don't have any new ones in stock so I'm a bit stumped. Anyone have any ideas? I see mixed opinions (mostly negative) about taper rollers but I wonder if these might be a means to an end.

Regards
Howard

[Steve Brown]

Do you have a friendly precision grinder? The cups and cones can often be salvaged by that method, as long as the indentation is not too deep. It's a common fix with older bikes where spares are not available. There was a firm in Barwell near Hinckley, but I'm sure Loughborough will have something. The balls a standard are 3/16" rather than a metric size.

[Galligaskins]

I hadn't considered that. Having got it apart, the loose cones might be recoverable but the cups in the frame are too far gone with the surface breaking up.

[hombre]

Excaliburs share the same cups & cones, they are mostly used for the engine and other parts so maybe you can find a pair of these. I have tapered ones on my 3 1/2 though, and it works fine. Also the cups used on the Kanguro etc you can fit on a 350 as well. Only the stem (do you call it like this?) might be a bit short, so I left out the spacer.

[norbert]

Excaliburs share the same cups & cones, they are mostly used for the engine and other parts so maybe you can find a pair of these. I have tapered ones on my 3 1/2 though, and it works fine. Also the cups used on the Kanguro etc you can fit on a 350 as well. Only the stem (do you call it like this?) might be a bit short, so I left out the spacer.

The stem will be quite shorts. If you have a fork with a center top screw, a longer screw might help. If you have the old Model fork with a center nut, things become complicated

[Galligaskins]

I've knocked the cups out of the frame and given them a proper clean and a good coat of looking at. As you'd expect, the bottom cup is the worst. Built the races up on the bench with fresh grease (they were quite dried out and clogged with black paste) and they don't feel so bad. Not perfect, but maybe liveable with. I've ordered a pair of second hand cups from Mdina (no cones available) and I'll see if they're any better than what I've got. New balls and move things around a bit and I might get away with it.

My forks have the aluminium nut at the top. The threads are not great as I think some oaf has been swinging on it with a breaker bar to remove some play in the headstock. Should be alright once the pinch bolts are done up.

Thanks all.

[Ming]

An old trick is to turn the cup and cone through 180 degrees (front to back). This can bring the less worn area to the more heavily loaded part.

[Steve Brown]

An old trick is to turn the cup and cone through 180 degrees (front to back). This can bring the less worn area to the more heavily loaded part.

I was just about to say that-have used that trick a few times myself.