headset press

[chirk2000ad]

Hi

Anyone in lancaster/preston area with a headset press they could loan me?

I have a genesis equilibrium frame and am trying to install an Orbit XL II. It just won`t go in. I have done loads of headsets before and this one just escapes me.

So far i have tried my home made press and can`t get enough purchase on it, gently tapping in with a block of wood and hammer (a la sheldon brown), heating the headtube and putting the head races into the freezer and still no joy.

any other headset fitting tips to try?

thanks

 

[Vapin' Joe]

Is it a new frame?

It might need a reamer through the tube if it is a tad undersized.

 

[chirk2000ad]

Tis a new frame - however the retailer I purchased in from reckoned it was ready to go. However i am not so sure.

Its pretty close however though so I would have thought the races would have gone in...

 

[User482]

I made my own: you need a threaded rod, 2 nuts , and some very large washers. All available in B&Q. If you look at the commercial presses they work on this principle.

I found this photo on the web - this is how I made mine.

 

[chirk2000ad]

I like it User482 - your headset press looks like mine!

I also knocked together something like this but it didnt do the job too well as could not keep it centred.
Also found that needed a double handed lever (like a wheel brace) to get the amount of turning force required.

Also concluded that
1 inch and 1/8 headsets require a bit more down force than standard 1inch races

and

maybe my head tube is not finished properely.
My LBS have offered to have a look at it and if it needs reaming madison have offered to do if the frame is returned to them.

 

[RecordAceFromNew]

I also knocked together something like this but it didnt do the job too well as could not keep it centred.
Also found that needed a double handed lever (like a wheel brace) to get the amount of turning force required.

If I compare my (bought) headset press and the simple bolt and washers mechanisms, the latter are missing and would probably be benefited by introducing a) a thrust bearing sandwiched in there and b) some additional washers that are just smaller than the steerer OD held by nuts to replicate the "guides". I suspect both will contribute significantly to centering and ease.

The light grey ring closer to the handle in the pic below is a thrust bearing. You obviously need to get the right size - they cost peanuts.

 

[andrew_s]

It's the thrust bearing and the two stepped guides that are the functional difference between a commercial headset press and the DIY threaded rod solution.

If you want to make a stepped guide from stacked washers, you'll have to glue them together as a nut to hold them in place will just stop the press from pressing.

 

[RecordAceFromNew]

If you want to make a stepped guide from stacked washers, you'll have to glue them together as a nut to hold them in place will just stop the press from pressing.

I haven't tried it, but I was thinking two washers (each no bigger and not much smaller than the steerer so will fit inside head tube) each trapped by two nuts on the bolt, one sitting just below the top of the head tube while the second just above the bottom of the head tube might just do the job stopping the bolt sloshing around inside the head tube?