I've got an old mountain bike wheel out there packed with valve-grinding compound for the same reason. Be ready to listen to the sort of unpleasant noises you don't usually want in bearings.
Jeff Slotkin
TheLocalSpoke@bigfoot.com
<classicrendezvous@bikelist.org> Sent: Monday, December 11, 2000 9:07 AM Subject: Re: [CR]Can worn surfaces of headset races, axles, etc. be polished
> At 10:13 PM 12/10/2000 -0500, Lawrence Kurtz wrote:
> >Can bearing rolling surfaces showing wear from years of use be
polished or
> >should they be left alone, assuming little or no pitting. If so is
there
> >a procedure for using equipment such as using a Dremel. Materials
in
> >question are old Campy Gran Sport. I guess I'm wondering whether I
should
> >be concerned about dark oxidation blotches in the hubs, races etc.
> For whatever it's worth, I'll share my thoughts, and what I want to
do,
> hoping that exposure to light will dispel my own ignorance.
>
> 1) The difference between good and great cones and races is surface
> finish. I'm convinced that the old campy record stuff was polished
> (abrasive finished) instead of being finished "as well as possible"
with a
> lathe-like cutting tool (as on the lesser Normandy hubs).
>
> 2) This suggests that a worn cup and race could be improved by
polishing
> out. I'm planning to try doing this with a specific bottom bracket,
by
> using sequentially finer grinding compounds. I can mount the
spindle in my
> drill press, and the cup can be clamped down on the bed. I will use
water
> and grit for the cutting, with 1/4" balls. I assume that I will
sacrifice
> some balls as they wear down in the grinding process, otherwise I'll
wind
> up with small balls and the wrong curvatures on the faces.
>
> 3) Now, back to the original question: Given how little of the
actual
> friction of a bike comes from the bearings, I don't think that a
rider can
> tell the difference when riding. A nut like me could tell the
difference
> while spinning the bits at the bench, of course, so it's woth doing
for
> this kind of esthetic.
>
>
> 4) The one for which I plan to try it is desperation-driven: Old
French
> stuff with significant pitting. "Can this spindle be saved?"
>
> Anyone have good ideas on where to get grinding powder? Probably a
> glass-working shop for the small quantities I need.
>
> PS: I don't think one could make a living doing this!
>
> Harvey Sachs
> McLean Va