Sheldon wrote:
(To fix a bent crankarm)
>>Unscrew the pedal, lift the bike up and clamp the end of the crank into a
>>vise (the assistant tightens the vise while you hold the bike in position)
>>then use the bike as a lever to bend the crank back straight.
>>Do NOT do this with an aluminum crank, but it's reasonably safe with a
>>steel crank.
>>I don't believe 400 degrees F is hot enough to make any practical
>>difference in the malleability of a steel part.
The recrystallization temp of steel is way above 400F, if one even wanted to chance having all the cold-working strength go away, and the chrome would be history. I would agree there is only a slight reduction in the brittleness and yield strength at that mildly elevated temperature.
I found a discarded and slightly rusty Windsor Carrera, with cast aluminum crankarm bent in, and using an 18" adj wrench just removed the pedal and easily pulled it back out a few degrees. At least that cheap SR crank is thick! I don't ride that one much and have a couple of newer cranksets waiting for the inevitable completion of it's un-worthy restoration. Too bad their paint actually looks like a turn-of-the-century brush job, but I couldn't pass up that chromed-lug frame. Odd geometry, with a 75plus-degree seat tube, so doubly un-worthy! Even the Windsor Professional that I also found discarded had some serious quality problems, but stripped of it's paint, resembles a chromed Cinelli! I ride the wheels off that one and pray it doesn't fall apart!
David Snyder