The footrest hangers are lead bronze, cast by a 'top quality foundry' (no connection to me but I know the manufacturer) and so should stand any normal treatment.
No the hangers are not brass. Thanks for the tip on the tapers.I think you need to re-machine the tapers, as they should routinely tighten to the point that you need to remove with a mallet. You haven't got brass hangers have you - these would be more 'slippery'?
MAPP gas methyl acetylene- propadiene propane is the one to use if you want a good heat. Readily available on ebay.Regulations and oxy acetelyne: Did I dream seeing it for sale in Bricolages in France and Harbour Freight in USA?
I belive the USA has it on offer you have real freedom there but if France has it then where is the EU level playing field?
If your part was chromed before it bent, it will now be delaminated, as you would find out if you try to put it back to original. Chrome is not malleable.So how did the chrome look afterwards? My right hanger is a bit bent too and I have Oxy-Acetylene but have been reluctant to address it because of the chrome. The bend hasn't been a bother in riding but somehow does bother me when off the bike.
Thanks timetraveller - good news, though I understood that lead bronze is a bearing material. Surely Aluminium bronze would be a better materialThe footrest hangers are lead bronze, cast by a 'top quality foundry' (no connection to me but I know the manufacturer) and so should stand any normal treatment.
The re-manufactured ones are cast (in whatever), and pretty rough. Surely the originals were forged, as all this bending should have snapped even malleable castings! One of mine is severely bent, and the chrome appears to be intact, but we'll see, when I attempt to straighten it...Mike, I have a yellow metal footrest hanger. I inherited it with the project parts I purchased. I dont think it came from VOC Spares, it was too badly machined, they would not have let it through the quality system. It was during re-machining that I discovered the yellow under the zinc plating. In all fairness, it's not my favorite material for that job either, but it keeps my foot off the ground and provides a place for the brake lever to pivot.
I made alloy spacers because I have weight fetish & they are non standard length on my special. The tapers bite adequately, the pegs dont come loose and move at all.
Clearly, heating & straightening the original steel hangers has no deleterious affect on their metallurgy, they can then be safely re-plated.
What I haven't worked out with foot rest hangers yet, were the originals cast or forged?
Not that it matters, my next pair will be fabricated from steel machined ends welded to tube so I get some extra length.
Of course Trevor is correct, chrome plate is not malleable, but I bent a footrest quite severely in 1974, the footrest had been previously chrome plated at Smiths Industries in Oxgate Lane, Cricklewood, at the time of the bending a helpful plumber lent me his gas bottle and blowtorch, and between the two of us we managed to unbend the footrest, that footrest is still on my bike to this day, with nice shiny chrome plate, very occasionally...