rockmeupto125 Posted October 11, 2008 Share Posted October 11, 2008 I spent my day in the garage, so I figured I'd post it here. Did you ever have one of those days where you get up feeling refreshed, the weather is gorgeous, and you have no obligations whatsoever? And did you find that despite all the good signs, whatever you tried to do that day was held firmly in the grip of the devil himself? I bet you have. So after my morning habituals, I saunter outside with my coffee in hand, looking forward to a productive day. I put away some tools, cleaned a bit, and spy a set of forks that need inspection and service. I've been meaning to get to these, so its a good time to do so. Pop one in the vice, allen wrench to the bottom bolt, snap it breaks free. I spin it out, turn the fork rightside up in the vice draining over a pan, and pull the top end off and out. Set the tube and lower assembly in the garbage to drain some more, and do the same with the second leg. Except the allen wrench twists slickly out of the bolt. I know that feeling. Damn! Okay, Plan B. Slightly oversized SAE wrench hammered into place. POP....slides right out. Okay, Plan C. Root through 40 years of accumulated tool steel to find something Snap-On lovingly calls an "extractor." A few pops of the hammer and its ready to go...adjustable wrench on the square stock of the tool..........sliiiiides right up and out of the bolt. Okay, Plan D. Spend 10 minutes perusing the tool steel collection for my left hand spiral bolt removal set before realizing they ain't gonna fit in that little hole. Fuck...Plan E. We all know what does fit in that little hole.....a drill bit. I grab a drill, and spend several minutes looking for a chuck key. Can't find it. Get a different drill that should have the chuck key with it...not. Wonder where the pile of 7-10 chuck keys that were on the shelf of my toolbox went. Get pair of vise grips to tighten chuck....no big deal, will only have to do it once. Hahahahahaha.....now to find a drill bit. Understand that drill bits are an endangered species in my neighborhood. They're not protected...they're just rare. And if you find one, you can be comfortable using it anywhere. I don't think you could penetrate skin with most of them. Somewhere on my property is an underground drill bit unsharpener that electromagnetically dulls any bit that moves. I can buy brand new Vermont American drill bits that won't go through the side of a kleenex box once I take them out of the package. The reverse switches are all worn out on my drills from checking them to see if they are running counterclockwise. So after about 40,000 revolutions of the three bits I managed to snag from my desk, under the toolbox, and on a windowsill in the washroom, I've got a hole in that bolt that looks just about the right depth that I can take a punch and break it lose. I haven't gone through it and damaged the seat...yet. Punch in hand, bang, bang, bang....not working. But it won't come out, either, so a vicegrip is applied...and lo and behold, the bolt turns out. Finally...YeS! Disassemble, dump the guts and oil, grab the other fork leg and head outside to work in the sun. First fork leg...how in the hell are you expected to take the plastic guards off without marking the hell out of the soft aluminum? Damn. Okay, that's done. Pry up the wiper, pull the snap wring out, a couple good sharp pulls on the tube and out comes the seal, slider, bushing, and fork tube. Wipe them, off, lay them out, and start on number two. Mark up the fork leg taking the plastic guard off...try to do it mostly on the inside. Wiper comes off in good shape...can reuse that one, I think. Pull the snap ring, give a couple sharp snapping pulls on the fork tube, and.....hmmm. Nothing. Snap some more. Nothing. Snap some more. Nothing. Snap more. Curse. Stare at fork leg. Snap more. Go out back, do the basebal bat swing. Nothing. Snap some more. Okay. Thin screwdriver down the sides of the seal a few times. That should do it. Snap more. Nothing. Pound the screwdriver in a few more times. Put the fork tube in the vise. Snap on the fork leg a few more times. Nothing. Take fork leg outside, pound screwdriver into seal body until its damaged and bendable enough to pry out of fork leg. Snap some more. Nothing. Vision is turning red. I take a break and help the neighbor get his lawnmower started. I don't know what's wrong with it, but finally it starts, and I think its the switch on the blade engagement. So I shut it off, and fiddle with the switch. That's not it. Start all over. I don't know what's wrong with it, but finally it starts, and I leave it running. Back to the forking fork. I'm getting testy now, so the fork goes in the vice with a 2.5 pound slide hammer attached to it. Nothing. Next is a hammer on a block of wood. Three times I drive the fork out of the vice, and have to reset it. By now the fork leg is getting beat up, so I graduate to hammering directly on it. At least I switched to a brass hammer. After about 10 minutes of that, I take a break until I can lift my 3 pound sledge. Amazingly, the fork leg hasn't broken yet, so I switch to beating on the fender mount so that I can get a better swing. Its still out there. I'm debating whether to put a new blade on my bandsaw. Those of you who have disassembled forks before know there isn't a whole lot to keep them together once the retaining ring is out. Update.......finally apart after a great deal of hammering. Looks like there was some dirt jammed up inside the slider. Sunnavabitch. Now to clean up before dark, and calm myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skull Posted October 11, 2008 Share Posted October 11, 2008 Yuengling will make it all better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Involute Posted October 11, 2008 Share Posted October 11, 2008 Tomorrow's another day and you wont be able to find your band saw. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hobicus Posted October 11, 2008 Share Posted October 11, 2008 Wow... My neighbor with a 954 wanted to go riding, so we spent the day out in the twisties. Forks are rainy day activities. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackhawkxx Posted October 12, 2008 Share Posted October 12, 2008 I have had times like yours Joe. You know that you should stop working on them that day and do something else but you just have to beat it. You have to win. It is the simple easy stuff that really gets you, not the hard things. I'm glad you won. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbrxxquad Posted October 12, 2008 Share Posted October 12, 2008 you know, I really enjoy the fact, that I am not the only one. We must be related. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CCTX_XX Posted October 12, 2008 Share Posted October 12, 2008 Please send me your shipping address. I have some forks in need of repair and would really appreciate having an expert work on them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LogoMan Posted October 13, 2008 Share Posted October 13, 2008 I pay an idiot tax on most repairs I undertake. Sorry that fork job was such a bitch. Just when you think something is going to go easy, it gets stupid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slowrideCX Posted October 14, 2008 Share Posted October 14, 2008 Sound like most of my projects Joe. Keep up the good work buddy. Was really nice to see you Sunday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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