Questions re vintage titanium frame repair - advice please

[gaucho753]

I've been working on the restoration of a '73 Speedwell (badged as Ron Kit) titanium bike for quite a while. Just as was nearing the finish line, I noticed something I had previously overlooked: a crack below the seat binder bolt.

The crack starts at the the gap between the seat binder ears, and runs about an inch or so along the bottom of the weld where the non-drive-side stay meet the seat tube. I've included a couple pics below. The other issue is that there is some (drop though?) material on the inside of the seat tube at the rear side of the seat tube below the gap which prevents the seat tube from fully entering the seat post. The previous owner had sawed off his seat post at that point, which I have to assume contributed tot he crack. It also appears that this area may have been repaired once before since the weld near the seat binder bolt is not smoothed out as is the case on the rest of the frame. Of course, none of this was mentioned by the seller.

I have put a lot of work on this bike and feel committed to getting this it bike on the road. I do plan to ride the bike, though not a lot. Perhaps a half dozen times a year or so.

I'd be grateful for your feedback on whether this can be repaired, and what that repair might entail, as well as suggestions for framebuilders who might be qualified & wiling to take on the job.

Thanks in advance.

P.s. I posted basically the same message on another frame builders forum, but have not yet received any replies over there. Apologies to anyone who may be reading this twice.

[Rody]

Gaucho,

In short, the frame repair that was attempted is a mess and will not be easily corrected.

If it were me, here's what I'd do to save her.

- mechanically remove the binder bolt and repaired weld bead, bringing the area back down to the tube surface.
- insert a heat sink and fuse repair the cracked tube
- machine the top of the seat tube down to just above the top tube
- bore the seat tube internal round
- machine a stepped insert that extends down into the seat tube past the repaired area with an integrated binder
- weld in the insert using bullet welds and a circumfrential weld

As you can see, there is a lot of work to clean this up and make it right, but it is possible.

Hope this helps,

rody

[gaucho753]

^ Rody, a belated thanks for your input. Your comments are very helpful indeed. Glad to hear you feel it's fixable--even if it will require a lot of work. Cheers. -Randy