This beautiful Raleigh Team USA frame came in with both seat stays cracked at the the cap.
There wasn't any separation or other damage so we opted for a simple crack repair operation.
I started by filing a ridge into the crack to see how bad it was, and to prep it for taking new metal.
Then I roughed up the weld area and removed paint from the heat zone.
Then the other side.
Next, I ran a bead on both sides, digging in to not only repair the crack, but also to add a little extra metal, is it would now be a weak point in the structure.
Finally, I finished it off by carefully sanding it to shape and polishing it.
Unfortunately, I couldn't re-stamp the letters!
This type of repair should last a good while under normal conditions and usage, and it comes with a discounted cap replacement if it doesn't hold up.
The bike is a bold solid red Team USA, but my camera setting made it look pink..!
Cheers!