Shit!
Whilst plier-ing off some lugs this arvo i brilliantly managed to rip a little hole in the top-tube. The spot where the lug had been welded-on just popped right off with it!
Now i have a small hole, about 5mm across.
What’s the best way to fix this?
BIN it.
Start again. No point in fixing it yourself. Its always going to be weak in that area from now on.
Buy a new bike!
I’m not going to be spending squillions on this bike or anything, it’s more of a runabout. And i did find the frame by the side of the road about 6 months ago!
My mate has a welder, anything i can do to patch it up a bit??
Most likely you will just end up blowing holes through the tube if you try to weld it. You’ve made a meal of this bike, I think you should bin it. Or just ride as is and eat shit when it eventually fails. It might give you some warning, although it might just give out as you’re speeding down a hill at 50km/h. 
One option may be to sleeve the hole and braze the sleeve. Know anyone who owns a torch and can use it relatively competently?
you could MIG weld it… i have welded thinner stuff, but you will need a decent welder that can weld on a low setting.
Would it be safe… i dont know
Is the steel some kind of alloy and would this effect the potential to weld it… i dont know either
damn it,
sounds like its fucked.
I guess the lesson here is to be a whole lot more careful when removing cable lugs. Last frame i took em off they basically fell off but these ones proved a bit harder.
Any point keeping the forks?
always keep the forks if they 700c and use a file and a vice next time, takes a bit longer but aviods this kinda thing.
You coulg always use the frame for experiments removing lugs saftley/welding it wont matter if you fuk it more.
Is that under the top tube, possibly where the hidden rear brake cable run emerged??
There’s meant to be a hole under that. Dont sweat it. Ride it like it is. If you’re worried about water getting in, fill it with silicon and ignore it.
Don’t know that it was a hidden rear cable run, looks like a regular setup i think.
doesn’t look like a natural hole to me.
its near the seat on the bottom of the top tube, right hand side.
there was another one right next to it on the left side too but it came straight off without leaving any hole.
OK, so it aint what I thought :roll: You must be one tough hombre to pull a hole out of a tube like that. Looks like it fuxxored.
Just fill it with car bog! and sand it off!!
For being a dickhead I hope it either costs a lot or takes a lot of time to fix your ingenious idea of ripping off braze-on’s. :roll:
next time use a hammer to knock it off, take a swing, put a giant dent in the frame, be a winner like me.
Sell the frame, buy a dremel, forever be a winner.
wow thanks for that, i’ll try to be less of a dickhead next time… maybe u should too?
^ havng been where you are right now and having had the same (actually you got off pretty easy sonny-jim) feedback from Spirito…I’d ‘suck it up’ and move right along…nothing to see here.
Chuck it or ride it…those are your options.
Lock it maybe mods?
There’s nothing wrong with the frame. It’ll take a competant oxy welder a couple of minutes to braze in a small rod to fill the hole. I don’t know what sort of access you have to welding equipment, but as an example, here’s one I prepared earlier (there used to be a brake hole there):
I’m more of a cock actually. I’ve had my dickhead moments but I’m old so they were long ago.
It’s your frame and it wasn’t of any real significance (and you are aware of that). If anything it’s good you posted so other peep’s might entertain that they’re dealing with tubing that is about the thickness of an eggshell (or less) and whilst strong and resilient, can be easily compromised by seemingly simple structural alterations undertaken in the name of vanity.
The best advice given has been to file things down. I also think everyone should saw through a tube one day just to see how thin is, or at least hold some bare tubes in their hands just at marvel at how strong the average bicycle is. It really is a super structure, refined to near perfection and given a little bit of care strong enough to outlast us and even our children whilst being used every day. 
I guess steel is to blame, looks and feels and acts so tough yet it’s really quite thin :-o
Or grab a Columbus EL frame a give the top tube a squeeze and marvel at how strong you are 