[Public-List] chain plate spacers

[gordon white]

Washer-type spacers are a bad thing, if I understand the description as 
to how they are used. They apply a bending moment to the bolt rather 
than straight shear. Reminds me of a vintage racer whose rear axle was a 
couple of inches wider than  his suspension setup. He used spacers much 
as you describe to bolt the axle into the car. He was running on a race 
track just ahead of me when one of the bolts broke, letting the car's 
chassis dig into the track. The car flipped over and killed him.
Not a good thing.

But if you put a shim the full width of the chainplate you can mostly 
correct the situation, even though I would not recommend it if it could 
be avoided. Certainly up-size the bolts.

- Gordon White
Brigadoon II