Dropout and get baked!!!

OK so hopefully you learned something from my last post about forks and you've just been waiting patiently for me to finish this thing out. Dropouts are fairly simple in regards to construction it is a simple plate that is laser cut out of a 4130 plate of chromoly and is welded onto the fork leg. Now depending on how you ride, dropout shape and thickness are the two main areas of concern. Street riders should opt for a dropout that is big enough that it will either sit flush with the peg or maybe hang just below to aid in protecting the hub. You will also find a dropout that is a little thicker will keep your dropouts nice and straight given the occasional missed grind. Dropouts that are super thin and have holes cut in them next to the weld should be avoided at all cost due to the fact that it creates an area of high stress when matched with pegs. The investment cast dropouts that are on We The People and Fly forks are made in a different process then laser cutting. Instead the dropout is molded with a section of the fork leg to make the dropout and the bottom of the fork leg one piece decreasing the chance of having a broken dropout. After all things on the fork have been welded it is time for the fork to be heat treated. Heat treating is a process that is usually done to tubing before welding but some companies have stepped things up with a post weld heat treatment. This post weld heat treating is designed to make the fork stronger by reducing the number of brittle areas around the weld. After the heat treating process has been completed the fork will now perform as one piece as opposed to tubes joined together. The only difference between each companies heat treating is the temperature at which they bake the forks at. Industry secret for you kids is that the optimum temperature for baking chromoly is anywhere between 500F to 800F thought I'd share that with you. Anything you want to know email me at QTBMX23@GMAIL.COM and I'll give you an answer.