Got an on one smoothie regular headset and when assembled the crown race is refusing to ‘meet into’ the bottom cup . Its leaving a gap of approx. 1mm and a mate suggested tightening the headset to draw the race up into the cup ; that hasn’t worked !
Anybody experienced anything similar or got any suggestions ?

Kettle of boiling water over it, and a bigger hammer.

Brand new frame , brand new forks ! Was hoping not to have to hammer them together . Thought a headset would be a nice subtle way of joining them together .

Is it designed to run “inside” the cup?

Oh hang on.

Sounds like you could have burred the crown race on installation.

I read it wrong.

the issue is the gap between crown race and cup? How will drawing cup into frame help?

Must be an issue with bearings or seals shirley?

It’s a ‘mechanical labyrinth seal ‘ !?
There’s a raised ridge on the crown race that should mate with a recess in the bottom cup .

Checked the crown race Brant but can’t see any damage . Have you come across this before ?