DIY truing stand?

I have a few short weeks of metal shop access before I get kicked out of school for good, and im on
a toolmaking binge. I would very much like to make myself a solid wheel truing/building stand.

has anyone done this before? i thought of loads of varying ways i could do it, but it is a complex
project and i would rather not reinvent the wheel (you saw that coming, didnt you?) if i dont have
to. i would rather learn from your experience than my mistakes.

cheers,

anthony

 

Make one out of the rear triangle of a wrecked bicycle.

 

"Gearóid Ó Laoi, Garry Lee" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
> Make one out of the rear triangle of a wrecked bicycle.

i'm pretty eager to make it adjustable, for spacings of 120 - 135. thats why im steering clear
(another pun...) of using a spread fork, or a rear triangle.

 

ant wrote:
>
> "Gearóid Ó Laoi, Garry Lee" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:<[email protected]>...
> > Make one out of the rear triangle of a wrecked bicycle.
>
> i'm pretty eager to make it adjustable, for spacings of 120 - 135. thats why im steering clear
> (another pun...) of using a spread fork, or a rear triangle.

slow to adjust, but sturdy and simple: 2 pieces of angle iron, 1 m long. 3 pieces of 0.2m threaded
M12 rod with 4 nuts each

clamp the angle iron together and drill a 12 mm hole at +3 cm, a 9 and 10mm hole at about +30-+40
cm, another 12mm hole at 75cm and 97cm

assemble, and fit a piece of sheetmetal with a notch for the trueing reference with clothespins or
similar. Fit to the bench with a large C-clamp
--
Marten

 

Anthony Anagnostou writes:

> I have a few short weeks of metal shop access before I get kicked out of school for good, and I'm
> on a toolmaking binge. I would very much like to make myself a solid wheel truing/building stand.

> Has anyone done this before? I thought of loads of varying ways I could do it, but it is a complex
> project and I would rather not reinvent the wheel (you saw that coming, didn't you?) if I don't
> have to. I would rather learn from your experience than my mistakes.

Well... you are on the best route to reinvent the truing stand if you start here in wreck,bike
instead of using ones that exist to understand the problems you will encounter. What others have
done in that respect is the source of success for a new design. Besides, I take it you are not an
experienced wheel builder or you wouldn't ask. Therefore, your perspective would be that of a
beginner and that puts a big crimp into your assessment of existing models, because once you develop
expertise, many features of these fixtures become useless and stand in your way.

Of course the human interface is the problem with most tools, be that a spoke tensiometer or a
digital camera.

Jobst Brandt [email protected] Palo Alto CA

 

<[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...

> Of course the human interface is the problem with most
tools, be that
> a spoke tensiometer or a digital camera.

Having a little trouble with the camera today, Jobst?



Matt O.

 

[email protected] (ant) wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
> I have a few short weeks of metal shop access before I get kicked out of school for good, and im
> on a toolmaking binge. I would very much like to make myself a solid wheel truing/building stand.
>
> has anyone done this before? i thought of loads of varying ways i could do it, but it is a complex
> project and i would rather not reinvent the wheel (you saw that coming, didnt you?) if i dont have
> to. i would rather learn from your experience than my mistakes.
>
> cheers,
>
> anthony

I've built many wheels on my living room floor, using an inverted bike as a truing stand. In
reality, anything that will hold the wheel steady and provide a close reference for the rim will
make an adequate stand.

However, I recently bought a truing stand at a swap meet ($8!) which looks distinctly homebrewed.
It's mostly 1 1/2" angle iron, but there are a couple of machined points (think lathe centers) that
hold the axle. These thread in and out to hold the axle. A set of threaded pincers provide a gauge
for the rim. The whole assembly weighs about 20 pounds and puts neat scratches in the coffee table.

If you want a serious challenge, create a self-centering truing stand like the Park TS-2 (
http://www.parktool.com/tools/TS_2.shtml ).

Jeff

 

[email protected] wrote in message

> Well... you are on the best route to reinvent the truing stand if you start here in wreck,bike
> instead of using ones that exist to understand the problems you will encounter. What others have
> done in that respect is the source of success for a new design. Besides, I take it you are not an
> experienced wheel builder or you wouldn't ask. Therefore, your perspective would be that of a
> beginner and that puts a big crimp into your assessment of existing models, because once you
> develop expertise, many features of these fixtures become useless and stand in your way.

my inexperience is not why i am asking. ive used a few stands, and a bike, enough to know what i
like and what i dont. looking to production models for what i want to do is a recipe for failure,
as the fabrication time on a good model is enough to keep me working for a week straight, and many
of the features like self centering, etc, are there for speed, and i dont need speed when im
building wheels.

re: other posts-

the lathe center is a neat idea. however, you woudl need QR axles, i imagine. i was actually
thinking of doing a similar thing, but reversed- with inverted cones on threaded rod, so that they
could hold different sized axles, but not need a hollow axle.

the two pieces of angle iron and clamp to table is my favorite 'chassis' thus far. ill always be
near a table. it will be easy to take apart, and it will adjust to my hearts content.

thanks, all. now off to play with some metal.

 

Anthony Anagnostou writes:

>> Well... you are on the best route to reinvent the truing stand if you start here in wreck,bike
>> instead of using ones that exist to understand the problems you will encounter. What others have
>> done in that respect is the source of success for a new design. Besides, I take it you are not an
>> experienced wheel builder or you wouldn't ask. Therefore, your perspective would be that of a
>> beginner and that puts a big crimp into your assessment of existing models, because once you
>> develop expertise, many features of these fixtures become useless and stand in your way.

> My inexperience is not why I am asking. I've used a few stands, and a bike, enough to know what I
> like and what I don't. Looking to production models for what I want to do is a recipe for failure,
> as the fabrication time on a good model is enough to keep me working for a week straight, and many
> of the features like self centering, etc, are there for speed, and I don't need speed when I'm
> building wheels.

If you already know what design goals others had and what you find lacking in them, you don't need
to ask. You are experienced as you say. Besides, if you think you have something to offer beyond
what is on the market, you should be clever enough to make that simple. Otherwise you are wasting
time. That is the essence of good design.

Jobst Brandt [email protected] Palo Alto CA

 

"Gearóid Ó Laoi, Garry Lee" wrote:
>
> Make one out of the rear triangle of a wrecked bicycle.

The dropouts need to move to accept different hub widths. A rear triangle split in two, and then
reattached with a hinge might work.

Barry

 

[email protected] (ant) wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
> re: other posts-
>
> the lathe center is a neat idea. however, you woudl need QR axles, i imagine. i was actually
> thinking of doing a similar thing, but reversed- with inverted cones on threaded rod, so that they
> could hold different sized axles, but not need a hollow axle.
>

Ant:

I just took another look at my swap-meet stand. The axle holders aren't actually threaded- they're
cylindrical slugs held in place by a big bolt. They're pointed at one end and dished on the other,
so QR or solid axles could be held just by reversing them in their mounts. Something like this:

#~# (bolt)
~ --~-- (mount)
---------------
> > (slug)
---------------
------

Hope this helps.

Jeff

 

[email protected] (Jeff Wills) wrote in message

> I just took another look at my swap-meet stand. The axle holders aren't actually threaded- they're
> cylindrical slugs held in place by a big bolt. They're pointed at one end and dished on the other,
> so QR or solid axles could be held just by reversing them in their mounts.

clever, the best of both worlds,

thanks!