Bicycle Mechanics - Make my own truing stand?!

Hey I got some extra forks. Is there anyway that someone has made their own truing stand with the fork and the brakes. Any ideas how I can make one cheap and effective? I don't have weilding equiptment. Post Pictures.

If ya wanna true on the cheap just flip your bike over and tighten up the brake calipers. You can pick up very inexpensive truing stands from Performance (the Spin Doctor brand) pretty cheap. They do a great job and it's so much easier than trying to make a ghetto cobbled together arrangement.

Hey I got some extra forks. Is there anyway that someone has made their own truing stand with the fork and the brakes. Any ideas how I can make one cheap and effective? I don't have weilding equiptment. Post Pictures.
Hey, our LBS used (actually still use) an old fork in a vise for most of their truing work. They just hold a finger up against the fork and "Bob's Your Uncle" They use a proper dishing tool to check alignment. Amazing what 140 years of combined experience will do eh? The fellow who started the shop over 40 years ago can lace a wheel with his eyes closed.

If you can wait get the Ultimate Pro Truing Stand (http://www.performancebike.com/shop/profile.cfm?SKU=17871&subcategory_ID=4221) from Performance Bike. The best deal to be had recently was the $20 off $50 coupon with free shipping which dropped the price to $39.99 total for a superb piece of equipment. I just used it to true an older front wheel without much difficulty. You can either mount it on its own base and set it on a work bench or even your coffee table. Or if you prefer working standing up you can just slide it onto the top part of your Ultimate Pro workstand. It can act as a dishing tool as well which is an added bonus..

As Capwater suggests and Toolboy says, an old fork in the vice will do the job. I have 2 forks, one for front wheels, and one stretched open to fit rear wheels. I use the forks to get the wheel in the ball park, then put the wheel on the bike and true it to the frame that it will live on. The rims must be central on the frame, and the brakes must have the smallest clearance without rubbing. What more could you want?

That's the kind stuff that I was looking for. Now I just need a vice.

No vice needed, just use a hole-saw and drill a 1" hole in your bench. :)

No vice needed, just use a hole-saw and drill a 1" hole in your bench. :)

Or make a portable one build into a wood or metal base that you can move around.

No vice needed, just use a hole-saw and drill a 1" hole in your bench. :)

To bad if he's planning to do it in the dining room.

"What's this big hole in my antique cherry table?"
"Dunno. I'll put a vase over it when I've finished truing this wheel." :rolleyes:

Richard

just be sure your fork isn't skewed.

just be sure your fork isn't skewed.
What do you mean skewed? Also if I use wood, that would remain the problem that what do I do with the remainer, I have to use two peices of wood, with one on the bottom having a bigger hole. so it will sit flat, that is what I was planning on, I wanted to see if anyone had one I could get pictures of.

That's the kind stuff that I was looking for. Now I just need a vice.

I recommend drinking to excess:D :p :D
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If ya wanna true on the cheap just flip your bike over and tighten up the brake calipers.

This is true, I've trued my wheels for over 30 years using this method.

What do you mean skewed?

If the fork is second-hand or damaged that means it's out of true as well. which means it's a bad truing stand.

Oh and wood... reasonably ok, unless it gets damp and warps.

If the fork is second-hand or damaged that means it's out of true as well. which means it's a bad truing stand.

Not really. As long as the wheel can turn freely and you have an index pointer of some sort to indicate run-out the fork doesn't have to be aligned or square.

Not really. As long as the wheel can turn freely and you have an index pointer of some sort to indicate run-out the fork doesn't have to be aligned or square.Well... if the fork-tips aren't evenly spaced on each side of the steerer-tube, then your wheel will end up not dished properly when it's sitting centered down by the crown. To check alignment of the work, I get a broom-stick that fits tightly inside the steerer-tube. Then measure the distance from each dropout to the centerline of the broom-stick.

Well, one could check dishing the old fashioned way, by putting the wheel flat on the ground and measuring how high goes the other side.

As for using a fork as a truing stand, it could work nicely. If it's a fork with canti studs, you could even use them to bolt in "feelers" that check for lateral and vertical trueness. One major problem with a fork: it's only 100 mm wide, whereas rear wheels are 130 mm (road) or 135 mm (mountain and touring) wide.

http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g160/dj_flx/truestand.jpg

Scrap wood, threaded rod pointer through j-clip (I think), didn't need the muffler hanger u-thing but it made the arm curve nicely, shelf brackets and some of that metal stock from Lowes I had sitting around... add nails/screws and too much free time.

What does the term dishing mean when referring to wheel alignment?

What does the term dishing mean when referring to wheel alignment?

Properly centered in the dropouts. Because of the gear cluster on the rear wheel, the right side flange has to be further away from the drop out then the left side. Spokes have to be shorter and/or tighter on the drive side to account for this difference.

I used to use a 12" school type ruler attached to my forks, and then attach to the ruler, small binder clips on either side of the rim to move in and out as needed. The flipped down silver part of the clips is what touches the rim at the point of untrueness.

Does that make sense? it works quite well...

http://graphics.samsclub.com/images/products/0005050572100_L4.jpg

Here (http://www.wheelpro.co.uk/wheelbuilding/book.php) is a great source for wheel building and truing information. He's got instructions on how to make your own wheel "jig" (truing stand--he's British)--both from wood and metal, dishing gauge and nipple driver (I modified his type and made one out of a drill bit--much faster). The PDF book is downloadable for $9 and is easily worth the cost.

I'd already owned truing stand (http://www.amazon.com/Wheel-Truing-Stand-Pyramid-Pro/dp/B000AO7GDK) so I didn't build a new one, but I did follow the instructions for the dishing gauge (both cardboard and wood) and as mentioned above, the nipple driver.

^ ^ ^ +1

Roger Musson's $9.00 e-book Wheel Building, 3rd ed. is one of cycling's great bargains.

http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g160/dj_flx/truestand.jpg

Scrap wood, threaded rod pointer through j-clip (I think), didn't need the muffler hanger u-thing but it made the arm curve nicely, shelf brackets and some of that metal stock from Lowes I had sitting around... add nails/screws and too much free time.

is that rally a milkcrate computer? my brother would be really intersted to see a pic bc he likes playing w/a computer frames.

is that rally a milkcrate computer? my brother would be really intersted to see a pic bc he likes playing w/a computer frames.
Yeah, it was an original Bondi Blue iMac that succumbed to Flyback Transformer Disease... the milkcrate was all I had handy to rehome it & the transplant power supply in...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/felixcat/124105701/
http://static.flickr.com/50/124105701_2f92c59e66.jpg
There's more junk in the Flickr album.

Yeah, it was an original Bondi Blue iMac that succumbed to Flyback Transformer Disease... the milkcrate was all I had handy to rehome it & the transplant power supply in...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/felixcat/124105701/
http://static.flickr.com/50/124105701_2f92c59e66.jpg
There's more junk in the Flickr album.

haha thanks a lot!

If ya wanna true on the cheap just flip your bike over and tighten up the brake calipers. You can pick up very inexpensive truing stands from Performance (the Spin Doctor brand) pretty cheap. They do a great job and it's so much easier than trying to make a ghetto cobbled together arrangement.

If you can wait get the Ultimate Pro Truing Stand from Performance Bike. The best deal to be had recently was the $20 off $50 coupon with free shipping which dropped the price to $39.99 total for a superb piece of equipment. I just used it to true an older front wheel without much difficulty. You can either mount it on its own base and set it on a work bench or even your coffee table. Or if you prefer working standing up you can just slide it onto the top part of your Ultimate Pro workstand. It can act as a dishing tool as well which is an added bonus..
+1 on the Performance truing stand. Lightweight and perfectly durable for home use, auto-centering is nice, feelers are precise.

Once you try truing with an actual stand, you'll never want to go back to doing it the ghetto way. I got my Spin Doctor truing stand on sale for $30, I guess it worked out to $35 shipped or something. You'll pay as much for a decent bench vise to hold a fork, and won't end up with half as good a stand.

Plus, as others have pointed out, you'll need to spread or otherwise mangle a fork to get it to fit a rear wheel. If you don't do that right, you'll probably end up with the fork asymmetrical and that'll make you dish your rear wheels wrong. Also, using brake pads to true is a real pain cause you can't move them in and out and hold them in place, and you can't adjust their VERTICAL position easily.

Suprised no one has talked about using wire ties with the wheel on the fork for truing. Think it is in either Zinn's or Parks Big Blue Book. Works.