eddy m

I bet you could do that job with a pair of M10 bolts, but it would be hard to make something that matched the leverage and accuracy of the proper tool. I've used a spare rear wheel to check the derailer hanger alignment. that's easily accurate niugh, but not so good for bending the hanger.

em

HillRider

That's what i thought you meant.

HillRider

You need M10x1.0 and that's a specialty threading. It's not the common M10x1.5.

JohnDThompson 

You're referring to the derailleur hanger; I think eddy m was referring to the dropout face alignment tool (e.g. Campagnolo "H" tool):



But re: M10x1.0 threads for the derailleur hanger -- these are readily available in the form of rear hub axles.

rothenfield1

I didn't come up with this and many of you probably have a version of this, but I had a BB cup that I thought I would never get out until I used this even with several apps of penetrating oil. The important thing is to get the cup REALLY clean. Slip the bolt and large washer through with lock washers on the inside and tighten as hard as you can. I used a waste bin MTB handlebar to slip over the end of the ratchet for more leverage.

ocho

- Headset Cup remover using some older aluminum stock
- Race crown setter using PVC per the OP
- Lock ring pliers using a pair of $4 bargain bin 12" offset pliers and 20 minutes total between a bench grinder and die grander to shape the "jaws"...works fantastic on single speed lock rings or BB lock rings.

HillRider

Right, but Home Depot and Ace Hardware don't sell rear axles either.

jays35

DO you have any pictures or drawings of your frame jig?

Dave

Beck

Bottom bracket tool with 0.5" square for torque wrench (requires some math).
Set of 15mm-17mm thin cone wrenches.
All made from titanium for no good reason.

I've made lots of other one-off tools, but these just happen to be in the top drawer of the tool box.

jr-14

Speaking of homemade tools, can anyone identify what type of clamp this would be called? Or would this be custom made? It seems to me the clamp is fairly normal, its just the jaws that seem custom. Anyone know what kind it is?

Retro Grouch 

You're going to love this one:

I made a set of legs to hold a 24" 2 X 4 vertically from the floor. I used to do quite a bit of tandem work and I built it to hold up the front bottom bracket. An alternative use is for setting fork crown races - it's super solid and there's no danger of bending the dropouts on the floor.

Homebrew01

Were you asking me ? I don't have any pics. It's down in the depths of my basement. I made it back in 1982 or so when I was young & had free time. Nothing fancy to look at anyway, but it worked for me.

Kimmo

Made a chain whip years ago from a bit of stainless bar; it had a couple of holes which came in handy when I realised I'd just need to grind it down a little to double as a tool to disassemble cassettes (slips into the slots in the hub bearing cup, screwdriver or something through the hole, voila).

Ground a bit of thread off the thumbwheel in a large shifter so it'd open a bit further and fit onto headset locknuts and BMX BB locknuts...

Just ground up an 8mm socket into a four-toothed tool to disassemble STI levers; it still works as a socket too : )

...And not bike-related, but I turned a $5 pair of longnose pliers into a pair of circlip pliers to rotate a turbo compressor housing; not a bad trick for something so seldom required...

HillRider

As long as this thread is back;

I've made several metric allen bits for both 1/4" and 3/8" square drive ratchets by cutting pieces off of L-wrenches with a cut-off wheel in a Dremel and super gluing them into cheap sockets. It's much cheaper than buying ready made bits and replacement bits for the smaller ones that wear out quickly are easily made. In fact, you get two for the price of one by removing the worn bit (acetone dissolves the super glue) and reversing it in the socket.

Just feed the L-wrench into cut-off wheel slowly and with little pressure so as not to overheat the metal and dip it in cold water every few seconds to preserve the temper.

DMF 

Invalid attachment.

jr-14

Sorry! I'll repost now.

Speaking of homemade tools, can anyone identify what type of clamp this would be called? Or would this be custom made? It seems to me the clamp is fairly normal, its just the jaws that seem custom. Anyone know what kind it is?

operator

If you're using a crown race setter in a position where you are smashing downwards with the fork legs taking the impact, you're doing it wrong to begin with.

Drakonchik

Grip pullers I made from BMX stems, grips, bolts, and some customized plastic bits. Beats running a compressor.

jr-14

Wait, I MUST be missing something. Whats is the intended use of of your "Grip pullers"?

operator

Lol.

Trakhak

"Beats running a compressor" is the clue. I'm guessing that Drakonchik tightens the stem clamp faces around the grip to be removed and uses the added leverage provided by the custom tool to muscle the grip off .

Drakonchik

That is correct. The heads of the bolts that you see in the stems clamps (one a 2-bolt system, the other has 4) are permanently fixed; while the shanks of the bolts protrude through the other half of the tool. To operate, you slap the two halves together around a 22.2 handlebar, then jam the custom plastic shim onto the protruding bolt shanks (which prevents the two halves of the tool from backing off). This takes maybe 5-10 seconds. Then is takes about 1-2 seconds to yank each grip off. The only grips that don't work well are soft gummy ones that tend to roll up on themselves. Any reasonably stiff grip, no matter how ancient, encrusted, or glued, comes off in 1-2 seconds.

I handle and salvage hundreds of old bikes a year and work in my small shop where space is a premium.

People who are willing to run a compressor (and deal with the set-up, maintenance, fussy cord and hose, and pay the power bill) -- or who are just an employee in a shop -- most always "Lol" when they see this tool. Thus missing the point, or the value.

These tools have been a huge boon in flawlessly pulling off old grips in an efficient manner, and actually require minimal muscle power -- even the most recalcitrant, stiff, old grips just fly off.

I dig it when muscle beats power tools. Sort of parallels my love of bicycles over motorized vehicles.

DMF 

I like having a compressor.

Means never having to pump (tires).

mechBgon

I have a "cone spinner" for dealing with hub cones:


I also modded my TS-2 with a flywheel and an indicator gauge showing the relative opening of the uprights, which is endlessly useful at the shop:

frogmeetcog

Of course, a chainwhip, and a headset press, and a rocket.
Also, because I had some obscenely hard 1/8" stainless steel plates lying around, I ground myself some headset nut wrenchs. It is damnably hard to find an affordable 32mm or larger wrench, where I am at least...
The tip on a pair of needlenose pliers snapped off, so I filed both tips down to be really skinny, and now I can get stubborn SRAM-style chain masterlinks apart (well, together, then subsequently apart)
A four-toothed freewheel remover from a 3/4" to 1 1/2" steel pipe adaptor, ala grinder.

I also made something for the crosscontinent tour I plan to do someday: an adjustable conewrench, from a road-found crescent wrench. More grinder work. The thing is too heavy to be worth commuting with, but it would (and will, methinks) be a lifesaver in the desert, forest or prairy.

And in the event of a snapped tirelever, a half-round file makes a slightly shorter tire lever.