turtlemilk

lets see your poor mans stands, tools, wheel truer.. ect.. i need ideals..

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Lazarus Short

I once made my own cheap dishing tool out of wood. It had one rigid board about two feet long, with a reference line at the hub position. One end had another piece of wood which contacted the rim at one point, and the other end had a longer piece of wood which contacted the rim at two points. Using a thin six inch rule, dish could be set to some small fraction of an inch from perfect, and it cost pennies. I was careful to cut the two end pieces from the same board so they were the same width.

Gavush

I just hang my bike up from ropes tied to my garage door rails... or use my trainer as a stand for other stuff. Some day I might make an actual bike stand.

HandsomeRyan

Investing in a decent quality bike stand and some real tools is a worthwhile investment. I know it's a lot of money to spend but cheap tools at best don't work well and at worst can actually damage your bike.

bigvegan

If you can, find a bike co-op / collective near you, and make use of their stuff. Volunteer and get free stand time, or just pay the nominal fee as you need to. Either way, these are the greatest.

At worst, cheap tools / bad DIY can actually damage YOU. One trip to the ER costs enough to outfit a home workshop quite nicely.

Fat Tire

Wait till Bike Nashbar has the Spin Doctor Essential II bike stand on sale, you can pick it up for $50. I buy tools from Amazon, they have most Park Tools Pedro's and Icetoolz, as well. Now and again i choose Avenir, Spin Doctor, or the like (can you say BROKE? I KNEW you could). As for general tools, that you can buy anywhere, I buy Neiko (battery powered drill, metric wrenches, allen wrench set), or Stanley (saws, hammers, pliers and the like).

turtlemilk

this thread has failed... i am lucky to make 20$ a year.

bigvegan

Doing things right sometimes costs money.

For most of us, we'd rather skimp in other areas than halfass our hobby, and given that this hobby requires specific specialized tools, the alternatives are limited.

rogerstg

Here's an idea: Search more and post less ( really? 67 posts since joining this month?) IOW like your momma said, listen more and talk less. And it's really poor to criticize people that took time from their day to help you.

XR2

$20 a year?You need motivation not cheep tool ideas.

CNY James

get a job, maybe then you can afford to support a hobby. in the meantime, make some friends that share your hobby and maybe they will be nice enough to lend you their equipment.

Arcanum

You can't improvise around basic tools like wrenches, allen keys, and screwdrivers, and a decent set of those will cost more than $20. Borrow someone else's tools maybe, but not improvise around.

kknh3

Here's my cobbled up work stand made from Unistrut and hardware scrounged on construction projects at the plant where I work and some square tube pulled from a dumpster. I don't remember purchasing anything to build it. Since these pics, I've added some rubber tubing to both rails on the "cradle" instead of using the blue shop towel.




Here's my homebuilt truing stand based on plans from Roger Musson's online wheelbuilding book.



Here's my homebuilt dishing gauge I threw together

turtlemilk

there is a pile of metal, along with doors, down the road someone dumped... ill go pick up some stuff from there to make something....

arej00dazed

turtlemilk....I feel you finacial pain. Really I do. A family of 4 on a single incomes makes for tough times. I've been trying to scrounge up an extra $20 for an extra seat post since July. Just can't justify spending money on something like that when I need to put food on the table. Also been wanting a larger bag (frame or behind the seat, havent decided), cell phone mount and a set of smooth road tires for my extra set of rims. While I agree its with most the other posters, its best to do it right, sometimes you just can't afford too. What would be nice, course you could always do the leg work yourself, if someone would post some of the home built contraptions like what kknh3 did. But the problem with that, for some ppl, unistrut, metal tubing, etc can be hard to come by. But great job on that stand! Unistrut is great stuff!

xtrajack

I like the dishing tool and truing stand. Thanks for posting them.
I got lucky and bought my maintenance stand from this old guy's estate.

DesnaePhoto

Like arej00dazed, I feel the pain. I figure out what I NEED and then watch. Scrimp and save for the item. Roof, meals, and such come first. Then watch some more -- until I can get it for a good price. What I DON'T do is go cheap. Getting quality is worth a little more $ -- costs a little more in the short term, but much cheaper in the long run.

My question is why are you not making any $. How old are you? Where do you live? Can you sell recyclables?

HandsomeRyan

I did make a headset remover (piece of steel conduit cut with a hacksaw and spread a bit) and a headset installer (threaded rod with some large washers and a couple nuts).

No pics though, sorry.

rumrunn6

my bike stand is a bike rack tied with rope to my patio railing

Bianchigirll 

he needs job! I am sure McDonalds or BK is hiring. and the Army is always looking for warm bodies. atleast that is what Daddy always told my no good brothers He He

Bianchigirll 

it looks like you spent more time designing and making assembly instructions manual than it took to build the stand LOL

PS I am sure you thought of this but a toestrap or two will really anchor the bike in place

kknh3

I currently use a rubber bungee cord, but have an idea for something a little more permanent and easier to use. I'm scheming in my head how to make some rubber straps and their anchors that would be similar to those used on many of the automobile bike racks.

nwmtnbkr

I haven't made one yet, but I'm tempted to build one like this project from Make.

jefferee

Apparently, an old fork and a zip tie can do a half-decent job at truing wheels.

That unistrut stand is awesome.

moleman76

Wheel dishing aid:
1/2" or thicker plywood, 6" wide by 30" or so.
mark and skil-saw cut a V out of it; leave 3 to 6" flat at each end - bottom of V is 20" wide or so for 26" or 700c

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at the middle of the V, drill an undersized (slightly) hole for a 4" or so bolt.

to use, lay this across the wheel, run bolt in until it touches end of axle. then, check the other side of the wheel. If both touch, and the wood is flat on the rim, the ends of your axle are centered on the rim.