Originally Posted by
Lenton58
Thanks for posting. I'd like to see some more pics, if possible. They are
very are nice and atmospheric. But, I can't see exactly how you constructed the basic steel and affixed the instruments. Was the steering tube welded/brazed to a steel or iron ingot? I am interested in this cuz I should be able to dig up a fork from a junked shopping bike (mama-chari).
QUESTION: So what do you do? Front hubs are 100 mm — like the fork-spread (duh). What about rear wheels: 110-135 mm. Do you use the Hozan for rears? In which case I am not getting something because you say that you use the forks most of the time. I'm very interested in any reply — at your convenience.
As for the
Hozan 
YES!!!
About a year ago, I found one on Japan Yahoo auction. I got a J-friend to help me bid. I was prepared to beat down any other bidders, and there were only one or two. But gall-durn
— we messed up on the clock and missed the end of the bidding.
It would have been so cool in my Japanese pre-fab bike garage!
The fork (1 inch threaded) is mounted to that piece of channel stock, the only issue for some would be to be able to drill a one inch hole to mount it.
The lateral dial is mounted to the canti boss (it is a 700c touring fork) and the vertical dial is on a magnetic base which sticks to the channel stock. With the lateral dial fixed to the fork's brake boss it remains static so when I flip a wheel to measure dish it does not move although the fork can swivel in it's base.
The stand can be moved and can stand alone although I use a c clamp to keep it in place.
For rear wheels I mount the wheel on the outside of one fork leg.... there are commercial stands that only have one arm and they use the same principle.
The Hozan is good for servicing and checking wheels (union work) but is not quite as precise as my DIY stand... as the shop's wheel-builder I have to work to a very high standard and people pay serious money for our wheel sets as well as the wheels I build for my own end of things.
It is also nice to have multiple stands so I can step away from a build and check wheels in the Hozan.
In the end, you can build great wheels with nothing but the bike's frame as a guide and I have done this and then sent the wheels off on 10,000 km tours with no issues... as long as you can mount the axle in a secure fixture and have a reliable measuring device (zip ties are awesome) it then becomes a matter of skill.