Originally Posted by
CliffordK
It wasn't a completely random suggestion. Someone posted some photos of one on Bike Forums a while ago, I think at their co-op. But, yes, that price was a little over the top.
I actually bought on on E-Bay a while ago, for $350 + $100 shipping.
It is pretty sweet to use, and certainly helps me work out my hops and wobbles. And, while not exactly self centering, with a couple of flips, one can get very precise centering. The whole thing is quite rigidly built.
That's the kind of machine that is really only useful for repetitive wheelbuilding in a production environment. (But I'd still love to have one just because it's so dang kewl.)
Originally Posted by
CliffordK
Of course, I think the latest thing is to simply add micrometer gauges to some of the high end stands. So, I'd probably modernize before dropping $1K on 50 year old truing stand, but the Var stands are really nice.
Not that tools of all kinds aren't cool, but I really don't understand the need for dial gauges. Your eyeball on a regular stand can get you to within .010" (0.25mm) without trying that hard, which on close to 100% of rims is less than the factory's runout spec. How much more precision do you need? It's far more important to get the tension right and even than to have .005" runout. If you can do both, bully for you. Just get first things first.