Originally Posted by 3alarmer

...yes, I have done this. It was much more of a practical option when everything was cup and cone BB, so there were a bunch of various spindles hanging around in the used parts stream. Unless you can find a co-op nearby that has a box or bin of them, it's just easier, faster, and a better option to spend the 40 bucks on the Velo Orange cartridge BB. You're probably gonna spend more than that on a used or new decent square taper crank anyway. Buy the new crank first, so you'll know which length spindle you require for that crank...they vary.