Originally Posted by
jnvw
To true wheels in the past I have propped up my wheels using the brakes as indicators, built a worthless home made stand and used zip ties as indicators. After that I simply coughed up $175 and bought a TS-2.
Professional results come from the correct equipment.
I don’t care what people here say they got .020 trueness from a zip tie, which is simply not probable. Besides if they don’t want to spend money on a descent truing stand, I doubt they will spend money on indicators that will give them accurate readings.
Brake pads are almost useless as indicators, but I can do as well with a zip tie as with the caliper on a TS2 (although it takes a little longer). With a zip tie, I get to about 1 mm, which is fine for most wheels. With a dial indicator, I can get to .5 mm or less, which seems to be the standard for the best wheels. it's probably not necessary to true a wheel better than 1 mm, but it pleases me to know that my wheels are as true as the best wheels.
So far I've spent about $35, and I've got a stand that does everything the best stands can do, a tension gauge that is better than a Park gauge, and I'm confident that I can build a wheel as well as anyone. I make my own tools for the same reason I make my one wheels. I can get a better result and I can learn something along the way if I do it myself.
em