In overhauling my hubs yesterday, I had the following problem: I get the cone where I want it, but when holding the cone in position and tightening the lock nut, the axle moves. I fixed it by having my wife hold the other (locked) locknut in place, but is there a good way to do this without an extra person? Vise? Thanks.

hold the opposite side cone wrench between the knees

Hold it as well as you can and tighten it down -- it will probably be a little snug. Then put a cone wrench on each side of the hub and back the cones out against the locknuts to get the proper final adjustment.

An axle vise makes this job so much easier. It provides the needed third hand so you can use your other two for the cone and locknut wrenches.

Lock the cone/locknut on one side tight. On the other side, set the bearing play to slightly tight and lock together the cone/locknut so they are snug but can still move together , then back off the cone until the bearing play is correct, then finish tightening the cone/locknut combo.

This sounds so much easier. I wound up using a little kentucky windage my first time around. A couple tries later and I got the hang of it. Locking down the axle seems like it would be easier.

I use a vise, when I have it. Lock one cone + locknut down, put that locknut ever so gently between the jaws of the vise, then do the other one.

I do what Hillrider does. First, I clamp the other side with a large pair of vise-grips, then hold the wheel on my lap with the vise-grips between my knees. Looks funny but works.

That's not what Hillrider said he does!

Bench vise... Works wonders.

Bench vise....

Anyone doing much bike work at all and that has even a modestly set up permanent shop really owes it to themselves to get a decent bench vise. The vise is your best friend with the third hand you'll ever have.

If you don't have a permanent bench setup and have to work out of a tool kit which has to be put away to clear the room to serve dinner then that's different and you're stuck with having to resort to oddball tricks such as holding a wrench or vise grips between your knees. But with foldable benches such as B&D Workmates and the like on the market there are better options than contortions to do this.

freewheel hubs and front hubs dont usualy need an axle vise. clamp the lock nut in the vise then take the cone wrench and tighten the cone against the clamped nut. now adjust the hub from the other side

what is "kentucky windage"? Sounds awesome...

-rob

That's basically adjusting what you do to what will happen. Kinda hard to explain, so let me give you an example. You have everything set up perfectly, but as you tighten the locknut, the axle backs the cone off 1/4 turn. So what you do is get everything perfect, then tighten up the cone 1/4 turn, then as you tighten down the lock nut, the alxe backs off its 1/4 turn and its now set perfectly. Of course its not that easy because if you tighten down the cone all the way, the alxe might not move the full 1/4 back. So you gotta play around till you get the right combination.

I find it helps if I hold the tip of my tongue between my front teeth (or bite my lower lip slightly), hold my breath, and gaze at a point in the middle distance while I'm doing this. A slack-jawed blank stare is the proper expression to shoot for here. Half-vocalized mumblings of the self-questioning variety may or may not help but I do it anyway.

Barked knuckles are said to be optional but always seem to be included in my version.

Absolutely right. An AXEL VISE is a specific bike tool that is clamped in a bench vise. They are not the same thing. A bench vise or Vise Grips used alone are an excellent way to damage the hub's axle threads.

Sure an axle vise isn't essential but it sure makes the job easier and less awkward with no chance of damaging the axle threads or the locknut. Its a relatively low cost tool so there is really no need to avoid using the proper one.

Must have read someone else's post.... Anyway, you obviously don't clamp the vise-grips on the threaded portion of the axle... You put in on the fixed axle nuts. The ones you didn't loosen.

"Kentucky windage" is an old shooting term. Our ancestor's "Pennsylvania" and "Kentucky" rifles did not have adjustable sights. So, depending on conditions, one might have to aim not at the target itself, but at a point to one side or the other to compensate for wind.

On the road when I dont have a bench or axle vice I set the locknut to the cone finger tight with the cone a bit lose. I put one cone wrench on the OTHER (lets call it fixed) cone and on on the locknut, ie one wrench on each side of the wheel. I then tighten the locknut until the adjustment is about right.
THEN move the cone wrench back to the adjusting cone and tighten the locknut.
May have to move the wrench back to the fixed cone and tighten or losen the adjusting cone

i have not damaged one axle nut or threads yet all season. i assembled 1200 bikes this season. i do use an axle vise on hubs that have freehubs. its just faster to put the axle nut straight into the vice. the freewheels get removed for greasing then reinstalled, this provides access to the locknut and cone
i use the park tool method on the road

Park tool method seconded.

Take your quick release skewer, take out the springs, then use it to clamp the locked up side of the axel onto the Outside of your non-drive-side drop out. Holds everything steady so you can use your remaining hands on the other cone.

I use a 'three wrench' method: I only loosen one side lock nut/cone. After cleaning/relubing, I hold the unloosened side with two wrenches (cone wrench and crescent usually). I adjust the cone on the other side, and then hold all three wrenches (two cone wrenches and crescent) while I tighten the lock nut on the 'loosened' side. It takes a little getting used to, but once you get a feel for it, it is pretty easy.

If you need a vise to adjust your hub, you're doing it wrong.

ok how do you do it right then

I haven't done this in a while, but I used to manage without a vise. I'd line the two cone wrenches up and grab both through the spokes and tighten the cone with the other hand. I think that's what I did. It always took about 10 tries to get it right but that was part of the process. I still have those wheels 25 years later and they are fine but would need to be repacked if I wanted to use them.

Just push this thread back to the top, since I see this came up. Do you find these portable benches provide enough stability to get useful vise grips on them? Anyone have experience using one of these or similar for a portable but useful workbench to do bike-specific work?

Re: cone adjustment; + another one on the Parktool on-the-bike method. I used to fumble around a lot with two cone wrenches and two adjustable wrenches, but doing it all with a single cone wrench and adjustable wrench on one side is far easier and faster. It also makes it easy adding grease to the bearings for a quick and dirty re-pack while minimizing the chance of having bearings dropping out all over the place. (I also invested in a grease gun a while back, which marked a major improvement for me in greasing everything that wasn't my hands, pants and face.)