Perils of wrenching on a deck - or - where can I find another one of these?
 

Fixing bikes in a 2 bedroom apartment definitely has its drawbacks. Namely, the best place to work with the bike off the ground is hanging on the rack on the front porch. I've lost quite a few bearings down between the decking slats and yesterday managed to drop yet another essential piece into the abyss. I had a pair of 7 speed Shimano bar-ends that I needed to change from one set of bars to another, which requires removing the shifter lever from the pod. Goodbye little silver plastic spacer. I have a set of SIS DT's with the similar, but curved spacer, that might be modifiable, but does anyone know where a real replacement might be had?

Get some cardboard and tape it to the deck to cover all the boards.

you could use a big floormat too. as for your part yes you can modify tht. I have been looking around for those myself several posters have been asking about them. try your bike shop. I usd to have a drawer full of them on my bench (too bad I couldn't keep that little bin when I left)

Carpet remnant. The little bits bounce once and then stick. They make a large magnetic mat, wouldn't help with plastic, and is expensive, but worth it when you start working on STI's and Ergos.

I don't think it really matters. I have worked on bikes in the garage, bedroom, den, outside and everywhere else you can think of. When a bearing hits the ground, it disappears. There is another dimension in time and space that is made up of missing bearings and socks.

One of those telescoping magnetic-wands can find parts that go into hiding. Everyone should have one of these. I fished my Zippo lighter out of a dumpster recently - saved me $25.00. But for your deck - an old sheet and a couple bricks should cure it.

Yes, those telescoping wands are great. Even for mundane things like getting the bearings out of a hub easily. Plus they are really cheap.

Thanks for the suggestions to de-slottify my deck.

What about replacing the missing (trust me - it's gone for good) part?

Do you know - roughly - the size of this spacer? Most bike-shops have a decent collection of such for events like yours. Or a hardware-store.

no help on spacer..... but one of the rubber trunk/sub cargo compartment lines might do the trick...rubber reduces bounce and many have a lip around the perimeter, which would limit the rollaway factor.

Jim

A real big old beach towel makes for the best mat to catch falling parts. Things can still ping and bounce away on cardboard sheets, but the towel will just stop it instantly where it falls and all you have to do is lift the corners to make the part go to the middle of the towel for you to gather up quickly. You're just asking to lose more of your parts if you keep working on that open slatted deck without anything to catch you parts if they fall.

Chombi
84 Peugeot PSV

When I moved my refrigerator/stove this summer to refinish the floor, I found about 11 different bearings and a couple of bike related screws. Whoops!

I discovered using a yoga mat on the ground for repair. It can sop up a decent amount of solvents before it becomes radioactive, and bearings don't roll too far on the knubbly surface. Only drawback is that little cable frays can actually wind up sticking out upright...none too pleasant in the foot.

i feel you on the space issue... i live on the second floor and have a 2 year old daughter.
i have me and my wife's beach cruiser on our patio which is 164 Square Feet. and a patio closet with rims and 3 bike frames.

and im currently working on my schwinn so its like i turn around and there are parts everywhere...

i keep my 3 speed against my counter, but its pretty nice my wife actually likes me keeping my 3 speed in the house. she things its a nice bike, and my daughter doesn't bother it so it is fine for now...

I went to ACE and bought a large plastic tarp and put my workstand in the middle of it.I also use a magnet wand.Try it ,you wont lose those little steel balls.

It is called a "Lever Boss Cover" Loose Screws used to sell them but I don't see them on the site right now. You could try shooting them an email and asking them.

http://www.loosescrews.com

A $5.99 6x6 tarp @ home depot to expensive for you? Come on now!! Splurge a little!

I used to work on a boat dock. We referred to parts and tools dropped overboard as "on the aqua shelf". This is where I also fine tuned my theory that splash is directly inverse of cost.

[QUOTE - I used to work on a boat dock. We referred to parts and tools dropped overboard as "on the aqua shelf". This is where I also fine tuned my theory that splash is directly inverse of cost. ]

So sorry, not so much on topic, but I can't resist -- one summer, we and friends rented two houseboats for touring Lake Powell (Utah), and when one boat developed engine trouble, the marina sent out a mechanic who worked on the engine where we were beached -- and he wore his tools on a chain around his neck. I'd never seen THAT before. But since the dropoff was hundreds of feet down, it made sense.

Agreed with everyone above -- need to cover the deck with something to catch parts and small tools.

There's at least one under your deck.

You're welcome.

http://www.grubstreet.ca/images/carnac1.jpg

With spacers I take the parts to the hardware store with me and go through the drawers of metal parts until I find what I need.

back in art school, a buddy lost his lighter down an air grate, like, a good 20 ft. down. String, a wad of moist clay and voila!