I've been putting my little homeshop together little by little.

Just came across a few really cheap and helpful items I thought you guys might appreciate.

I was going to get a Park Tool (PT) tray to mount directly onto my PT stand, but I noticed that I preferred
to reach "next" to me to pull what I needed. I thought about getting a PR tool work table (over $100.),
but found this at Harbor Freight that will fill the bill perfectly for $6.99. The sawhorse is not included
of course, but I'm going to attach it to the banister right next to my PT stand.





If you have a compressor, for $1.99, this is nice for cleaning out cassettes, BB's, etc...





Magnetic wrist band for small parts...VERY USEFUL. $2.99





Great for hanging tires, tubes, etc... and only $1.49 each. (I ordered 5)
They are about 12" long at the wall and the arms are about 8".

The Man-Cave Project begins...

Repair Stand:
Park Tool PCS-9 w/handlebar holder

Seating:
Swiveling stool picked up at garage sale for $10.

Scales:
Park Tool DS1 Hanging Scale + DS2 Table Top

Hooks:
various sizes to hang wheels, tires, parts.

Bins:
spare parts

Tools:
2 floor pumps (Lezyne Alloy, Topeak JBP), Park Tool
magnetic dish, various allen wrenches, bits, ratchets, etc...

Trainer:
Kurt Kinetic Rock & Roll trainer with KK Mat,
Turntable Riser Ring & Cycle Ops Bike Thong.

Climate Control:
Air Conditioner, Tornado Fan

Shelves:
Rubbermaid 72" Vented 4-shelf system.
Excellent for storing & drying shoes, gears, gloves, helmets, etc...

Bike Stand:
Racor Pro 2 Stand
(because of low ceiling heights,
I have it split in two against wall)

Bike Rack:
Crown Bike Rack @ Home Depot
(best $7. you can spend)

Music:
iPod hooked up to surround sound system + Bosch Power Box

Media:
Laptop hooked up to surround sound system + Big Screen

Miscellaneous:
Mini-Fridge filled with chilled Powerades & Microwave

Hit List:
Bit Set
Torque Wrench
Park Tool Set
Pedro's Detail Kit
Possible clamp upgrade to the PCS-9
Park Tool Stool

My "home shop" is just one shelf of assorted tools, one shelf of cleaning supplies, and another shelf of old/used/extra bike parts. I have yet to purchase a repair stand as they are ridiculously expensive, so I've been looking to build my own - suspending a rope from the ceiling of my garage might work...

Check Craigslist. I picked up mine in almost new condition for only $50. just a few blocks from my home.

Seems the only ones up for sale are the ones that pinch the derailleur cables on the down tube, like this one

Budget Harbor Freight Bike Stand



Somebody here bought a $50. stand that was a great deal and came with a tool tray.
I'll try to dig it up.

I think this is the kind that pinches the derailleur cables. I don't know maybe it works for your bike, but my cables run on the bottom of the down tube. Anyways, I think I can last a little longer with just flipping my bike over though

Cheap Bike Repair Stands...

You should be able to find something there.



This one is supposed to be decent for the money...

RAD Cycle Pro Stand

For anyone who's interested, I went ahead an ordered a Park Tool 106 Repair Stand Tool Tray.
I didn't need it because I had the cheap tool tray I bought from Harbor Freight for $7.
But, because I managed to get the PT106 Tray for only $24./shipped, I had to jump on it.

Pros:
Stand mount (of course).
Bike specific pockets (lube, tools, etc...).

Cons:
Relatively speaking, cost (only because there is a much cheaper option).
With necessary options (tray collar $11 + tray $24 [normally $30] =$35).
The paper towel roll rack adds another $10 so it comes out to $45.
Worth it? Yes. I think so. As long as it's put to use.

Size:
As you can see, it's much smaller than the HF Tray while costing 200% more.
I consider this a con too, but the fact that it's mounted on the stand itself,
it's reasonable that it'd be that size for logistical reasons.

Comparison:


Mounted:


W/Optional Paper Towel Rack:






The Harbor Freight Tool Tray:
This was originally designed to be used with a saw horse.
I have a few of them in with my equipment, but a saw horse
wouldn't be convenient for me to work with (big foot print).



So, it's found it's home on top of a side table/book shelf.
I place my heavy and bulky tools on the 2nd shelf as well as my
scale and thoroughly use the tray itself. It's come in handy a lot.

The pockets accommodate my cell phone, camera, pen, screw drivers, small bits
(very very helpful) and the center acts as a big "catch all" for stuff in general.

I'll probably be using this far more than the PT106 as it's right next to me and
I will NOT buy the Park Tool side stand (pictured below) that I had originally intended
to buy ($110) after all as this cheap tray along with my home stand works perfectly.



Pro:
Cheap, well made, big, useful. Winning.

Cons:
There are none IMO.

In general, it's a great buy.

I strongly recommend one to anybody who works on their bikes.
For $7, you just can't go wrong with it. It'll save you a ton of
aggravation of fallen or missing parts, time and is super convenient.

i use rags (just cut up old clothing/towels) over paper towels because rags are cheaper in the long run and don't waste trees.

all the shops i know use rags too.

I didn't realize Harbor Freight had so many bike related items. I guess like a lot of their stuff, it's buyer beware but probably worth checking some of it out. That tool tray looks pretty good, especially for the price.

The best repair investment I have made has been a Park pcs10 repair stand. Can't believe I built up an entire commuter from a ghetto rack bolted to my work bench. It was back breaking. A real repair stand makes all the difference in the world.

Yeah, I have my collection of rags too,
but I use the paper towels for wiping up when I do detail work.
Don't want to spread oils/lubes from rags onto the finish of the frame.
Plus, great for quick hand clean-up.

I'm a tool snob, but there are some things that are not only
cheaper, but better at times and you just gotta jump on them.
And I agree wholeheartedly with you on having a proper stand.
I've been able to do so much more with so much ease. It's a pleasure.

Plus, it makes for better quality of workmanship if you have that extra pair of hands.
I totally love how I could tilt my stand in all kinds of positions and angles. Makes things mega-easier.
I was going to pick up a Park Tool Stool, but came across this at a garage sale (guy asked for ten bucks,
I'm sure I could've gotten it fo $5 easy, but he made my day with that stool so I just gave him the $10.):



When I find myself needing height adjustment, I'll spring for the Park Tool Stool, but between this and
one my my daughters' little wooden chairs that measure about 12" heigh, it's all I need for now.




Next on my list is a Torque Wrench.
I'm pretty sure it'll be a Park Tool model,
but I'm open to suggestions for anything else.
Budget will be in the $100-125 range.



For those of you that use torque wrenches extensively, which do you prefer?
Short handled or long handled torque wrenches? I'm thinking a shorty because of the tight
quarters, but don't want to miss any of the leverage of a long handled wrench if it's significant.

On the bike, 99% of the time, a short-handled torque wrench will be fine. Other than my crankset, I can't think of anything that needs to be fastened beyond 7Nm, which certainly doesn't require leverage. If you're ham-fisted, the cheapie Park ($35) works fine for that. if you're not ham-fisted, you can do without the torque wrench altogether.

I've been using the CDI Torque Keys and they work perfectly and are really cheap. The only thing I was worried about is the T shape getting in the way but it hasn't yet.

Outstanding!
AND, it's made by "Snap-On", a name I definitely trust!
Thanks! I'm going to pick one up and see how it works out

that park tool one is nice but if you need to torque cranks (which you should definitely do) you're going to need a long handle one. most cranks are 32 nm and the SRAM cranks are 48-54 nm i believe.

That smaller torque wrench is probably only good for around 24Nm, you'll need a long handled one for larger torques.

Thanks! Definitely good to know.

Just checked...the short handled TW5's range is between 3-15Nm.
The longer handled TW6's range is between 10-60Nm?
It looks like I'd have to actually get both or go with a TW2 which has a 0-70Nm range.

It looks like the frugal thing to do would be to get the TW2 because it could handle just about everything I could
need it for, but I like the shorter handle of the TW5 for tight quarters and that would force me to buy the TW6 for
it's greater range. I think I'm going to go with the TW5. I expect the overwhelming amount of adjustments I'd be
doing initially would be to lighter components (stems, seat post clamps, etc...) to start out with then add the TW6
as the need arises. Thanks again for the info. Very helpful.

My work stand:


I came up with this today and remembered this thread. Saved me about $100. Sorry for the multicolored clothes hangers, I took this pic on a whim.

Clever. I like it.

bungies off the cieling for me

Revisiting old 2ndGen threads. Makes me laugh more.

+1 Same here.