Before I owned a shop wheel jig, I built and true'd wheels right on the bike with one of the cheapest of all tools, a rubber band! I'd tilt the brake blocks so one end sticks up above the rim, and stretched the rubber band around the caliper and over the high end of both blocks. The rubber band acts like a feeler gauge allowing micro adjusting for round with the band twisting slightly as it touches the rim. The brake blocks may be pushed close to the rim for the high spots for true, and flipping the wheel in the dropouts sets the dish. Piece of cake! A bunch of wheels got built that way. Just takes a bit more patience than a wheel jig.
My other main shop tool is my 2' long Craftsman flat head screwdriver. The perfect lever, and great for spreading stem clamps to slide the bar in just so with no scratches.
Dan Artley in Parkton, MD
Archive-URL: http://search.bikelist.org/
Hi all, while I was having a tidy up in my toolboxes, the thought came across me, "how many others out there have special homemade tools that could be used by others", send a list to the list if you are prepared to supply details that could enable someone to duplicate. I'll make mine up later & send......regards wayne davidson Invers NZ