Roger M

I was short on seatpost donors. I used this piece of 3/4 copper pipe.

Reynolds 

Thanks gugie! You're too kind, I'm still a beginner at welding, but they do work OK.

3alarmer 

...the electrician's plier I have has a number of holes for shortening small machine screws (handy when wiring and fitting cover plates on boxes). Anyway, I don't do that much electrical work any more, but I do find myself replacing a lot of bent or otherwise compromised dropout adjustment screws.

If you re-tap the closest size to 3mm hole to 3mm, it works very well to cut a 3mm machine screw to whatever size is appropriate to the dropout you're working on.

veganbikes

Just set it and...

guy153

Thanks! Well done to @scarlson. The spattery flux-core welding and burnt paint made made me assume this was a junk frame being made into a tool. Not that we were looking at the final "brazed"-on part!!

guy153

Truing stand. The two symmetrical halves can be positioned at any spacing you like and then you just do it up with the clamp. There's no caliper, you just clip bits of card to the legs.

Peruano

Based on the price of copper sweat fittings now, your stand would be a mighty expensive one (equivalent to a Parke)?

gugie 

I don't have a welding setup, so everything gets brazed. Since this was a one use tool, it's pretty rough, but it is very accurate. The SunTour S-1 derailleur location spec is pretty tight.



I used a piece of angle iron, brazed on a 1/4" slice for the 6mm offset, then filed it down until it was just right. I used my flat table to make sure I kept everything parallel. The roughly cut out section clears the jig's chainstay.

guy153

My mistake. I thought all the grey deposits were flux from a flux-core welder. But looking closer we can see it running down the chainstay. This was brazing flux that was applied before the mount was added and after cleanup it's probably a perfectly nice joint.

It looks like a good fixture because the main thing is to get the orientation right (although it can presumably be bent a little bit if necessary afterwards, like a regular hanger).

I recently attached some V-brake bosses with a literally one-use fixture. Two M6 bolts were tacked onto a bit of square tube at the right spacing, and then adjusted to be nice and square. The bosses were then screwed onto the bolts and the whole thing balanced on the seat-stays (the frame was resting on a bit of tubing clamped to the side of the table with the back of the seatstays facing vertically upwards) with a "third hand". Once the bosses are then tacked to the frame there is no way to remove the fixture other than cutting the square tube down the middle to unscrew both sides! But I figured this was easier than making something reusable.

gugie 

@guy153

It cleaned up nicely.


pic courtesy of @rhm

woodcraft

That's a good idea, were you able to tap the hardened metal? If it worked, I'd do it for 4mm. Cabinet pulls have either 8/32, or 4mm screws, and sometimes need a length to within 1/4".

You can cut the 8/32 ones to fit, but there is no (AFAIK) equivalent 4mm screw cutter & one is stuck with stupid break-off screws.

guy153

Very nice! And the paint is a lot nicer than the original.

3alarmer 

...yes, the threads only run through one side of the pliers, so it goes pretty quickly. Not much to tap.

Reynolds 

Some more:


Top to bottom: extractor for 2-notch singlespeed freewheel, BB lockring pliers, master link pliers, Campagnolo style chain wear checker, Rohloff style sprocket wear checker. The last 2 weren't very useful - measuring pin distance over 12" is more accurate for chains, and in the case of sprockets, by the time they wouldn't pass the test the wear is evident to the naked eye.


I like the patina on these 2, made from old salvaged pliers.

rsacilotto

I found that my homemade headset press worked much better if I epoxied the washers together

Pompiere

I made a simple one armed wheel truing stand in about 10 minutes with some scraps I had laying around.


One-armed wheel truing stand.

This dishing tool took longer for the finish to dry than to make it. I used a spare rim for the pattern to cut the curves. I drilled and tapped it for 1/4-20 and used a long bolt. The wood has enough friction to hold the setting.


Homemade dishing tool.

rhm

OMG, is that my bike? I don't believe I've ever had a bike that looked that clean. I hate to think what it looks like now. Oy.

oneclick 

Bent in the vice and dremeled to suit - made from an IKEA fork; good swedish steel, no doubt:

2cam16

My headset cup tool from conduit:
60408926075__0199E8F4-4401-4D85-B9A4-2B3313489A9C by 2cam16, on Flickr

cyccommute 

My homemade tool is for removing the fixed cup on the bottom bracket.

I’ve come to the conclusion that we have been taught to remove fixed cups wrong for a long time. I, like most everyone, have been taught to remove the adjustable cup first, followed by the fixed cup. We avoid removing the fixed cup because it can be difficult to remove. I realized that I needed to stand the procedure on its head. Remove the fixed cup first since it is the hardest one and the wrench needs the most stabilization. The spindle can be used to hold the tool but it will allow the wrench to turn with the cup so that the tool doesn’t even need to be removed to completely remove the fixed cup.

Since there are 2 types of spindle, the procedure and fastener used will depend on which spindle is present. The nut or bolt used on the spindle can be used to hold everything in place.

Tool Assembly
The parts for the nutted spindle needed are shown here. Most everything can be found in just about any shop. The large fender washer is probably the only thing you’ll have to go to a hardware store for.

A large fender washer, an adjustable cup, and the spindle nut are needed. Another washer may be needed to get the spacing right. The order of assembly follows







From above it should look like this

Turn the wrench as usual. If more leverage is needed, a cheater bar is needed.

For bolted spindles, the order of assembly is the same except a bolt is needed.



This method is much easier to use than other methods I’ve used. The spindle stabilizes the wrench and turns with it much like a cartridge bearing does. It makes it easier to remove the fixed cup and results in less blood spilled.

cyccommute 

Spoke setting tool

Untitled by Stuart Black, on Flickr

Just a crank arm but it’s effective and doesn’t cut into the spokes like a screw driver does.

I also have an ERD measurement tool that Reddog3, a poster on BikeForums, long ago (2011) developed an easy homemade tool to make for determining the ERD. Here’s what I put together for my wheel building class.

A metal rule is drilled at both ends and a fender bolt or pinch bolt from a brake cable is used to clamp two spokes to the rule. Each spoke is cut to a known length from the seat of the spoke nipple. 250 mm is a good dimension for 700C and 26” wheels. The cut spokes are clamped in the fender bolts like the figure below.



The distance between the two ends is read directly off the rule and added to the overall length of the two spokes as shown in the picture below.



In this case the length added is 36mm for a total ERD of 536mm.
The hardest part of the process was finding the rule.

Andy_K 

As I was reading this thread, I thought to myself, "I don't really use a lot of DIY tools." Mostly, it's just this:



Oh, and this one:



And sometimes this:



Followed by this:



And then this:



Also, these:



Does the piece of PVC pipe I use to seat fork crown races count as a tool I made? I did put tape on one end.

What about the crank arm I use to stress relieve spokes?

OK, yeah, I guess I sometimes use DIY tools. I may have watched a few of RJ's videos.

cyccommute 

I also have a Lezyne floor pump. I hate the screw on chuck so I use a Silca chuck. I don’t have much need for the Schrader chuck and I seldom use it. However, sometimes I need to fill the tire on my wheelbarrow and some kid tires. The thread on chuck for the Lezyne pump doesn’t work well in close quarters. I made a chuck that is easier to use in close quarters out of an old chuck, a Presta valve and a bit of Tygon tubing.

Untitled by Stuart Black, on Flickr

Untitled by Stuart Black, on Flickr

Untitled by Stuart Black, on Flickr

oneclick 

I got tired of having to look up what other people thought the ERD of the rims I'm lacing, plus some of them don't show up at all.

And then I got tired of having to hold three things with two hands AND measure.

So I made this from a bit of 1/8" stainless, a philips-head screw and a washer, and some brass cutoffs. You put it through a spoke hole, count 1/2 the total(*), poke it though that hole, slide the stopper on and lock it. The notch is at 72.5cm, the stopper is 25mm, measure to the notch and subtract from 70. This rim says it's 621, it's an Araya 27 x 1 1/4".

* - yes, count, this rim had the (welded) joint 17 and 19 holes from the valve hole.

noglider 

@cyccommute, those are wonderful tricks! I'll remove a fixed cup that way next time, for sure.