Simple tools

[Curt Goodrich]

I've been around a lot of frame shops. Some were heavily stocked with machines. Some had virtually no machines. And plenty of shops were somewhere between these two extremes. What all of these shops had in common is they all had some simple tools. You know the ones the builder made out of whatever materials were around at the time. These are the types of tools that sit under the bench and are pulled out for a certain task and then put away. They usually aren't pretty and often are specific to the techniques of the individual builder. Simple tools that make the job of the builder just a little easier and/or the job more repeatable and accurate. What I envision is this thread would be a repository of pictures of these simple tools. Think of it as a lending library. Feel free to copy it but give something back in the form of pictures of your own simple tools. Everybody's got them. Noobs to old crusty pros. This is the framebuilder's forum so let's treat it as more than a place to court customers. I dig the smoked out and Friday night lights but lately it's been feeling like the only reason folks are showing up is to post pictures of what they did during the week. If that happens too much this place will get stinky. Before some of you decide to hold back remember everyone of us got where we are by and through the help of someone. Also, nobody here is doing anything that hasn't already been done. We're just making bikes. Okay enough of that. I'll start. For those of you new to bikes, that little thing on the head tube is a pump peg. The simple tool holds the peg the perfect distance away from the top tube so the pump will be parallel to the top tube. Quick, easy, and repeatable.

[Craig Ryan]

Thanks Curt, great idea. I haven't made a tool which didn't need improvement. This is where I am with my front changer jig. I'd like to see other takes on this one.

Attachment 20528
No, it's not a hash pipe!
Attachment 20529

[Archibald]

Can I play?

[Carl S]

Nice thread Curt!

I'll play, the first is my favorite. I use it to miter the DO end of stays for Breeze DO's (steel only). Set up time is zero and time per stay is about 5 seconds.

The second one Dave Kirk taught me. I don't use it for everything but I use for anything I don't happen to have a complex, slow, costly and heavy tool to do it with.

I have one more up my sleeve but I'll save it for later.

Whatch you got Archibald?

[Chauncey Matthews]

This one wasn't my idea, I saw it in someone's NAHBS 2009 photo group. It looked like an intersting idea...if a bit "contraptiony". So, I made one as a gift and the dang thing works so well I made another for me. It sets up super fast and easily adjusts to any tube- I especially like it to hold the seatpost boss in place while I attach the seatstays- that way it's in position and ready to be brazed while everything is still hot.

[Dazza]

made from what ever is in the scrape material box
1 hour on the lathe
viola
a couple of stands
a piece of 10 x 3 flat bar
heat, bend, file, presto a braze finger

works with stainless braze ons and stainless tubes

[WadePatton]

evt is neato. and matt did his t-shirt design. is there a connection? hmmm.

[bellman]

Can I play?

By all means, please do! we wanna see the widgets that make the awsomeness.

[Alistair]

Curt, good thread idea.

Here's my seat stay cap jig, and below that my rear rack jig. The rear rack jig was made from scraps of 058 that telescope with the next size down.

BTW, that chipped orange frame is the one that you Martin and Kirk made for me just before match went under, all those years ago. Really enjoyed that bike. It's served as a test bed for several uh, "experiments".
Best to you.

Alistair.

[WadePatton]

fantastic threadmo.

i built one of those chain/angle/allthread holder downers, but it doesn't work that great. went at it too fast. will make another. i copied from a post by matt of signal.

my last "simple idea" worked like a soggy turd. (but it was an improvement) i made a note of it. keep 'em coming.



more all-thread and clamps!!!

[edoz]

My brake bridge fixture.

[Whipsmart]

A few simple shop tools of mine:

[Mark Kelly]

If the definition of "Simple Tools" is wide enough to encompass laser alignment, I guess my method of gauging braze penetration will be of interest. The instrument is a Nova 800 precision thickness gauge I bought second hand on Ebay. It's an echo - echo ultrasonic gauge with a facility to input the propagation velocity of the material in use. These were very expensive new but the latest Nova TG110 is now under $1000 and does everything you are likely to want. My unit was designed to work in inches but I have tweaked the display to show thickness in cm (all you have to do is multiply the propagation velocity by the appropriate factor). The transducer is quite happy with curves, I use it to measure wall thickness on tubes and stays.


The phots are of a test piece - two strips of approx 1.1 mm 316 stainless sheet silver brazed from one end. In phot 1 the transducer is over the brazed section so it shows a thickness of 2.35 mm; in phot 2 it's over the unbrazed section so it only shows the thickness of the top strip.

[pruckelshaus]

I'm still a newb, but I like building widgets, too.


Front dummy axle in place by pruckelshaus, on Flickr


Rear dummy axle in place by pruckelshaus, on Flickr


Brake bridge jig in place by pruckelshaus, on Flickr


In rack boss mode by pruckelshaus, on Flickr

None are perfect, but they work for my needs.

[JimFrain]

This is a boss jig I set up from a pedros clamp.

[MacLaughlin]

I'm gonna bump this hard; I'm sure there's more out there to share. The homemade fixtures are just the best.
I'd contribute if I had anything of real value to add (look! angle steel AND a three-way c-clamp!)

[fortyfour]

When it's time to change hole saw arbors for a long cut... I curse those little buggers. So I used some "strategery" and made this little lever arm. Threaded on one end to accept a knob, and a filed groove to locate into place at the hole:

[jclay]

My brake post jig. I have a collection of arms that are drilled for various post locations and make new ones as needed. For forks the Vee block thingie goes under the dummy axle, for posts on the rear end it goes above.image.jpg

[drietz]

When it's time to change hole saw arbors for a long cut... I curse those little buggers. So I used some "strategery" and made this little lever arm. Threaded on one end to accept a knob, and a filed groove to locate into place at the hole:

Kris, why not do like Brett Steelman did and get an arbor for every hole saw? ;)