I remember reading that someone here had made a bench grinder from a washing machine?If anyone wants to chime in on that, feel free
Is it really worth making one yourself?
Shock adjuster tool. Cost about 50cents (maybe less) for a bit of scrap steel and wear and tear on tools....I sat my ass on the bike last night and it hurt because the bloody shocks i've got for it were wound up to suit a mastodon or humback whale or something. That pissed me off as i don't have a spring adjuster tool. I went onto ebay and after exclaiming "How much do they want for that chunk of steel?" i decided to make my own.Start of with the trusty piece of scrap steel you've been using to build all the stuff on your bike. I think this stuff is about 3-4mm thick. On it you need to mark out your rough shape. The think to keep in mind is most of these tools you'll see have the key (the bit that goes into the hole on the shock) around 135 degrees from the heel (the bit that joins the handle to the inside curve). That is so the handle will "pull into" the shock and cause it to turn rather than slip out. I made up a roughly 35mm radius which is about the same as the shock.No metal jigsaw blade at hand? Haven't gone and splashed out on a dremel yet? Never fear. Drill some small holes (not too close to the radius) along the curve. Follow this by drilling these out with a bigger diameter so the holes join together.Cut out the rest roughly with an angle grinderfinish of with a flap disc, file, bench wheel, whatever you have. I held down my grinder upside down on the bench and used it like a grinding wheel (but i don't endorse this technique ) to get all the rough edges out. I ended up having to take a lot more out of the heel to get it right. Just do a bit then check it, a bit more then check it until it comes out right.I now have rear suspension instead of a spine breaking system.
Seeing as how DIY tools are in here this is my valve spring compressorBeing the kind of guy who has various "stuff" laying around and little $$ I didn't want to spend much on a valve spring compressor to work on my Cyl heads. I fabbed this and had the heads apart in less than an hour... Total cost $0 Parts used, 2 thick flat washers the same size as the spring retainer and a piece of round stock.Cut the round stock to two equal sizes and tack weld to one washer then the other. I then put it in a vice to hold square and finished the welds.Use a C-clamp with the new tool to compress the spring by putting the pivot foot at the threaded portion against the valve face and the tool on the spring retainer, compress and remove the keepers then slowly loosen the C-clamp.
Homemade Spring CompressorI was tired of looking for a place to compress my springs back onto the shocks. I found a place who'd do it for $20, but I thought to myself, "Heck, I can probably make something less than $20 that I can use over and over again." So I made this spring compressor and only spent $12. It is VERY VERY easy to make.Here are the materials you need:- 7 in. of 2x4- 9 in. of 1/8th in. x 2 in. steel flat bar. (You can use 3/16ths thickness if you wish)- Two (at least) 1.5 feet of 3/8th dia threaded Rod. I got two 2 ft rods for about $3 for both.- Six 3/8th in. Nuts- Six 3/8th in. WashersI already had some 2x4 wood laying around along with the washers, so all I needed were the other stuff.Cut a 7 in. section out of the 2x4. Next you need to put a notch in the middle of the 2x4 where the spring will sit. I used a mallet and a flathead screw driver to chip away at the wood. Then you need to measure how wide you want the rods to sit from the middle. Just make sure it's big enough to fit the shock in. Cut a 9 in. section of the 1/8th in. x 2 in. steel flat bar and measure accordingly where the holes should be. Make sure you drill 3/8th holes in the wood STRAIGHT!Use a dremel to cut a wide enough slit in the middle for the shock. File and sand the edges once you're done cutting.Next, insert the threaded rod in both holes and secure it to the 2x4 with washers and nuts.NOTE: EXCUSE MY UGLY SPRINGS! Now, put the flat bar on the rods and put a washer and nut on each rod. I put duct tape to further protect the springs, even though they're banged up as hell. Compress the spring by tightening each nut. After that, it's pretty straight forward. When using this, the 1/8th flat bar bent when I was compressing the second springs. REMEMBER, this compressor works best when you can get the flat bar in between coil/loop 3 and 4 on the spring. Just place the bar closest to the top of the spring and it shouldn't require much to get the seats in. You also don't need to clamp it upright. You can lay it on the floor and compress the springs. Done!
Engine stand and sheet metal brake! Wow! I'm too embarrassed to show my home made stuff! But, I have made a "tire changing station", wheel balancer, bead breaker, fork clamp, and axle removal tool.
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Topic: Home made shop tools, equipment, tips, and tricks. (Read 6989 times)
