Hey,

I just wanted to say thanks for all the various threads on here about making your own headset tools! I needed to change the headset on my rockhopper and had a spare FSA Orbit II XL from a while back but didn't fancy buying all the headset tools…

First of all I needed to remove the old crown race, easily done with a old stanley blade gently tapped in (top tip: wrap the back of the blade in tape for easy handling) then an old screwdriver.

Secondly I needed to remove the old headset. First of all I tried to make one using an old bit of copper pipe I had in the shed. It looked awesome, just like the one you see on wiggle, but shiny copper. I even drilled the back of the slits with a small metal drill to prevent them splitting etc. Slid it into the headset, it expanded with a clear ping and sat perfectly on it. I gave it a few gentle taps with the hammer and all seemed so fine. I then gave it a few **** with the hammer and it all went wrong… Turns out that headsets are stronger than copper pipe. After digging it out I got an old seatpost and made some rough cuts up that to see if it would work. It worked a charm! Looks ugly as but works fine.

The third step was fitting the headset. Using a M12 threaded rod, some bolts and some big washers from B and Q I had something that looked like it would work! The washers were a good £6 but are big enough to cover a cup / headtube and feel very strong, they certainly wont bend. Thankfully I had an old frame with a old headset it (same headset actually) that I practiced removing and replacing with the tool to make sure it went in straight each time. Top tips here are to install one cup at a time and to wrap some tape on the washers to protect the frame. Also I greased the cups before I installed them. There seems to be some dispute here about that but both the headsets I removed were greased and it seems wrong to not grease them to me.

Finally I needed to install the new crown race – 32mm waste pipe from B and Q is perfect for this!

All I need now is new forks – and the money I saved from using the STW forum will help pay for them! The total cost for this lot was about £20 including new hacksaw blades and stanley blades.

Thanks!

David.

yay 😀
good work

YVW

good work fella.inspirational.

I'll refrain from making garden comments as mine is much worse 😉

Good job though! DIY tools are great.

Good job, wish I'd seen this thread last week, had a head set to fit & sweated buckets bodging it on.

Know better next time.

Very good but I use a block of wood to install my headset and its never let me down and cost nowt.

thumbs up. 😀

good post.

Block of wood + hammer. Sorted.

Just had my first attempt at fitting a headset using my own DIY press however even trying to do one cup at a time I'm struggling to get it to go in straight. Anything I'm missing?

I haven't tried greasing the cups – does that make a difference?

Can't do any harm? I also tried the headset in the freezer, but all that achieved was a finger stuck onto the headset. 😳

Assuming you are doing top and bottom one at a time, not at the same time, just take it slow, make sure you keep it aligned with each little tweak, and eventually it will slide in. Fnaar.

Keep at it, go slow!

Kev

Tried again with the press and gave up, then went old school with a hammer and a couple of blocks of wood instead. Job done in about 2 minutes.

welcome to the club. I use a bit of handlebar to knock headsets out and my headset press cost me about 6 quid from B&Q.

/shakes fist at other things that I don't agree with.

Excellent. These types of thread are few and far between but useful to us less informed types. I bash with hammer and screwdriver and wood.. I'll make a press next time, cheers.