As the title says really.

Suggestions for home build options or off the peg ones costing £180-ish are both welcome.

I’d probably happily spend the money to not have to spend the time making one. (This year is a very busy one, no holiday time so far.)

Thanks.
Tim

radial truth guide? Just use a piece of stick or something, to paraphrase Hans Rey.

block of wood, pencil taped to a coffee mug?

Have a look at the ones on-one are selling.

Tim have you looked on my instagram, the wheel truing stand that’s part of the framebuilding tools range is on there ,that thing is accurate to 0.08 in every 300 mm

How do I access your instagram?

You don’t need an accurate radial guide, just something steady – if there are no high spots then radially it’s all in the right place 🙂

I use the old version of one of these, works for me.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Minoura-Wheel-Building-Kit/dp/B001VND138

How did you find the way you line up/adjust the radial guide?

Are there things on the guide which basically say ‘rim should be in line with this for 700c size’?

you ‘just’ need to make it round, the guide just gives you a point to work with, not accurate measured reference point.

It’s not that tricky once you’re doing it – you just gradually tighten/loosen spokes along the circumference until the wheel is round.

rim should be in line with this for 700c size

er, that bit’s taken care of at the factory

There are enough small variations in outside diameter, bead seat diameter, brake track depth etc between models and manufacturers that any kind of meaningful micro-measurement is irrelevant, especially in terms of building the wheel.

The rim is the size it is, beyond that you’re just checking for roundness and any steady marker is sufficient.

I’d gathered that much amedias 😉 What I’m wanting to avoid a wheel that’s ‘baggy’ from being made of ‘low-spots’, or the other extreme.

you use the gauge but you have to judge when it’s roudn rather than setting the marker at 622mm from the centre or anything.

It’s pretty easy if you work carefully and make small adjustments, the trick is to keep both the lateral trueness and radial trueness as you do it.

You can’t make a wheel out of low spots. Any low bit is cancelled by a high bit somewhere else and vice versa. You can’t change the circumference of a rim. That’s why you don’t need something accurate distance from the axle, you just need something that’ll stay put 🙂

That’s a point, or it’s expand or contract.

Stupid old me. Thanks.

truing jig here, I machine these out of 25mm plate,

https://www.flickr.com/photos/compositepro/14971701499/in/photostream/

DT Swiss! 😉

That DT is a beaut! You just cant beat the Park though… Will last the rest of your life, and though is over your budget, will hold it’s value really well if you should ever change your mind 🙂
linky

Mike, that one is lovely – do you have axle clamps or use the quick release?

I use a Park TS-3 – not many of them about 😉

You guys are just messing about with your DT and Park stuff. This is what you want: I guve you a PK & Lie truing stand.

Ben the end does both types and it has a disc dtraighttness widget

I like the disk straightness widget

When I looked at the pk one the weak part of it was the axle holding ,it can be bent, this plate thing came about for doing super stiff carbon rims,it don’t bend anywhere

A couple of builders who tried the prototype were trying to adjust to it ,its kind of one of those you don’t need to worry about things with this

The P&K things are gorgeous, but the ones ive tried aren’t as rigid as they look – not any more rigid than my Park. Their spoke keys are excellent though. Only beaten by old Sturmey Archer.

Ben I got hold of one, I really thought they were the dogs until like you say you start handling it then you think can I mod this that and tother,

That park, i actually thought that was the standard by which all tothers were judged

The great thing about the Park is the lever action automatic centering – very quick and accurate. But there is some flex so you have to do the QR up to make it rigid and accurate.

Not a massive deal. A bit of a pain with nutted hubs which can move when you tighten the nuts, I’ve been thinking of a fix for that using toggle clamps.