One of the in-laws gave me a Harbor Freight gift card for Christmas. I'd actually forgot about it. I was in the process of making a wheel balance/trueing stand when I remembered it. HF is only a 5 min drive from here, so off I go.
It's advertised only as a balancing stand. 50 bucks out the door.
I'm really surprised at the quality... for Chinese stuff, it's actually quiet good.
What it won't do however, is work as a trueing stand.
So.... I made two end pieces to capture and hold the axle in position. Just two pieces of steel strap with a 10-32 hole drilled and tapped for a screw. Now the axle is captured in place.
...and, there's no pointer for checking rim runout. Scrounged around and found a pole shoe magnet out of something... most likely a starter motor.
JB Welded a grounding bar out of a Square D fuse box onto it. Went to the hardware store and grabbed a knob for two and a half bucks.
In a scrounge bucket I found some 1/8" stainless rod from a Decathlon wing brace. Gave it a pointy end, bent that and polished it... and here we are...
The pole shoe magnet is bugger me strong... to borrow a phrase from our friends across the pond. I can stick it to any part of the stand, adjust it to just clear the rim and Bob's your uncle.
All in all a nice addition to the shop. And with it all in for two and a half bucks, it appeals to the cheapskate in me. I like it.
It's advertised only as a balancing stand. 50 bucks out the door.
I'm really surprised at the quality... for Chinese stuff, it's actually quiet good.
What it won't do however, is work as a trueing stand.
So.... I made two end pieces to capture and hold the axle in position. Just two pieces of steel strap with a 10-32 hole drilled and tapped for a screw. Now the axle is captured in place.
...and, there's no pointer for checking rim runout. Scrounged around and found a pole shoe magnet out of something... most likely a starter motor.

JB Welded a grounding bar out of a Square D fuse box onto it. Went to the hardware store and grabbed a knob for two and a half bucks.
In a scrounge bucket I found some 1/8" stainless rod from a Decathlon wing brace. Gave it a pointy end, bent that and polished it... and here we are...
The pole shoe magnet is bugger me strong... to borrow a phrase from our friends across the pond. I can stick it to any part of the stand, adjust it to just clear the rim and Bob's your uncle.
All in all a nice addition to the shop. And with it all in for two and a half bucks, it appeals to the cheapskate in me. I like it.

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