Dishing/centring/alignment tools for building wheels – recommendations?

[Samuel D]

This is the tool I’ve missed most in building wheels with only a Spokey. The last time I emulated a dishing tool with a camera tripod between two tables, but it may be time for a modest investment to make the job easier.

The cast aluminium VAR #143 and Campagnolo ‘N’ tools caught my eye, but they have a vintage surcharge on eBay.

VAR’s latest tool is the RP-14300. It lacks the elegance of the old one but can check the dish of a wheel with the tyre on, for whatever that’s worth. Park Tool makes the slightly cheaper WAG-4 that gets mixed reviews (but doesn’t everything). There are others.

What do you use and would you buy it again?

[Valbrona]

I have the Unior one because it works with the tyre on as well. But if I was building more, one of the flat foot ones might be a little easier/quicker to use.

[robc02]

I use a homemade one:

DSCN2251 by SturmeyRob, on Flickr
DSCN2252 by SturmeyRob, on Flickr
DSCN2253 by SturmeyRob, on Flickr

[mercalia]

I used a cardboard "C" that is mentioned in some book some where and then a ruler

[Brucey]

I've built very many wheelsets and I still don't own a dishing tool that I use regularly. You can check the wheel dish in various ways e.g. by

a) sighting (eg through the valve hole) to a centre mark you have made on the hub barrel and/or
b) simply reversing the wheel in the truing fixture.

The former method has the considerable advantage that you can keep an eye on the dishing as you go and there is no need to remove the wheel from the fixture to check the dish. Usually the dish is adjusted as the tension is put into the wheel and there is no need for a separate adjustment to be made for dishing alone. This makes for efficient work.

If you feel you need a tool, it is not difficult to make something that works well enough to be useful. A simple and efficient design is to get a length of ~30mm x 30mm timber (or similar) about 650mm long and to run three ~80- 100mm wood screws into it. The outer screws (set about 620 mm apart) are set into the timber about 30mm, leaving the shank and the head protruding by 50-70mm. The middle screw (which must be full threaded) is put through from the other side, and should be made so that it will turn fairly easily; this is your adjustment screw; the point bears against the locknut. The heads of the outer screws bear against the side of the rim.

cheers

[Mick F]

I can't see what a dishing tool is used for unless you want to build an offset wheel, but even then, I don't know how you could calibrate it side vs side.

Normal wheels are built in a truing jig ............. or even in an upturned bike frame.
Check the dish by reversing the wheel.
Simple.

[gaz]

What do you use and would you buy it again?

Currently using a Minoura dishing tool which came packaged (possibly as a freebie) with a Minoura jig.

IIRC it works well with q/r axles, not so well with solid. I don't have experience of any other model, only of correcting dish by flipping the wheel in the jig.

I'd probably not buy one again, something homemade would suffice.

[MikeF]

What do you use and would you buy it again?

Currently using a Minoura dishing tool which came packaged (possibly as a freebie) with a Minoura jig.

IIRC it works well with q/r axles, not so well with solid. I don't have experience of any other model, only of correcting dish by flipping the wheel in the jig.

I'd probably not buy one again, something homemade would suffice.

I have one of those. Works OK and was cheap if I remember, but I haven't built a rear wheel for some years. All mine are still going round!

[Samuel D]

Interesting that so many of you don’t bother with a dishing tool. Jobst Brandt in his book talks about final centring being done with a quarter turn of every second nipple on only one side of the wheel. That kind of dish precision is beyond what I have been able to reliably observe and work toward by flipping the wheel in the upside-down bicycle frame and eyeballing the distance to a brake pad (while hoping I haven’t bumped it).

Thanks for the suggestions, though.

[Brucey]

....Jobst Brandt in his book talks about final centring being done with a quarter turn of every second nipple on only one side of the wheel....

all very laudable but to be taken with a man-sized pinch of salt. That adjustment corresponds (dish-wise) with a change in spoke length of +/-25um, i.e. +25um one side and -25um the other side.

A lateral change in rim position (in a typical 700C front wheel) of 1mm requires a change of spoke length of ~ +/- 100um. (which is to be expected because the tangent is indeed about 1/10).

Thus a +/- 25um change gives a real movement of the rim that is of the order of 0.25mm. To see this by any means is difficult and to reliably detect it using a dishing tool requires (obviously....) that the wheel has consistently less than 0.25mm lateral runout.

Most QR wheels don't go back in the same frame more consistently than that anyway, and a much larger error in wheel dish would be required to produce any noticeable effect when riding most bikes.

cheers

[robc02]

Interesting that so many of you don’t bother with a dishing tool.

For a long time I used one or other of the methods described by Brucey, or built in a known good frame (with vertical dropouts). I only made the tool because it was easy and cheap - and I like making things!

I don't need to remove the wheel from my (also home made) jig to use the tool - I can simply place it against the edges of the hub locknuts which are easily accessible.

[NATURAL ANKLING]

Hi,
Turning wheel over in jig or even frame is not reliable.
One of my first posts on this forum I mentioned that when you replace wheel back into frame after removal you needed to make a mark on the spindle nut flat and replace wheel in same orientation, like 12 O'clock. (IIRC I was scoffed at)

Location on threads is not good at all and there is clearance in dropouts, small error here and its much amplified at rim.
Also the cones locate off threads and cant be relied on for concentricity with spindle thread.
If you've a pro wheel jig then you might locate off QR holes, but that would mean nut to hole would need to be accurately symmetric too.
So you do need a dishing tool at least / something locating off two opposite points on rim face, to eliminate gross errors when locating off dropouts etc.
Mines a piece of wood as its simple with wood screws, but perhaps I will make a slightly more versatile one this year.
A simple tool that carries a heavy purchase price
Tip, mark one spindle nut flat and always replace in same position, eliminates disc / rim rub on brakes.

[scottg]

For you wood workers, a bit of inspiration....

http://www.wheelfanatyk.com/store/wood-dishing-tool/

OCD is a useful characteristic for wheel builders, it seems.

Site has much good advice for wheel builders.

[Samuel D]

Tip, mark one spindle nut flat and always replace in same position, eliminates disc / rim rub on brakes.

… but wears one side of the bearing cone quicker than the other, perhaps? At least if the bearing preload is a touch slack.

How fussy are you about the dish being just right, Natural Ankling? There seems to be disagreement on how much precision is needed here. Maybe not much is required, I’m starting to think, although with 11-speed rear wheels reasonable precision becomes necessary merely for wheel strength.

For you wood workers, a bit of inspiration....

http://www.wheelfanatyk.com/store/wood-dishing-tool/

This video demo by Ric Hjertberg himself is worth a look, too. He presents his tools with such care and evident pleasure.

His aptly named website is enjoyable to dip into now and again. There he sells other luxury tools including the Brandt-design tensiometers. I’m hoping Aldi will eventually stock a copy of those, too.

[horizon]

What do you use and would you buy it again?

I was very generously given a Park Tools WAG4 for Xmas. I love the look of it and since my latest foray into wheel truing cannot wait to use it (though wait I must ATM). I asked for it because it does 20" wheels and one is waiting - this might not interest you. I don't have the skills to make my own tools (out of any material) so tools like this are Godsends. Yes, would def. buy it myself.