Asking for ideas from those who craft tools at home out of stock metal. o Who don't just put a magnetic camber gauge on the rim or rotor
With a handful of vehicles coming due for routine caster, camber, and toe checks, I'm thinking of building a simple wheel jig to make it easier to lock the camber gauge FLAT onto variously sized wheel rims.
Perhaps a bit better than building this camber gauge tool at home?
But not as sophisticated as this type of wheel jig:
But with the addition of toe-plate functionality of this type:
But by simply extending the horizontal arm, sort of like this guy did:
Here's what I'm thinking, by way of asking for design improvements. o It's two steel slats (or angle iron) and a few bolts only o The two slats are bolted together in an upside-down T shape o The lower horizontal slat contains the two lower seating pins o The upper vertical slat holds the one upper seating pin o The seating pins are simply bolts with a rubber cap for rim protection o The upper vertical slat's pin hole is slotted for adjustment o The lower horizontal slat's holes are spaced for adjustment
Optionally, I can add an "extension" to both ends of the horizontal slat, which then has to clear the bulge of the tire, which extends the horizontal slat to the front and back of the tire, where there is a jig saw cut in the end of each extension, to hole a tape measure firmly in a one-man operation to measure to the centerline of the vehicle chassis from underneath.
Total components appear to be:
- Two approximately 24" steel slats (steel for magnetic camber gauges)
- Three rubber-capped 1/4-inch nut and bolts to act as the rim pins
- One nut and bolt to bolt the T wheel jig together
And for the optional toe slats:
- A one-foot pair of extensions, slotted by a jig saw on one end
- Drilled and bolted to the horizontal slat on the other end
Any helpful suggestions from those of you who have build such tools? o Total cost should be a couple of bucks I would think (but haven't calculated yet as the design is the starting point)