Wheel Lacing Jig

thingiverse

This thing was inspired by aiber and his jig: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3382498 which was based on the Noble jig; https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/noblelacingjig/ . aiber's jig was a bit pricey for me for a once in a 3 year tool and the parts were not readily available. All the parts in my jig can be sourced at a Homedepot / Lowes except the 608 bearings . 608 is the skateboard bearing and can be found everywhere. All told there should be less than $15 to make this plus filament. The parts are so common that you may have scrap pvc, bolts and nuts laying around. Would I make this again? No. 1/2" pvc is too flexy. 12" of pvc feels stiff in your hand but when coupled with another 12" plus 2x 15" it flexes like a 54" length of pvc. I should have started with bigger OD pipe or square metal. Took my Anet a8 30+ hrs to print so i was not starting over. I added an inch and a retainer groove to the rim holder, a rim will not fall out the jig. It actually works pretty well. But still hoping someone else will remix this with stiffer material. Materials: 1 - 5/16" x 2' threaded rod (I cut mine too short, suggest load a wheel, then cut) 3 - 5/16" x 2" bolt (to hold bearing on pipe toppers) 7 - 5/16" nuts 3 - 1/4" flat washer (used as a bearing spacer with 5/16" bolt, make sure the hole is big enough and the washer is smaller than the OD of the bearing) 3 - 1/4" x 1" bolt (for wingnut) 3 - 1/4" nuts 3 - #8 sheet metal screw 1/2" to 3/4" in length. (use a 1/8" bit for pilot hole) 3 - 608 bearings (go ahead and get the cheapest ones you can find, no real load here) 7'3"- 1/2" pvc pipe sch40 PVC Cuts: 3 - 12" (outrigger risers) 3 - 15" (center base) 1 - 6" (center riser) My Homedepot had "Valencia" brand pipe and its what i designed around, the parts will have a slight press fit with this pipe. "JM" has a looser slip fit which is ok since gravity will hold it down but some teflon tape may give a tighter fit. Printing: I printed this in petg (pla will probably be fine) at 40% infill. I think 20% would be good enough or even 10% except for the Outriggers. They use a pinch bolt to hold the pipe and will be flexed, 40% or more would be good here. Supports everywhere. Outrigger; I found all the stress is towards the center of the jig so I made a 'Lite' version of the Outrigger that should save you 30% in time and material. Rim Holter; I recommend printing 3 'Grooved' rim holders, the ungrooved one was there just in case people did not like clicking the wheel in and out of the groove. Wingnut; The tight one is a press fit and can be a pita to seat the bolt through the hole. The looser one with a bit of glue on top to hold the bolt down might be easier to deal with.