When you've a couple of dozen disc brakes in the collection, you tend to prefer to store them fluid out, as it can creep past seals.
But when it comes to actually needing them for something, then comes the problem of trying to fill and bleed them. And if dont have them on the bike, thats never easy. A spare fork/stem/bar, held in the stand, if theres no bike to fit them to, and even then its just an almighty fart around, and inevitably the bleed hose is too short, and you need to balance a capture bottle somewhere.
All in all a complete pain in the arse.
Even on the bike its an unsteady surface to work from, and as you open this, pull that and tighten the other, the whole thing shakes and wbbles, because they are never that steady on a stand, unless its a pro one, and even then :? Fluid drips due to trying to get the bars level, and most arent totally flat, so thats a complete fart about trying to get that one thing level so when you top up right to the top, it doesnt spill all over the place.
So I was thinking about a jig to hold it steady, and that the jig could be held in a bench or engineers vice, or clamped or even screwed down to hold the lever, and I was thinking making the jig quite long, and screwing the caliper to that as well(Rather than the set up ive used in the pic, just as id the 2 vices close by.)
This is a first gen try out, which actually did its job of holding the lever rock steady and made the entire job of bleeding a pair of M4's an absolute breeze.
In fact its so effective , i hardly need develop it further.
Which I will, likely in Oak or such. Bit of brass, bit of steampunk :?
Its basically just a short length of handlebar set into a block of timber . Timber is approximately shaped to allow lever travel, but brought up a couple of issues as to overall height, and how much below the lever to be able to clamp or held in the vice without affecting the lever operation, especially if a clamp is used to hold it on to a table edge.
Im unsure it the caliper needs be lower than the lever, or if that even matters at all :?, as it would be nice to have a say 12-14" long jig that holds the lever one end, and the caliper the other. But as it is currently just holding the lever, I find thats most of the battle, and you can even screw the caliper to something with a couple of woodscrews. I'll likely inset some sleeves, see if they can sit close for the different sleeves, as in No8, No5, No3 positions, or a flat area for post mount, and some reduced areas to better support the caliper shape.
But this is a first, and feel free anyone to make their own. The hole is 25mm, as i cant find a 22mm bit, but shimmed with some veneer, or you could use stiff card. Important thing is glue it in solid, so the 2 part epoxy syringe you get from the £££shop is ideal.
But when it comes to actually needing them for something, then comes the problem of trying to fill and bleed them. And if dont have them on the bike, thats never easy. A spare fork/stem/bar, held in the stand, if theres no bike to fit them to, and even then its just an almighty fart around, and inevitably the bleed hose is too short, and you need to balance a capture bottle somewhere.
All in all a complete pain in the arse.
Even on the bike its an unsteady surface to work from, and as you open this, pull that and tighten the other, the whole thing shakes and wbbles, because they are never that steady on a stand, unless its a pro one, and even then :? Fluid drips due to trying to get the bars level, and most arent totally flat, so thats a complete fart about trying to get that one thing level so when you top up right to the top, it doesnt spill all over the place.
So I was thinking about a jig to hold it steady, and that the jig could be held in a bench or engineers vice, or clamped or even screwed down to hold the lever, and I was thinking making the jig quite long, and screwing the caliper to that as well(Rather than the set up ive used in the pic, just as id the 2 vices close by.)
This is a first gen try out, which actually did its job of holding the lever rock steady and made the entire job of bleeding a pair of M4's an absolute breeze.
In fact its so effective , i hardly need develop it further.
Which I will, likely in Oak or such. Bit of brass, bit of steampunk :?
Its basically just a short length of handlebar set into a block of timber . Timber is approximately shaped to allow lever travel, but brought up a couple of issues as to overall height, and how much below the lever to be able to clamp or held in the vice without affecting the lever operation, especially if a clamp is used to hold it on to a table edge.
Im unsure it the caliper needs be lower than the lever, or if that even matters at all :?, as it would be nice to have a say 12-14" long jig that holds the lever one end, and the caliper the other. But as it is currently just holding the lever, I find thats most of the battle, and you can even screw the caliper to something with a couple of woodscrews. I'll likely inset some sleeves, see if they can sit close for the different sleeves, as in No8, No5, No3 positions, or a flat area for post mount, and some reduced areas to better support the caliper shape.
But this is a first, and feel free anyone to make their own. The hole is 25mm, as i cant find a 22mm bit, but shimmed with some veneer, or you could use stiff card. Important thing is glue it in solid, so the 2 part epoxy syringe you get from the £££shop is ideal.
