Homemade Headset Cup Press for Under $6 Bucks!
September 14th, 2006 by MikeJames from the Bicycle Design blog pointed me toward this post on C.I.C.L.E.
Put away the hammer and the blocks of wood — there’s a better way to install your own headset:
Here is a cheap way to install headset and “Ashtabula”-type bottom bracket bearing cups. This tool can be constructed for about $6.00, whereas even a consumer-grade headset cup press from one of the big bike tool manufacturers runs about $50.00 to $60.00.
The tool is simply a length of 1/2 inch all-thread (threaded rod, available at any hardware store) with an assortment of large washers and two nuts.
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My God, man! That’s genius!
I am forever indebted to the smart people who think these up and forever perplexed why I didn’t think of that!
I have been using a threaded rod like this for headset installation for a while now. It really does work great. I still don’t know of a good replacement for a headset cup removing tool though. A long flathead screwdriver works if you don’t mind thrashing the inside edge of the alloy cups.
I have been using one too. I have a hard rubber washer made from a floor saver chair leg thingy.
A good way to remove the headset is a 3 ft PVC pipe cut into quarters about 1/3 the way up. One cut needs to go a liitle past the other. Just insert and use 2 nails to wedge into the cuts to open them up.
See this is the one thing I don’t like doing on building up a bike. It’s one of the only things that if you jack it up then you’re done.
Wow, how amazingly clever.
I made a similar setup years ago, but instead of nuts I bent two pieces of 1/4 inch by 1 inch steel that are about 16 inches long…I bent them in a “U” shape, drilled a hole in the center and tapped it with threads…beats using that wrench in the pic.
I’ve used one of these for years after reading about it on some other website. As long as you’re careful to not force in the cups at a strange angle, it works great. Sure beats spending 100 bucks on a tool that most of use use only once every couple of years.
Headset Cup Removal Tool for $1:
All you need is a piece of ~1″ diameter steel tube (small enough to fit through a headset cup). Make sure the wall thickness isn’t too thin. On one end use a hacksaw to cut about 4″ along the tube in 2 places (making an “x”). Those 4 sections can then be flared out to give you even contact on the edge of headset cup. STOP using screwdrivers!
Star Nut Insert tool:
Find some heavy duty threaded steel pipe (small diameter 1/2″?) in the plumbing/ electrical section of your local hardware store. It only needs to be ~4″ in length. Find a steel cap to thread on one side. Drill a hole in the center of the cap to except the Headset top cap bolt. With the threaded end facing out thread on one of those bolts with the nylon lock-washer inside.
The star nut can be threaded onto the threads left over. Center the tool and the star nut on the steertube and whack it in with a hammer. Take it slow to make sure you don’t put it in crooked.
I can send pics if you would like. Email me at: diybike@hotmail.com
To remove headsets, I’ve recently started using a section of 1″ copper pipe that I’ve cut slits in like Jason has done. After it’s been ‘flared’ open and used once or twice, the copper ’stiffens’ up and doesn’t seem to even scratch the cup at all!
For setting the fork race, I have a piece of pvc tubing that fits over the steerer tube that I can whack down with a mallet. Crude yes, but it works.
Make sure you have solid washers. A lot of them will bend real easy when you apply the force needed for headset installs.