# home made tensiometer



## govedo (Nov 29, 2013)

Hi, guys, i am new to this forum but i am not new in cycling and bike building, i finished a couple of home made tensiometers and i want to hear your opinion...


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## tihsepa (Nov 27, 2008)

Thats awesome. Nice work. 

Seeing as I dont have the ability or tools I will just buy one.


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## mikerp (Jul 24, 2011)

Very nice


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## govedo (Nov 29, 2013)

tihsepa said:


> Thats awesome. Nice work.
> 
> Seeing as I dont have the ability or tools I will just buy one.


well, this thing costs me about 85$ to make, what do you think how much should i ask for labour (i don't plan to make a production...i do this just for fun...)


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## tihsepa (Nov 27, 2008)

govedo said:


> well, this thing costs me about 85$ to make, what do you think how much should i ask for labour (i don't plan to make a production...i do this just for fun...)


100.00 an hour should be right. Tools cost money.


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## govedo (Nov 29, 2013)

tihsepa said:


> 100.00 an hour should be right. Tools cost money.


well i would sell one of these for 150$ which means that i should build it in like 40 minutes


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## MR_GRUMPY (Aug 21, 2002)

You might have a problem selling yours because you can pick up a very basic Park Tool one for as low as $62 (TM-1)


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## govedo (Nov 29, 2013)

MR_GRUMPY said:


> You might have a problem selling yours because you can pick up a very basic Park Tool one for as low as $62 (TM-1)


of course but if i use different dial indicator instead of this made in Germany ATORN shock proof which sells for as low as 60$ the price will drop under 100$ mark...


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## Mr_Clean (Feb 12, 2012)

Wow! Looks very sturdy too.


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## govedo (Nov 29, 2013)

Mr_Clean said:


> Wow! Looks very sturdy too.


yea, it feels very solid indeed, i will make a short video these days so you can see it in action...


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## Clipped_in (May 5, 2011)

Looks very similar to the FSA unit. Is it a redesign of that? It appears to be very nice and on a whole different level of precision than the Park Tools item.


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## mikerp (Jul 24, 2011)

Yes it looks to be based on Jobst's design, FSA/Wheel Fanatyk/etc


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## govedo (Nov 29, 2013)

Clipped_in said:


> Looks very similar to the FSA unit. Is it a redesign of that? It appears to be very nice and on a whole different level of precision than the Park Tools item.


yes, it is made exactly like the tool described in Jobst Brandt's book and right now i am working on a model that will have precision miniature linear bearing (roller type THK japan) on the back and that thing will be ultimate spoke tensiometer because it will totally eliminate the friction on the moving parts of the tool, it will have the best from both worlds (DT Swiss, Pillar, Sapim, Icetoolz on one side and FSA, Wheelfanatyk and Avocet on the other)...


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## metoou2 (Mar 18, 2009)

Well, any up-dates, did you get rich selling these?

Do you have a Bridgeport Mill in your garage?


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## Mike T. (Feb 3, 2004)

Very nice. The digital Wheelfanatyk can be instantly reset to zero with a touch of a button.


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## govedo (Nov 29, 2013)

metoou2 said:


> Well, any up-dates, did you get rich selling these?
> 
> Do you have a Bridgeport Mill in your garage?


 well there are some updates...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DeL12AUYtis


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## ibericb (Oct 28, 2014)

Really beautiful work. Would love to see those marketed in the U.S.

I just bought one from Wheelfanatyk.


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## govedo (Nov 29, 2013)

actually i built only few tensiometers like pictured in original post here, but last year i made about a dozen of these with linear bearing like in this video:


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## ibericb (Oct 28, 2014)

so are you selling these ?


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## govedo (Nov 29, 2013)

ibericb said:


> so are you selling these ?


actually i make them by order...here are some of my recent orders:






















 the sticker on the dial in the video is because the buyers name is printed on the tensio


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## ibericb (Oct 28, 2014)

So, how would an interested buyer find you and order one?


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## govedo (Nov 29, 2013)

ibericb said:


> So, how would an interested buyer find you and order one?


well i never managed to do some "advertising" on forums because i still have orders from people who find me as "recommended" by previous buyers, also, occasionally i set up an ebay auction, anyway, i can be contacted on email: [email protected]


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## ibericb (Oct 28, 2014)

Thanks !


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## Akirasho (Jan 27, 2004)

DIYs give me wood


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## metoou2 (Mar 18, 2009)

DIY or the Wifey are probably the (2) best ways.


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## metoou2 (Mar 18, 2009)

This meter is some of the best homemade tooling I have ever seen. The OP clearly has more than a 'Dremmel' at his disposal. 

The other day I was searching up RBR Forums for homemade tools and found this old Thread among the pile. I thank the OP for reengaging with us all.


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## Sully00 (Dec 29, 2012)

…Waiting for the "Home Made Testosterone Meter" thread in the Lounge


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## robt57 (Jul 23, 2011)

How does the number get correlated to tension. Same as the Park Chart ?


Saw this chart in eBay for a pliers type ga.

I notice the chart does not spec butted spokes...


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## ericm979 (Jun 26, 2005)

Butting does not make a difference. You're only measuring the part of the spoke that the meter tests.

I wonder who the heck uses tensions > 200kgf?


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## metoou2 (Mar 18, 2009)

ericm979 said:


> I wonder who the heck uses tensions > 200kgf?


That's a solid disk wheel.


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## Mike T. (Feb 3, 2004)

ericm979 said:


> I wonder who the heck uses tensions > 200kgf?


That's easy - anyone with nipple beds of 5mm thick or more.


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## robt57 (Jul 23, 2011)

ericm979 said:


> Butting does not make a difference. You're only measuring the part of the spoke that the meter tests.
> 
> I wonder who the heck uses tensions > 200kgf?


Now that I think about it, it was a pretty stupid question really.


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## metoou2 (Mar 18, 2009)

So what is the answer about the chart. If you get a deflection of for example, 0.010" using the meter you would then have to reference a chart of some sort.


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## robt57 (Jul 23, 2011)

metoou2 said:


> So what is the answer about the chart. If you get a deflection of for example, 0.010" using the meter you would then have to reference a chart of some sort.


I meant stupid regarding ga.

As far as the chart goes, I postulate it would correlate to the distance between the end points and the gauge ratio per design in the case of the Parks. I actually just ordered the Parks for 61.00 shipped. It comes with a table, and you can DL the PDF of said table as well.
I did not look to see if the Sapim VS the Parks has similar chart ratios.

I have always gone by feel and common sense using all my decades of experience with mechanical aspects of all my hand work. I have been working with my hands for 40+ years.

For example; for 20 years with non OC rims using 2.0/1.8 spokes drive side and 2.0/1.5 non drives side have built a dozen rears with near asymmetrical tension side to side. These in service since the 90s that have held up very well. Well perfectly... Two of these got new rims 3 years back, same ERD, Spokes, with some new nips if not perfect. All Alloy nipples I should mention, also all 3 cross and all 32 spoke rears. A few lower spoke front. I also replaced a carbon tubular 16 spoke Reynolds UV46 with Pillar Nipples a few year back.

Having said that I have been building wheels like crazy last 6 months. First thing I will do when the Parks gets here is revisit my last builds out of curiosity.  I only build for myself, so I have not been overly concerned about what I suspect may be my own builds tensioned to the high side if anything. Although apparently not beyond the point of a problem as all my wheels are still around.


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## ericm979 (Jun 26, 2005)

Nearly all the gauges I know of use a conversion chart. The chart converts the deflection measured by the gauge to spoke tension. A tighter spoke deflects less under a fixed force. The various gauges measure deflection differently (they measure varying lengths of spoke and use different spring tension) so the deflections are not comparable betwen gauges.

Most gauge designs have some friction in the gauge or how it interacts with the spoke, or both. All gauge designs I know of have different conversion tables for different thicknesess of spoke, since the gauge is measuring both the tension on the spoke and the force needed to bend an untensioned spoke. Most gauge designs are also affected by the spoke's thickness. (that's also accounted for in the chart)

The conversion charts are made by tensioning a spoke to known values across the range (measured with something accurate) and measuring the tesiometer reading for each one.


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## ibericb (Oct 28, 2014)

Really well stated. A good discussion of spoke tensionmeters, calibration, and some caveats from Musson can be found here.


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## metoou2 (Mar 18, 2009)

ericm979 said:


> Nearly all the gauges I know of use a conversion chart.


right, got it, very well stated. I own the Park meter and it has a chart that it is "married" to. My question is, "what chart is being used for this awesome home mead tensionmeter"? Did the meter builder create a chart?


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## metoou2 (Mar 18, 2009)

edit.......................................................................................................


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## ericm979 (Jun 26, 2005)

metoou2 said:


> "what chart is being used for this awesome home mead tensionmeter"? Did the meter builder create a chart?


For the mechanical indicators he makes a new gauge face which will read tension directly for different spoke widths. That's pretty cool; no one else I know of does that. It means that if you're working with spokes of that thickness you can read tension right off the indicator face, without looking it up on a chart. I think for digital indicators he supplies a chart- he did say that he calibrates it. I've got a digital one on order so I'll find out! 

I and other people on the wheels and tires sub-forum have built their own tensiometer calibration rigs. You can see some charts I made comparing my Park TM-1's laminated chart vs my measurements in this thread: http://forums.roadbikereview.com/wheels-tires/park-tm-1-calibration-343541.html

I should note that Park came out with updated charts since I bought my TM-1.


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## metoou2 (Mar 18, 2009)

tension readings right there on the dial, now that is nice

thanks for the follow up info


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## ClarkinHawaii (Feb 28, 2010)

Looks to be a bit thicker/bulkier than the TM-1. Any problem accessing spokes on a 3x36?


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## govedo (Nov 29, 2013)

ClarkinHawaii said:


> Looks to be a bit thicker/bulkier than the TM-1. Any problem accessing spokes on a 3x36?


no problems with accessing 36 spoke 3x crossed wheels


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