[Chuckster]

I'll update with a finished pic once I've painted it. I'm also going to permanently mount the 2/4 on the base. Save your comments on my ugly ass welds. I'm a novice welder using gasless wire. I can also post some dimensions if anyone wants to build their own. This build cost me about $100 in raw materials and isn't going to take up much space in the garage. Actual use will have another 2x4 block under the other end of the wheel.

 

[Ozsyd600]

That’s looking great!

 

[RockerGuy]

I would've used a differing diameter of pipes as the handle for leverage & small rods of steel as a pin. A collapsible handle when it is not needed. Then you won't need the heavy jack.

 

[Chuckster]

I actually thought about making it so I would have a 4' lever with a 50% force multiplier on it. But, my primary goal here was size. I already had a jack. Can't think of anytime I won't have a jack, so this is what I came up with. I even thought about making a hinged base with a small bottle jack permanently attached. I still might. What I think makes this design valuable is the large amount of travel it has. I can do a 240 rear, or a 110 front easy.

 

[RockerGuy]

How would the "grab" end open & close?
I can see it closing or "grabbing" efficiently but you can't "release" easily.

I guess doing multiple tires would determine how much you like it.

 

[Tinsnips]

Nice job. Simple and effective is a sign of good engineering. Only thing I might add is a spring on the jack side of the pivot arm to make the arm retract when the jack is lowered. Now if you had a pneumatic cylinder and a foot switch....

 

[Chuckster]

Already thinking about a spring between the parallels to pull it back down. Just reluctant to do so because drilling this shit is a real pain in the ass. Right now, when you release the jack you just push down on that end. The center pivot bolts will be tight enough to introduce enough friction that it'll stay where you set it. I had thought about an air cylinder, but there were 3 issues. Cost, force, and travel. Force because I have no actual data on how much force it requires to break a bead. Travel is if you look at this design, to do a wide tire, the input is only a few inches from the base. Then to do a 120 front, you're several inches. The floor jack had the travel I needed, so I designed around that "power plant". I'm going to experiment a bit. The base may be wide enough that I can put the jack in from the side. In the future I might shorten the input side and put a bottle jack in there. This thing might see 6-8 wheels a year. It doesn't have to be anything special. It just has to work.

@RockerGuy, it is inherently cumbersome. When you're pumping the jack, you're not in a good spot to see the bead. Once it breaks, you drop pressure and then you have to move to reposition the tire. The ergonomics are garbage for sure. I had been using my wood one for over a decade now. It handled street tires on the GSXR just fine. It always wanted to twist and using it wasn't the easiest. Popping the bead on my HD tires and even race rubber on the GSXR seems to be too much for it. To break those with the wooden one takes two people. With this one, once you line the tire up, the bead is coming off (as long as it doesn't twist or pop a weld under pressure).

 

[Tinsnips]

Instead of a spring maybe just weight on the parallels above the jack that is enough to tip it back. You may have to slightly loosen the pivot point if it has friction there. Weld a 1/4" bolt up there and you can simply bolt down plates with a wing nut or fill the jack side with something.

Also, if you had a 4" piece of tube that slid inside the vertical you could weld it to the bottom plate and secure the vertical with a trailer hitch pin. It would fold up almost flat at that point.

All just suggestions Chuck, that thing is freakin cool.

 

[Chuckster]

More holes, more material.... LOL. I did think about pinning the tower and making the center pivots slots so it was fully collapsible. As of right now, if you "put it in a box", it's taking up 18"x8"x16". I have space under my flatbed trailer that I keep in the garage dedicated for jacks/jackstands. This fits right there with all that stuff.

Another big factor in design choices was the tools I had available. Welder, drill, and angle grinder is pretty much the extent of my metal working tools. If I had a band saw and a drill press, I'm sure the design would be different. I could have had metal supermarkets cut the box tubing for me, but every cut piece raises the price. So I bought one long piece and then cut it with a 4.5" cutoff wheel. Then drilled it all with a cordless DeWalt. Just the cutting/drilling took a lot of time.

 

[Spyder13]

I would only suggest a couple of gussets on the upright. Other than that? Looks like a great design. Very well thought out. I will have to check my steel stock to make one.

 

[Chuckster]

Gussets in that direction interferes with the forward travel of the jack, and the smaller tires. There really isn't any lateral force on tower anyway. The force is all straight up.

 

[Spyder13]

I was thinking mostly for lateral strength. So they could be applied to the opposite sides. I believe in a little over kill when welding and fabricating. I hate when shit breaks because I didn't make it strong enough in the first place, LOL.

 

[Chuckster]

1/4" square tube full perimeter weld to 3/8" plate. I suck at welding, but that shouldn't need any support.

 

[Winchester Boy]

I've used a sliding hammer on many truck tires and think it would work on a motorcycle tire.

 

[Todd_Sails]

Chuck, that is a really nice fab, and design. Kudos

I realize compared to the skill and ingenuity of Chucks gadget, mine is pretty simple and almost ghetto-
But it works well, and basically zero space other than the spare hunks of wood. etc.

Having used it once, and very successfully I might add- I'm still really happy with my 'method' of bead breaking.
Worked equally as well on the 190 and my 120 rims.
YMMV

 

[Chuckster]

I've used a sliding hammer on many truck tires and think it would work on a motorcycle tire.

Probably would. MotionPro used to sell what looked like a wide cold chisel. I think they called it the bead buster. That thing looks much more thumb friendly.

 

[JCW]

Chuck, that is a really nice fab, and design. Kudos

View attachment 294027

I realize compared to the skill and ingenuity of Chucks gadget, mine is pretty simple and almost ghetto-
But it works well, and basically zero space other than the spare hunks of wood. etc.

Having used it once, and very successfully I might add- I'm still really happy with my 'method' of bead breaking.
Worked equally as well on the 190 and my 120 rims.
YMMV

I stick it under the trailer hitch... Motorcycle tires/wheels don't seems to be a problem. There are some wheels, though that are a bitch to break the bead.

Anyone ever use step bits?

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[Chuckster]

I have a set of steppers. They work well up to about 1/8" thick material.

 

[Tinsnips]

Step bits are great but take a bit of getting used to. They are also only good to the thickness of each step. If they are 1/8 steps you can drill 1/8 metal. You kinda have to count how many "drops" you are going to feel so you stop on the right size. It is easy to blow right past the size you want and end up with a hole that is too large. They do hog out sheet metal easily.

 

[Winchester Boy]

Step bits are great but take a bit of getting used to. They are also only good to the thickness of each step. If they are 1/8 steps you can drill 1/8 metal. You kinda have to count how many "drops" you are going to feel so you stop on the right size. It is easy to blow right past the size you want and end up with a hole that is too large. They do hog out sheet metal easily.

I have wound up with a cone shaped hole from drilling material too thick.