Frame Alignment and Fixturing Table
Using a Bridgeport 9x36 milling table, bits of 80/20, and homemade parts to construct a bicycle frame tacking fixture and alignment jig.
The milling table was Brandon Ives idea and it seems like it'll be a good solution. I bought this one used for $40 (the freight cost 3x that). It's flat and the t-slots are very helpful for fixturing items in place.
Read MoreThe milling table was Brandon Ives idea and it seems like it'll be a good solution. I bought this one used for $40 (the freight cost 3x that). It's flat and the t-slots are very helpful for fixturing items in place.
Milling the alignment block. I used a 45/45/90 triangle and a square to get the block at exactly 45 degrees from the milling table. It is supported on parallel bars and clamped into place (my vise won't open wide enough for this large of a block). I used a hack saw to rough cut the V (about 1/4" away from the reference lines) and then milled it clean. It took a fair amount of time because the block is 1.5" thick and my end mills only have 1" of cutting height.
![This is an alignment cone which can slide on 80/20. I like the idea of the seat tube cone that is in this 80/20 frame jig[1], but I didn't like that it couldn't be adjusted for height. My cone will mount to the block, which then mounts to a piece of vertical 80/20 extrusion.<br />
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I made this mounting block, but I decided to just buy 80/20 "manifold" blocks for the rest of them. They are $11 each which seems like a lot for $1.50 worth of aluminum, but it saves me about 45 minutes of work per block and I need 4 of them total (two for the head tube, one for the seat tube, one for the bottom bracket).<br />
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[1] <a href="http://www.instructables.com/id/SPHE0MXF1JZQZZZ/">http://www.instructables.com/id/SPHE0MXF1JZQZZZ/</a>](https://photos.smugmug.com/Bicycles/Fixtures/Frame-Alignment-and-Fixturing/i-BrqpLVB/0/f782b502/Ti/P1050151-Ti.jpg)
