"LAW of GRAVITY" BIKE HANGER
by redeyes48 in Workshop > Organizing
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"LAW of GRAVITY" BIKE HANGER
Tired of leaving your bike "here and there" around your house and sometimes having to move it because "it's on the way?" NOT ANY MORE!!
I'll show you how to take advantage of the "LAW of GRAVITY" and build a great space-saving bike hanger that not only will look great on your wall, but best of all, for a lot less $$$ than most units you'll find for sale. And nicer looking : )
LET'S GET STARTED!!
"THE BASICS": BOARDS, "PEGS", WASHERS, LAG SCREWS AND a HOOK
You'll need two boards cut to 18" x 6" (recommend using hard wood), four 2 1/2" lag screws, four 3/4" size washers, one 3" wide rubber coated hook (as shown) and two 3/4" dowel "pegs" cut to 2 1/4" in length.
You'll also need a miter saw, pencil and paper, ruler, a power hand drill, 3/4" Spade wood drill, 1/4" and 15/64" drill bits, Xacto knife (or similar), circles template, level, measuring tape and a good carpenter's wood glue.
MAKING ONE TEMPLATE TO SHOW ALL DRILLING POSITIONS
Cut sheet of paper to the same size as the board (18" x 6"). Duplicate markings as shown in photo.
NOTE: If you have a mountain bike (or similar) with fatter tires, then adjust the position of the pegs to leave a space opening of 2 1/4" between them.
POSITION TEMPLATE OVER BOTH BOARDS TO MAKE MARKINGS
Position your template on both boards and with the Xacto knife make puncture marks using the centers of drawn circles for reference.
NOTE: The top board has the hook and the lower board has the two pegs so for the top board mark only the hook hole and the two mounting holes. For the bottom board, mark the two mounting holes as well as the pegs.
USING THE SPADE DRILL TO GET STARTED
Use the punctures made by the knife and make pencil marks to guide your drilling. Using the 3/4" Spade drill, drill both boards' mounting holes and the two for the pegs.
NOTE: You're only going in about 1/8" into the wood to allow washers to be inserted later on. For the two pegs, drill into the wood about 3/16 - 1/4" to add security to the pegs when glued and inserted into holes.
TIP: The two pegs are there to serve as a "guiding track" for the tire/wheel to settle into. These pegs face no weight or resistance against them.
DRILLING THE MOUNTING HOLES
Using the "guide" created by the Spade drill bit, use the 1/4" drill bit and drill through both boards to make the four mounting holes. DO NOT DRILL THROUGH THE TWO PEG HOLES!
DRILL THE HOOK HOLE
Drill the hook hole using the 15/64" drill bit.
NOTE: Drill bit may vary depending on the screw size of the hook. Chose one that will allow the hook to screw into the wood with resistance.
GLUEING BOTH PEGS PLUS OVERVIEW OF ALL HOLES
Go ahead and add some wood glue into both holes and secure both pegs into position. Allow them to dry thoroughly and insure that they're nice and firm.
NOTE: See photo showing positioning of all the holes needed.
INSERT THE WASHERS AND THE HOOK
Insert the washers into the mounting holes and screw in the hook as shown in photo.
LET'S GET READY TO MOUNT BOTH BOARDS!
Let's get ready, BUT FIRST THINGS FIRST!!
Be sure you're mounting the boards into a solid stud or solid surface. Use the appropriate 1/4" drill (for either wood or masonry) to insure a secure mounting to the wall.
Determine the location where you want to safely mount your LAW of GRAVITY hanger into the wall.
TIP: Using your measuring tape, determine length of your bike in order to establish the position of the top board as it applies to your height and reach for the ease of hanging and removing your bike.
Once you have establish where you want the top board to be, place a level to make sure it's straight. Using a pencil, make a mark through both mounting holes.
Drill and mount the board using the two lag screws.
HANG UP YOUR BIKE TO DETERMINE BOTTOM BOARD PLACEMENT
Hang up your bike as shown in photo. Go ahead and position the bottom board so that the center of the axle/tire sits between the two pegs. This is the CORRECT PLACEMENT for the board. Go ahead and use the level to insure it's straight. Using a pencil, make marks through both mounting holes.
TIP: to be sure both boards line up perfectly with one other, use a 36" long wood ruler (at Home Depot), flush with the left side of the top board and with your level, confirm it's straight. Secure it to the wall using tape so that you now have an"edge" for your bottom bottom board to line up to when determining its placement.
REMOVE BIKE FROM HOOK AND MOUNT BOTTOM BOARD
After removing bike from the hook, proceed with the drilling and install the lower board to the wall. Notice how nice boards line up with each other. This will allow the bike to hang nicely into position.
When completed, you're set up should look like this.
HANG UP YOUR BIKE AND ENJOY THE VIEW!!
If you have more than one bike like I do, a road bike and a mountain bike, you'll probably end up doing what I did. I created one LAW of GRAVITY hanger for my road bike and another one for my mountain bike after making adjustments to the space between the pegs for the fatter tires.
ENJOY!!