In message , PeterC
writes
On Sat, 26 Sep 2009 14:18:47 -0700 (PDT), mark wrote:

On 26 Sep, 17:21, jkn wrote:
Hi all
* * I'm starting to think about building a bike workstand - the sort
of thing with a pivoting frame clamp so that it's easy to turn the
bike upside down or at an angle for easier working. Before I go too
far down the design road, has anyone done anything like this and is
willing to share how they did it? I don't like reinventing, erm, the
wheel...

I don't currently have any welding equipment so was originally
thinking of making something out of wood with metal fittings ... but
it might be a good 'excuse project' to set myself up with some cheap
welding gear ;-) ...

Thanks

* * J^n

There are a few maintenance stands near the bottom of the page here.
http://www.bikecare.co.uk/acc/maintenance_stands.html

The stand that I have is very limited in its usefulness as the clamp
clashes with bottle cage, gear cables etc. and the BB support also fouls
the gear cables. It won't take an aluminium-framed bike as the bike's tubes
are too big. A stand that could take modern bikes would have to be very
versatile.

Yup, I don't like that type of workstand, for the reasons you state.

I have a Minuora W300.

http://www.spacycles.co.uk/products.php?plid=m2b29s159p505

Which is of the style the OP is thinking of.

The clamp opens wide and is easily adjustable to fit a wide range of
tube sizes. It doesn't get in the way of cables and can easily be
rotated so as to make working on the bike easy.

DIY-ing a frame clamp that does similar seems to be a non-trivial task
to me.
--
Chris French