On Fri, 31 May 2019 09:20:46 -0400, Clare Snyder wrote:

Crisco shortening on a steel plate - or even hardwood faced plywood -
works as turn plates and doesn't attack the rubber of the tire.

Hi Clare,
Thanks for that advice, where I remember you advised me on what turned out
to be a VERY EFFECTIVE way to pop out the pilot bearing from the flywheel
of an SUV by stuffing chewed foodstuffs into the center hold and pounding
with a dowel - when I couldn't find a pilot bearing removal tool with a
small enough ID at the local parts stores!

Your experienced advice was and is always tremendous, simply because we
depend on your expert advice since we can only afford one gauge, and where
making a bad decision would be something we have to live with for the rest
of our lives given we're all old men who don't do this for a living.

For example, you once recommended these Gunson products, as I recall:
o Gunson 77099 camber gauge http://www.gunson.co.uk/product/77099/
o Gunson G4008 trakrite http://gunson.co.uk/product/G4008/
o Gunson 77100 turntables http://davethetools.com/ebay/Gunson/Gunson-77100

Where the meat is in the angle measurement accuracy & repeatability.

The good news is that the turntables, while nice, can be rednecked by
marking a ±15° or ±20° line in the concrete of my rather flat garage floor,
which means that the _last_ tool I'll purchase is likely to be those
turning places since, as you noted, adequate DIY substitutes abound.
o Steel on steel sandwich with Crisco in between
o Hardwood-faced plywood, face to face
o Plastic bags with WD-40 in the sandwich
o Linoleum tiles, greased with bearing lube
o etc.

Also, the toe plates can be rednecked:
o https://www.wheelalignmenttools.com/product/2-wheel-alignment-system/

What's _most_ important, I think, is the angle-measurement, which is
o A parallel attachment mechanism (e.g., Fastrax wheel attachment)
o An angle measurement tool (e.g., MMT-3 Maximum Motorsports gauge)

Based on the description of the OP, an acquaintance hacked out a DXF:
o https://i.postimg.cc/fTGxCP62/camber01.jpg
Where I posted that DXF file over here to help everyone also:
o http://www.fileconvoy.com/dfl.php?id=g137aad201bca66d21000173620215319116e7f f7e4

And where I'm researching which free CAD solutions will modify that DXF
o AutoCAD https://www.autodesk.com/education/free-software/autocad
o Blender https://www.blender.org/download/
o FreeCAD https://www.freecadweb.org/

With my initial results being shown here using this Windows freewa
o Blender https://i.postimg.cc/LXmX8tG3/camber02.jpg
o FreeCAD https://i.postimg.cc/QMJ8wBV9/camber03.jpg

Hence, any and all advice from those who have done an alignment will be
helpful, as what matters is to get a "good" set of tools, if not the best
tools, but certainly a "good" set of reasonably accurate tools to measure
caster, camber, & toe at home.

Bear in mind, your advice Clare, has always been right on the money!
(e.g., you told me I didn't need to have a special tool to remove valve
stems, and, even though I bought the tool, I almost never use it because
you were right - I didn't need it.)

Also, you told me to not use a floor jack when I was trying to cut corners
when replacing a clutch last December where you advised me to get a
dedicated transmission jack with enough tilt in all three dimensions, which
I did, and which I was THANKING YOU to myself, as I used it for hours under
that SUV, having seen directly how WONDERFUL it is for the job it's
intended to do (especially after I removed the rear

In summary, since I'm not experienced like you are, I take your advice very
seriously, and I try to remember your well-meant helpful advice, such as
when you suggested the $60 MMT-3 Maximum Motorsports cheap and accurate
camber gauge accurate to 1/8 degree for about $60 bucks, as I recall.
https://www.maximummotorsports.com/Camber-Gauge-P192.aspx

The advice given here is great where I much appreciate the help as the goal
is to get one tool that works well enough to do DIY measurement at home.