Toe in/toe out revisited

[RIVERFOX]

Some help please. I know I've seen the method to check toe in/out somewhere in a post but I can't locate it. I have a KF IV taildragger. Any help to a thread would be appeeciated.

[jtpitkin06]

Checking toe it is pretty simple if you use a handyman type laser. They sell for cheap in the big box stores for hanging wall paper or getting straight lines for floor tiles. Cut a piece of wood for the laser to rest on. The wood should span across the wheel flanges while allowing the laser beam to clear the tire.
Park your aircraft in front of a wall or closed hangar door. A smooth wall is better. If necessary, tape cardboard to the wall to make it easy to see markings.
Square the aircraft to the wall. Measure from the wing leading edge near the tips to the wall.
Suspend a string with a small weight from the spinner tip to just off the ground. Sight your laser from the tail skid through the string to the wall about 10 inches off the ground. Make a mark on the wall where the laser spot hits. This mark is the centerline. If you have a tailwheel, sight from both sides of the tail wheel spring through the string and make two marks on the wall. Divide the distance between the two marks to get your centerline.
Measure the distance between the outside wheel flanges. Be sure to add in an additional amount on each side for your wood spacer and any laser beam offset. Divide this distance by two and make a two reference marks on the wall about 10 inches off the ground, equidistant from your centerline mark.
Hold the wood supports against the wheel flanges. Steady the laser on the wood and shoot the laser forward at the reference marks. Mark the spot on the wall and repeat for the other wheel. If the laser marks are outside of your reference marks, you have toe out. If the laser mark is inside the reference marks, you have toe in.
To figure in degrees is simple math. One inch for every 60 inches is one degree. Example: If your wall is 90 inches from the wheels, then 1-1/2 inches left or right is one degree.
Both wheels should be evenly toed. Toe in for a trike and toe out for a tail dragger.

[Geowitz]

Somewhat easy method I use on cars with exact results...

Inflate tires to same standard pressure. At the farthest point at the back of the radius of each tire stick a straight pin parallel to the ground just enough into the tire to hold it. Measure from pin to pin with a standard tape measure. Push the plane forward enough so the pin rotates over the top to the other side at the same height you set it at before but f course it's on the front of the tire now. Make sure both sides are at the same height as in the back using a square. Measure from pin to pin again and the difference will be your toe in or out(depending on which measurement is greater, front or back). See pic for setup. There is a t-pin set at 7 inches in my case for a 14 inch tire. Hope this makes sense. You can measure this way to 1/32 of an inch.

[cainbird]

Great idea Geowitz! Very simple and I cant see why it wouldn't be very accurate as well.

[RIVERFOX]

Thanks guys for the quick response. All seem like good ways. I also found the Grove gear website had a way to measure and a direct conversion to order the correct shim size.