BARRETT is an electric pallet stacker (often called a ride-on fork-lift). There are occasions when it is handy to be able to attach a workers platform to the forks and ride up with the materials. The problem is that the controls are protected in the back. Since I am only interested in going up and down, I decided to “remote” just that one control.
I pondered the solution for a few months. My first prototype was based on a modern boat steering linkage with an outer sleeve and a thick inner cable. This worked but had two problems. First, it required that both ends of the sleeve to be fixed to something. Second, it was not slippery enough to automatically return to the neutral / center position.
Remembering the controls of the Stearman (biplane) I settled on using control tubes and a bell crank.
The system starts with a sleeve that slips over the lift control handle. I fabricated a joint so allow for the necessary pivoting motion. I used a threaded coupling so I could dismantle the device when not in use. The connecting rod runs from the control sleeve up to the wooden bell crank. This changes the direction of force out toward the front. The other end of the bell crank connects to the long pole when reaches out to just above the forks and the worker’s platform. This pole needs to be accessible when the platform is no the ground as well as when it is 16 feet in the air. (As some point, I may add a pivot joint. I have not completed the field trials yet.) For the fun of it (and to get some lathe practice in) I turned a wooden knob and attached it to the end of the long pole.
I finally figured out what I wanted and here it is. The only hints I will give are (1) all the parts shown get assembled into what this is; and (2) the long pole in picture is not completely shown but is about 7 feet long. So, "what is it" ?
(clicking on the picture will show you are very large image so you can get a closer look at any of the pieces … if you think that will help)
The hint was the image was blurry because the camera focused on the wrong thing. I have zoomed, cropped, and mirrored a portion of the image to show the camera was paying attention to the espresso machine’s portafilter and not the surface of the liquid in the cup …
I had put the milk in the cup before pulling the shot of espresso and the first few drips created the latticed ripples like a spider’s web. The camera caught a the moment after a single drop had hit the surface and thus the crater.
This past weekend, the countertops were installed (finally) and the drawers were install (sans the one missing drawer front), and the bin pulls were installed (the 3rd set I purchased). And here area couple of pics …
Direct from the supplier, the soapstone looked its typical light gray with small variances. After it was placed on the base cabinets, seamed together, sanded to finish, and then oiled, the white and green really shown as the field of gray turned nearly black. As the oil seeped in, the sheen subsided and took on a satin finish. The green looks almost like jade and is a nearly perfect accent to the warm hues of the bamboo. The brass reproduction Eastlake bin pulls look right at home.
I am very happy with the results “thus far”. There is still much work to be done. There is still the issue of the one missing drawer front and that will be addressed next along with making the panel front to the dishwasher and the drawer front that goes in the bottom portion of the sink basin cabinet. I managed to align all the plumbing under the sink so there is ample space on either side. I have built two drawers and will link them together with a single drawer front.
I will use traditional blank for the toe-kick area but the end and back of the peninsula (on the dining room side) will get a full skirt to the floor for a more furniture look.
December will be set aside for completing the pantry cabinets and planning out the upper cabinets with their glass panel doors and stain glass soffit lighting.
