Poor Mans Drop Cord

I know... the old guy has too much time on his hands!! :D

I think it was Chuck that bought a new drop cord and posted a thread the other day... Well I tripped on my extension cord to day and actually said a very bad word!!:eek:

I was just finishing up the router fence and a though came to me... an image that goes back to the farm days! So I drew up a quick "reminder" sketch and got the fence pau (finished in Hawaiian pronounce pow) and went right into another venture! I'll have to make this into a couple of post as I think the pixs will say more than the words.

The only think I need to work out (and I have a good idea already) is stop mechanism to keep the cord extended all the way and not retract.

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I cut 4, 8 1/4" discs out of 1/4" hardboard and 2, 6" discs out of 1/2" ply. Beveled the edges of the hardboard to 45* and not quite to the edge.

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I forgot to mention, we used this same system in the milking barn to automatically close the door.:doh:
Continued!:thumb:
 
This is the rest of the story!

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I glued and stapled one side piece to the base. The other side (didn't get a pix) is screwed on. That way you can get the cord in after it is mounted. I counter sunk the bolt head only because I didn't have any longer 1/4"x20 bolts. Hey its all out of scraps at this point and didn't feel like driving to the hardware store while I was on a roll! LOL The stop block is just a square piece of pine that I drilled and counter sank on opposite edges with a slightly smaller hole than the diameter of the cord. Just cut the block in half and screwed the two halves back together on the cord. I'll get working on the locking mechanism tomorrow!
 
That's pretty neat. When I first started my shop I hung drop cords down from the ceiling. It worked just fine---EXCEPT Glenn kept banging his head on them.
Then he would tie a knot in the cord so the plug was above his head. When he went home I would have to get out a step stool to get up to untie the knots.

It sounds fairly simple doesn't it. The problem was that there were 8 of them hanging down for my convenience---They didn't bother me at all; I just walked under them. All daddy long legs did was to give me a lot more headroom than I needed and then I had to get them all down when he left.

Enjoy,
JimB
 
Thanks guys!! Great story Jim!

In my old shop in Oregon, I had a 220v and a couple of 110v outlets in the ceiling. It was good for a hanging reel type drop cord and still have it. I didn't put any outlets in the ceiling of my present shop tho... don't know why! LOL I never like the 220v for the TS in the ceiling. Always in the way. It is in the floor now.
 
That's pretty cool.... wonder if it would work for my air hose.... I have a 3/8" 50' air hose coiled by the compressor with a length extended across the shop to the lathe... I trip over the hose at least once a day. I don't want to cut it or permanently attach it overhead. What weight do you think I might need to pull the hose back??
What weight did you use on your drop cord?
 
That's pretty cool.... wonder if it would work for my air hose.... I have a 3/8" 50' air hose coiled by the compressor with a length extended across the shop to the lathe... I trip over the hose at least once a day. I don't want to cut it or permanently attach it overhead. What weight do you think I might need to pull the hose back??
What weight did you use on your drop cord?

I'm sure it would. You might have to adjust the width of the spool core to accommodate the hose if it is bigger that 7/16". Be aware, that the reach of any cord or hose will only be what the drop from the ceiling to the counter weight is. In my case it is almost 10' but I've only got a 25' cord hung. It is all that I really need as I've go so many wall outlets for other tools.
 
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