- Joined
- Jan 1, 2014
- Messages
- 236
Was looking at all the different power lift ideas for round column mills that have been posted but got the bug to try a counterbalance weight instead. As you might know this is an idea commonly incorporated into heavy machinery. Except for the ball bearings in the pulleys everything else was at hand so was worth giving it a try. Routing of the 1/8" cable was not difficult but necessitated the 5 pulleys The counterweight is more or less out of sight behind the cabinet and I'm using the snatch block idea to to give the weight more pulling power, but at 2:1 this means the weight needs 20" of movement for the 10" max that the head needs to move. This also means there is no room to have a greater pulling ratio. Am currently looking for weight material that is more compact and heavier than the scrap I'm using. There is 40 lbs on the cable now which makes for much lighter cranking but think 60 might be better, if not ideal. But, that much weight in a compact size is not cheap, at MetalPros probably $150 (1"x6"x12" HRS bars), an exercise weight probably the same but is not a usable shape (room again), even looked at anvils on Kijiji but want $7 a pound! When I get that sorted I think this will be a viable mod.
Canuck75
Canuck75