- Joined
- Jun 12, 2014
- Messages
- 4,811
This was one of the those on the honey do list, got to keep the wife happy. So this is a Gizmo that you use with a Pilates exercise machine, it is basically a padded triangle with grips on the side that either fits into the base to put your feet against or on the sliding carriage used for your neck/upper body.... I do not do Pilates but wife has been doing it for decades. The triangle has different size detachable square threaded supports which need to mount to the triangle and must align with the square slots on the machine. So one of the challenges was getting the spacing correct and that when screwed in they aligned with the square mounting holes.
So this is the picture of a Pilates machine and mounting positions of the padded triangle (disclaimer, not my wife ).
So first step was fabricating the wood triangular structure using birch plywood. My table saw is a cheap plastic Dewalt unit, not a lot of fun using it to cut sheet plywood.
Next was fabricating the square posts that screw into the base, I opted to use solid aluminum (1" and 1.25"), I turned down the threaded end to the same dimensions on each leg. I then turned the threads so they all indexed (start/finish) the same for all four legs. This was done by not disengaging the half-nut for all the threads and indexing the stick out from the chuck to the same position for each post. So the lead-screw is always indexed to the same rotational position of the chuck. Note the tape on the chuck and mark on the square stock. I used the tailstock DRO to bring the rod forward to the same position for indexing the stock position.
Next part was making the threaded T-nuts and the threaded handle bars for the (bicycle) grips.
Assembling the T-nuts, they are also adjusted, then glued and screwed into place so the posts were properly aligned.
Glued up everything using epoxy, sanded the radius and applied varnish.
Final step was to apply two layers of 1/4" padding and heavy cloth backed vinyl that the wife had for the project. I used contact cement between all the interfaces and rolled the edges. A bit tricky to get everything aligned. Finished up nicely, was a couple of days project in between everything else.
Back foot and front sliding carriage positions.
Happy Wife = Happy Life
So this is the picture of a Pilates machine and mounting positions of the padded triangle (disclaimer, not my wife ).
So first step was fabricating the wood triangular structure using birch plywood. My table saw is a cheap plastic Dewalt unit, not a lot of fun using it to cut sheet plywood.
Next was fabricating the square posts that screw into the base, I opted to use solid aluminum (1" and 1.25"), I turned down the threaded end to the same dimensions on each leg. I then turned the threads so they all indexed (start/finish) the same for all four legs. This was done by not disengaging the half-nut for all the threads and indexing the stick out from the chuck to the same position for each post. So the lead-screw is always indexed to the same rotational position of the chuck. Note the tape on the chuck and mark on the square stock. I used the tailstock DRO to bring the rod forward to the same position for indexing the stock position.
Next part was making the threaded T-nuts and the threaded handle bars for the (bicycle) grips.
Assembling the T-nuts, they are also adjusted, then glued and screwed into place so the posts were properly aligned.
Glued up everything using epoxy, sanded the radius and applied varnish.
Final step was to apply two layers of 1/4" padding and heavy cloth backed vinyl that the wife had for the project. I used contact cement between all the interfaces and rolled the edges. A bit tricky to get everything aligned. Finished up nicely, was a couple of days project in between everything else.
Back foot and front sliding carriage positions.
Happy Wife = Happy Life