Power drawbar, cheap!

[Livnpaintball]

Thanks to Amazon and a $20 butterfly impact I now have a functional power drawbar! After looking a a few other designs I came up with my redneck version. It’s simple and works well, I also created a captive nut to keep the drawbar from raising up.

 

[Eddyde]

Looks like a great job, thanks for sharing.

 

[BGHansen]

Thanks for posting! It's been on my "list of good intentions" for 20 years! I have sticking a 7" riser block on my Bridgeport in the queue; that'll put the drawbar near the limit of my reach (without a stool). I'm assuming you have remote switches for tight/loosen and manually pull the impact down to engage?

Bruce

 

[Firstram]

I would love to add a riser to my Bridgeport but, it won’t happen until I stop moving shop every few months. My heart still races every time I have to roll it on or off the lift gate, Im sure not going to make it taller now!

 

[Livnpaintball]

Thanks for posting! It's been on my "list of good intentions" for 20 years! I have sticking a 7" riser block on my Bridgeport in the queue; that'll put the drawbar near the limit of my reach (without a stool). I'm assuming you have remote switches for tight/loosen and manually pull the impact down to engage?

Bruce

It has been on my list since I started this project 3 years ago. It’s manual pull down and I use my thumb to actuate the butterfly on the impact. I may add a handle to it later but for now she is good! Thanks!

 

[j-becker]

Your design looks good. Do you have any trouble with your bearings binding? I build a similar one and added a lever on the butterfly to pull down on. In my original design I encountered binding and needed to add a second level with bearings underneath to improve the situation (make the effective bearing length greater than half the lever arm length).

 

[Livnpaintball]

Your design looks good. Do you have any trouble with your bearings binding? I build a similar one and added a lever on the butterfly to pull down on. In my original design I encountered binding and needed to add a second level with bearings underneath to improve the situation (make the effective bearing length greater than half the lever arm length).

You did a nice job on yours! I didn’t use any bearings, just oversized holes. No binding that I have noticed, I was worried if I do add an arm it may promote binding.