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Sunday, October 1, 2017

Problem Solved - Doors A Dream

So we went hard at building a counterweight this afternoon, completed it in five hrs. The door now runs like a dream, smooth and steady without any hesitation from the drive.

I started by installing a 12" pulley on the 1" shaft, opposite the drive. I drilled the bottom of the V to accept the weight cable for fixing. Next I fabbed and welded up an idler pulley assembly to keep the weight snug to the wall and unobtrusive. The idler is a used spare, from my snowblower. In the picture is also a coil of heavier cable than the four in the door, to support the weight, and three cable clips. Next, the weight, I have 3 press die sets that I salvaged out of a former employers scrap bin. The two smaller ones will hopefully be put two some use one day. The third was always destined to be broken down for the material. Its a beast, the plates are 1 1/2" thick and the weight for both plates comes in at 65 lbs. after removing the guides and greasers. So I installed the idler pulley with 4 lag bolts. Installed the cable and fixed the weights. To keep them from rattling I put two good raps of heavy gorilla tape on. Tried it out, operated smoothly, no hesitation. Had a good feeling of accomplishment, a door like this, if one was available would go for a good buck. This one cost me less than a hundred bucks in lumber. Granted I used alot of stuff that I picked up on sale over the years and alot of salvaged material that I have given a good home too, also for many years, but the current cost was just the wood.

In the picture below, the door is closed and the weight is at its high point a little less than 4' floor to bottom of weight. Meanwhile the door moved 7'. This of course is because the end pulley is 12" dia. and the door drum is 16". There is some math involved here, which I'll not go into but even if the weight is the same as the weight of the door the door is still heavier on the drive system because of the difference in pulley and drum diameters. I can add or take away weight if I deem necessary in the future, but this is working great. In this picture the door is wide open, and the weight is at its low point, just touching the floor. Here are a couple of better quality inside pictures with the new counterweight installed. Notice the hight of the weight on the left side of the door. Here 3/4 open weight around 1' off the floor. So thats it. It will get a rubber skirt and second coat of stain on the slat faces tomorrow and its done. Now for the big clean up and organization. After that I was going to rebuild my Startrite saw, but the snow will be flying before the end of the month and I have a lot of work to do around here before that happens. So I'll be busy with firewood, oil changes, the lawn, etc. If anyone is interested in my firewood procedure, there is an earlier post that pretty much covers it.

I wish I had a faster connection, I would upload a short video of the door in operation. It's neat watching that big drum spinning and the door smoothly rising. Sadly, wishing will not do it. lol. Labels: counterweight

Who's The Shophermit ? Carlos Bras
 Want more info, or have a question, message me. 
Porch Lattice and Door Installed