Sometimes a hair-brained idea or concept takes up residence in my head and wont leave. I suspect this happens to many of us, but most are wise enough to avoid acting on it. This tale can end two ways. Truth is, I don't know how this pipedream will end, success or failure. What follows is photographic evidence that may clearly illustrate how ill a man can become, or how lucky that same man can be if this hair-brained endeavor actually works.
Like many people wishing to return to the hobby, my largest challenge is space. My garage is all I get other than half of a bed, and use of the kitchen and bathrooms but I’ve been told improvement is needed as those privileges remain on shaky ground. Now 440 sf is a great space and I’m happy to have it. I installed a heat pump and it’s comfortable in there year round. However, this space serves as my cave, workshop, office, and whatever it needs to be at any given whim. All this of course leaves limited square footage available for something that doesn’t somehow “stow awayâ€.
In a nutshell, I had this idea of a tilting mechanism and table support made from PVC fittings and pipe rattling around my head for a couple years but I could never clearly see the bottom part of the contraption.
http://i1070.photobucket.com/albums/u48 ... g7fkzi.jpg
My thoughts were always that ideally the bottom part which supports the tilting assemblies and table should be moveable, and its this part that a stable design always eluded me every time I thought about the tilting assemblies. I would then always file the idea in the hair-brained pipedream compartment of the brain.
At the start of the year I was getting real anxious to have a track again and decided to build a lightweight wood table with curvature leg supports that I had read about on a build thread. It's simplicity was genius and the whole build just made a lot of sense to me so I began clearing the space for its construction.
First step was to remove that ugly electrical rack the previous owner had turned into a dysfunctional shelving unit and left behind for me. It now served only as a catch all for the wife's "projects" and it really uglied up “my nestâ€. The day has arrived; it must go.
As I emptied this heavy old electrical rack of its odd accumulations that had found their way there I dreamt of my new wood-tilting table occupying this very space so poorly utilized. To stabilize my previously mentioned shaky ground, I generously donated one of my rolling bakers shelving units to house the now displaced collection of oddities. As I lay the rack on it's back to get it out the door, this ugly old dysfunctional shelf unit transformed itself before my very eyes into a glorious metal bench with ton's of storage underneath and most importantly, the answer that had been eluding me for so long, the anchor point for the pipedream tilt mechanism. This might work I thought and I already have 1 inch PVC pipe and fittings left over from greenhouse and wood rack roof PVC projects. Great, forget the proven wood table and choose the unknown path. Brilliant!
Given these circumstances with left over parts and all, my mind justified pursuing this hair-brained pipedream. Below is what the effort look likes thus far. It is not complete as siding and front rail needs to be added to the table top as well as a latching method to keep it folded tight to the wall. Currently it is 12' x 4'5".
Next is to put some sort of siding up and start putting some track down, or vice versa.
Paul
