Chain And Sprocket Door Opener

Chain And Sprocket Door Opener BUILDINGS Accessories 18-1-8 Clarence Kennicker, Holy Cross, Iowa, made a hand-cranked "chain and sprocket" opener for a 20-ft. wide sliding door on his barn that allows him to easily open the door with one hand. Kennicker took two roller chains off an old International corn picker and connected them together end-to-end. The chain is bolted to each end of the door. He mounted a sprocket (also removed from the corn picker) on an upright on one side of the door opening and fitted it with a hand crank. A piece of angle iron mounted above the sprocket keeps the chain from rising off the sprocket. By turning the sprocket with the hand crank he can easily open and shut the big door. "When I built the barn with one big door, I didn't realize how heavy the door would be," says Kennicker. "It was too heavy to open and close easily by hand. Now even my kids can crank the door open with only one hand." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Clarence Kennicker, 22416 Rt. 52 N., Holy Cross, Iowa, 52053 (ph 319 552-2008).

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