Rotating Boom Holds Air Hose, Electric Cords Above Shop Floor

2015 - Volume #39, Issue #5, Page #37

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Steve Brubaker got tired of stumbling over air hoses and electric cords in his 50 by 80-ft. shop, so he used car parts to make a ceiling-mounted, 12-ft. long boom to hold them. It swings in an almost 360 degree arc.
    “It’s really handy and lets me use both my air and electric-operated shop tools anywhere without getting them tangled up. As far as I know there’s nothing like it on the market,” says Brubaker. “I use my shop to construct small sheds that I sell commercially, so I spend a lot of time operating these tools and moving them around. The electric cord is attached to a screen door spring and the air hose to a coil, which causes them to retract. A stop keeps the cords from getting tangled up. Since both cords are 50 ft. long and the boom is only 12 ft. long, there’s always some excess cord that I have to tie up. If I did it again I’d use cords that were only 25 ft. long so I wouldn’t have that problem.”
    He mounted two 8-ft. long by 1-in. sq. tubes parallel to each other on the shop ceiling and drilled holes in them, then anchored them to the building’s trusses. A car wheel axle bearing is bolted to a pair of 3-in. wide, 1/4-in. thick steel brackets that hang down from the tubes.
    A brake rotor mounts on the same threaded stud where the car wheel would normally bolt onto the axle. The air hose and electric cord run down from the ceiling through a short vertical length of pvc tube that runs through the bearing and the axle shaft’s splines. “The pvc tube keeps the cords from rubbing against the splines and wearing through,” says Brubaker.
     He welded a 2 1/2-ft. long steel tube to the bottom side of the rotor. One end of the boom fits inside the tube and is held in place by a pair of set screws. A silo unloader weight is welded onto the back end of the boom to keep it balanced, and a series of U-bolts spaced about 3 ft. apart are welded to the bottom of the boom to support the air hose.
    “If I want I can easily shorten the boom by loosening the 2 set screws on the tube that the boom fits into,” notes Brubaker.
    Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Steve Brubaker, 3427 State Hwy. 22, Oconto, Wis. 54153 (ph 920 604-0208; steveandemmy81@gmail.com).

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Rotating Boom Holds Air Hose Electric Cords Above Shop Floor FARM SHOP Miscellaneous Steve Brubaker got tired of stumbling over air hoses and electric cords in his 50 by 80-ft shop so he used car parts to make a ceiling-mounted 12-ft long boom to hold them It swings in an almost 360 degree arc “It’s really handy and lets me use both my air and electric-operated shop tools anywhere without getting them tangled up As far as I know there’s nothing like it on the market ” says Brubaker “I use my shop to construct small sheds that I sell commercially so I spend a lot of time operating these tools and moving them around The electric cord is attached to a screen door spring and the air hose to a coil which causes them to retract A stop keeps the cords from getting tangled up Since both cords are 50 ft long and the boom is only 12 ft long there’s always some excess cord that I have to tie up If I did it again I’d use cords that were only 25 ft long so I wouldn’t have that problem ” He mounted two 8-ft long by 1-in sq tubes parallel to each other on the shop ceiling and drilled holes in them then anchored them to the building’s trusses A car wheel axle bearing is bolted to a pair of 3-in wide 1/4-in thick steel brackets that hang down from the tubes A brake rotor mounts on the same threaded stud where the car wheel would normally bolt onto the axle The air hose and electric cord run down from the ceiling through a short vertical length of pvc tube that runs through the bearing and the axle shaft’s splines “The pvc tube keeps the cords from rubbing against the splines and wearing through ” says Brubaker He welded a 2 1/2-ft long steel tube to the bottom side of the rotor One end of the boom fits inside the tube and is held in place by a pair of set screws A silo unloader weight is welded onto the back end of the boom to keep it balanced and a series of U-bolts spaced about 3 ft apart are welded to the bottom of the boom to support the air hose “If I want I can easily shorten the boom by loosening the 2 set screws on the tube that the boom fits into ” notes Brubaker Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Steve Brubaker 3427 State Hwy 22 Oconto Wis 54153 ph 920 604-0208; steveandemmy81@gmail com

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