It took me a minute. Ah yes. The dumbwaiter. The witless builder forgot to put in the dumbwaiter. This is my main reason for owning a keyhole saw. I am famous for changing plans in the middle of the stream. Sorry about the mixed metaphor. I am always wanting an extra window or door after the house is constructed. I also frequently change my mind about where the stairs should be located.
The nice thing about a keyhole saw is it makes all of this possible without a lot of fuss and bother. It's the same with a hole in the floor for a dumbwaiter. I knew the size that the hole had to be. I marked it off and drilled a couple of holes in the corner opposite where the walls meet. Then good old keyhole went to work. In a matter of minutes, all was right with the world.
I fitted the two pieces of wood. They were perfect.....Except for the fact that I changed the roof line a couple of days ago. Now I no longer needed a slant on the front side of the dumbwaiter. It had to be straight like the other side. That was OK though because I decided that the openings on either floor needed to be as wide as I could make them. I cut the board for that side into three pieces and stuck them to the other long piece.
I cut two pieces as stops for the top and bottom of the shaft. I drilled a couple of holes in each piece to provide a place for the ropes or chains that will pull the elevator up and down. I am figuring this out as I go.
My friend Pat Arnell had one antique house that I worked on that had an elevator in it. It worked by turning a handle on the outside of the elevator to make the rope move up and down. Now if I can just remember exactly how that one worked......
Here's a view of the dry fitting of the shaft. It is going to fit OK. Since I changed the roof line, I may have to shave off one corner of the box. That's not a problem. It is at the far top corner and probably won't ever be seen anyway. Or I can always lower the opening by 1/2" too.
You are probably wondering by now where Tessie is. I have been questioning her about Spike. He seems to have disappeared. I suspect a dog napping is in progress. No ransom note. I don't think that she wants money. I think that she wants Spike.
Meanwhile, she is harassing me about the "elevator". She says it is WAY too small. To prove it, she climbed in the top opening. I told her it wasn't for people. She said it certainly wasn't if I didn't enlarge it.
I think that she's stuck. She doesn't want to admit it. She keeps trying to lure Buster(strangely, he's not missing) to come close enough so that she can grab his collar for help getting out.
Oh alright. I will pull her out. It's only because I need her out of there so that I can go back to work. Otherwise I would let her stew in her own juice.
See you tomorrow.
11 comments:
Looks great.
The Fisher Price toy garage had an elevator like that with a handle. Perhaps you could look at one of those to see how it was done. I am thinking it was just some kind of wire on a wheel.
I had an elevator in my Barbie house. My dad built it for me and it was very simple, just a cord ring and two wheels at the top and bottom of the house.It worked and although I didn't like Barbie I got in love with dollshouses!The dumbwaiter is a great idea. I'm drawing a new project and there is one which goes from kitchen to dining room. We have twin minds ;o))
Hope you find Spike. Brilliant to see tessie stuck and needing rescued.
I shall look for one of those saws. I;ve never sen one before which is starnage because i do love DIY shops.
Can't wait to see the lift working.
Its going to be a wonderful house
Nikki, I don't know about over there, but here the keyhole saws are sold in regular hardware and home stores. They don't sell them in miniature shops.
That's it! I'm going to force someone in my family to take me to Wal Mart or a hardware store to get a keyhole saw pronto!
I wonder where she's hidden Spike. Sneaky little witch. ;-)
Are you going to give in and let her keep Spike or will you wait and let the Steam punk man (does he have a name yet?) install witch-proof locks on his house instead?
Elevator project. Ah the perfect exposed gear and pulley steampunk opportunity. Go to youtube and search on wood window blind gear. You can use this mechanism to raise the elevator. My genius machine designer roomie says it is hard to make lightweight things move smoothly so add some weight to the elevator car. Perhaps a steel floor or lead weights?
You are doing great on scratch building but I have a couple of tips that will make it easier on you.
The little Japanese keyhole shaped Bonsai saws will cut so much faster, smoother and easier you will never go back to your old, big toothed, cut on the push stroke, keyhole saw.
Drill your holes as close to the corners as you can get them right smack up by the lines. I drill a hole in each of the 4 corners, it gives the saw a place to turn 90 degrees to start on the next side of the window opening. It is faster to drill 2 extra holes than saw lots of uneeded inches out in the middle of the window.
Been there, done that Karin. I know what I am doing. My keyhole saw is fine toothed.I have two different sizes for different jobs.
We all have our own way of doing things. This is mine.
I already know about the weight and I already have plans drawn up for what I am doing. I was kidding about the how to part. Don't worry. I have things just the way I want them. Thanks anyway.
You do change your mind a lot about things, but thats ok...it keeps us guessing....Just when we think you're doing one thing....You come back with something so much cooler!!!
Casey there is an award over on my blog for you...
Hi, thank you for following my blog. I follow yours for some time now, and I see verry clever ideas!
But my English is not verry good, so I understand not everything you wrote, but its verry easy to follow with all these pictures!
* marlies
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