With my electrical and control panel system complete, the last thing to do was to create a method to lower the control panel under my layout when not in use, and to raise it and keep it upright when needed. For this, I decided on a winch system. Simply turn the winch to raise the control panel into place, and reverse the winch to lower. The winch even holds the control panel up while in use.
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The system was quite easy to build. First, I purchased a mini-winch from a local hardware store, as well as a couple cable pulleys and other hardware to fasten it to my benchwork. For the cable, I used 1/16” aircraft cable covered in PVC and aluminum sleeves to create loops at each end. I planned a path for the cable to run, then drilled the necessary holes through my benchwork supports so the cable would come out centered right where I wanted it to lift the control panel to. I used 2 small pulleys to guide the cable to this point and to also ensure the cable was not contacting and of the benchwork.
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I then used a fixed pulley bolted to the underside of my table top and ran the cable overtop, as seen below. This was then attached to a ‘U’ bolt that was fastened to the control unit. The cable is rated for 95lbs safe working load, so it’s more than enough to lift and hold the unit.
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