Overhead swinging power cord

[Dave Shively]

I saw a post here on a magnetic lamp that one could set on any metal table such as a bandsaw. It got me to thinking of my overhead power cord arm that I made for my shop. When I built my shop I designed it so I have no power cords that laid on the floor so as not to have any trip hazards. I wanted to be about to have a cord that hung down over my assembly table so I wouldn't have the cord coming from the a wall outlet that "bridged" to the table. So I made this swinging arm that hung horizontally just below the ceiling about 8" and projected out 10 feet. I welded a brace to it and made some maple mounting blocks so it could swing and does so about 160 degrees. It work very well and was cheap to make. Sorry for the poor lighting photography, my flash was giving me fits for some reason.

Dave

[Yonak Hawkins]

Great idea, Dave. I assume it will go against the wall when not needed. I have ceiling outlets to plug stuff into but I need a ladder to do it.

Now I wish they would design a router with a swivel top so the cord doesn't twist and kink after doing a few revolutions around the table, such as when doing table tops. I have a job where I have to make 50 such revolutions and I would have to do a pirouette every time, with the router above my head and with dust mask, headphones, etc. on, to un-kink the cord, until I came up with an alternative solution.

[Dave Shively]

Yonak, Yes it will go against the wall but I never store it there, I also leave it over the assembly table and just loop it in a single coil to get it out of the way.

I too wish there was a way to keep the router cord from twisting and kinking when doing circles. I hate having to stop several times to unplug the cord and untwisting it. When you figure or invent a system please let me know.

Dave

[Mark Bolton]

That wouldnt work in my shop. At any point we can have a half dozen cords out feeding a single area. Two or three sanders, a couple drills, couple routers, and so on. But its a great idea for sure. I think it would work well for air lines in my shop though.

[Jim Andrew]

Good idea, thanks for posting pics.

[george newbury]

Great idea, think I might steal it and add a hose to it for spot dust collection.
/edit - vacuum hose that is

[Ole Anderson]

Dave, that shop is WAY too clean

My only concern is that if the sharp bend in the cord should ever wear through the insulation and electrify the hanger, without grounding you could be at risk. I just got my chops busted on another forum for improperly grounding an isolated ground box. I thought the MC sheath was adequate, not so.

[Dave Shively]

Ole, Never thought the insulation wearing through even though the ends are in rubber gripped insulators. I can't see it happening without lots of movement which it does move some but not a lot. But, you do have a good point to I think ill ground it with a flexible grounding strip. Thanks for the suggestion.

Dave

[Allen (AJ) Breese]

Good point Ole, So why not attach your drop cord to the outside of the tube. It would not be as clean looking as his, but you could keep a eye on the cord. I have been playing with the same idea for a dust collection hose building ot out of angle iron & tubing.

[Brian Henderson]

There are always retractable reels that you can use, I know I've seen them at Grainger before. They work just like the air hose reels, pull it down, use it, when you're done, give a jerk and it goes back up into the reel.

[Charles Li]

That is awesome! If positioned right I think it could be better that a retractable reel since it can pivot directly over multiple areas especially if paired with a hose (which presumably wouldn't be retractable).

[John Leake]

Great idea and clever implementation. Adding a dust collection hose sounds like good idea as well. Thanks for the suggestion

[David Nelson1]

That is exactly how I planned on getting air to my shark guard!

Great idea and clever implementation. Adding a dust collection hose sounds like good idea as well. Thanks for the suggestion