Living Hinge 6in Blast Gate / How to hook up your laser to a garage window

[Steven Taitinger]

I hope I can post files or this will be disappointing... I have been practicing living hinges and needed to hook up my laser to one of my garage windows to vent properly. I took out the glass, bought 1/4in acrylic, .18in birch (roughly 3/16in but marketed as 1/4in at Windsor plywood) and made this...

installed 2.jpginstalled 1.jpg6in blast gate assembly.jpgLayout, Blast Gate 6in .18in birch ply TRY2.dwg

If you have different thicknesses you should be able to adjust fairly easily. You will want reasonably good quality plywood to make the living hinge not break... Mine is pretty durable now though.

Enjoy!

Steve

[Bill George]

I hope I can post files or this will be disappointing... I have been practicing living hinges and needed to hook up my laser to one of my garage windows to vent properly. I took out the glass, bought 1/4in acrylic, .18in birch (roughly 3/16in but marketed as 1/4in at Windsor plywood) and made this...

installed 2.jpginstalled 1.jpg6in blast gate assembly.jpgLayout, Blast Gate 6in .18in birch ply TRY2.dwg



If you have different thicknesses you should be able to adjust fairly easily. You will want reasonably good quality plywood to make the living hinge not break... Mine is pretty durable now though.

Enjoy!

Steve

You did not post your location but where I live that thin plywood would last maybe 6 months. A little rain, and little snow and toss in a squirrel who wants in and its gone.

[Gary Hair]

Here is what I used - http://www.homedepot.com/p/Everbilt-...CNHD/203626503

I mounted it in a piece of 3/4" marine grade plywood so it would be water proof and fairly difficult to break in through.

Here is a metal blast gate - https://www.woodcraft.com/products/4...num-blast-gate

[John Lifer]

I bought a true cast 6" diameter aluminum and steel slide blast gate for my door. Yep, it would work on a window if your were careful, won't rust, won't collapse. I like the wood, but it wouldn't last here either. About $30 thru Woodcraft. a LOT of 4" but 6" are much harder to find. Yep, just noticed Gary put link in his.

[Kev Williams]

I bought 4 of these and still had money left from a 20 to buy dollar menu dinner at MickeyD's
blastgate.jpg
--and they work great!

One place I haven't used one is the window or basement door hose holes...

[Steven Taitinger]

I am in Canada and don't have a lot of extra money right now so free as opposed to $35 blast gate + more for connecting it (or wood which blocks 1/3 of my only source of outside light) sounds really nice. Also it has already rained and snowed here but that is no problem because it is under an over hang. This will last for at least a couple years no problem. And if it does ever break.... I can just cut new pieces! You guys are pretty quick to judge . Not everyone has a million customers and extra money already. I just posted this here because for now this site still shows up on Google for laser stuff pretty high. If this one ever fails I will just paint the next one first before siliconing it together.