After some correspondence and much self debate I decided to construct a checkering cradle in preparation for my first attempt at checkering. My better half sometimes chides me for saving junk that is of little value to the average person, but I often see potential in items for re-purposing, especially metal objects. So when I was moving things around the shop to bring my tractor for the winter I started taking a mental inventory of what might be useful for cobbling together a checkering cradle.
I ran across a concrete anchor and thought it would work as an axle for the nose piece of the cradle. Had a can of WD40 that quit spraying while it was still over half full. I punched a hole in the WD40 can with a nail and emptied the contents into a pump spray bottle, hacksawed the top off the can, then snipped some slits in the exposed end and folded them over to eliminate sharp edges and add strength to the new rim. Then I looked around for a bolt and some washers that fit the anchor, and a plastic yogurt cup that had some parts in it. Here is what I came up with:
For the rear axle I used the eye rod from an implement stabilizer bar that got bent when one end came loose. The eye piece was reverse threaded and I didn't have any nuts that fit so I cut the threaded end off the body of the stabilizer bar, then cut it in half to have 2 "nuts".
I found a piece of metal tubing cut off a metal shelf leg to shorten the self, that slipped over the eye rod perfectly and cut it just slightly larger than a 2x4 width. I cut a couple of uprights from a scrap piece of 2x4, then drilled a 1" hole in the rear upright and press fit the shelf leg in it. Next I screwed on of my new nuts on the eye rod, slid the rod in the shelf leg, added the remaining nut and made a turning handle from tv antenna part, an old toilet bolt and a loose tool handle. I made a clamp for the stock but out of some maple scraps, bolts and a leather remnant.
I added a bearing to the nosecup assembly and of course used duct tape to permanently secure the yogurt cup, then lined the cup with another piece of leather. The whole mess was then passed through a 3/8" hole drilled in the front upright and secured with a nut and washer.
The wood parts were screwed & glued together the assembled on a 2x4 scrap with a slot cut to allow for adjustment of length. It took about 2 hours to make the whole thing and not one cent our of pocket! I love my junk pile!
Thanks for looking,
Curtis
