Dumbwaiter at rest
Gustav will have only a ladder leading to the upper room, so it would be cumbersome for him to bring up late night milk and cookies while maintaining safe practices on the ladder. I rigged up a bucket on a rope for the purpose of mockups, but the final setup needed to be more elegant, like a functional dumbwaiter.
A fully enclosed dumbwaiter would block a significant part of the modest back opening, especially on the upper floor. So, I've constructed an open dumbwaiter car running on a track along the wall (eventually there will be a pulley system). This way, the car will move smoothly up and down to carry milk (or Scotch) upstairs and yet take up less visual space overall.
The car should rest at counter height when on the lower floor, so I bashed a 1 1/2" Houseworks base cabinet by cutting down the depth. This also gives Gustav some storage in his small home. I built the fancy car from tiny turnings and basswood with a slider bar on the back.
When I install the tracks after decorating, I plan to leave space enough at the top so I can slide the car off the track for cleaning, repairs or replacement. The plate doesn't quite fit anymore, so I'll just use a slightly smaller one.
I love the way it looks so far, though. In fact, it's such a nice element, I will try one more time to move the ladder so the dumbwaiter can be more easily photographed away from the open back edge.
Pulley rigging and final stain finishes to come later, but it's already better than just a bucket on a rope. :D
Full post here.
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