Looking for a locking stay for machine canopy.

I have a Denford Novamill and to gain a bit more room in the workshop I altered the central pivoting of the Perspex "bubble" top cover to a rear hinge. This allowed me to place the machine against the wall saving about 200mm space.

I was going to fit a couple of struts that lock when they are extended then release when you push them up again to allow the guard to lower. I measured up the length I would need and went to my local hardware store to be met with stony silence when I explained what I was after. I had fitted the same sort of strut to a previous machine for a customer a few years ago. "You can't get anything like that" I was told, But I had bought them previously so I went home and looked up my old paperwork as to where I had bought them. I had bought them from a different shop so a few days later I went to town and strode confidently in to the counter to be told "Never seen anything like that!" I showed them my old invoice which said "Self Locking Strut" but no part number and they also said "Never seen them!!"

I have looked on the Internet but I am not sure what the correct description should be! They are like a drawer slide but with no balls (I think) and when they fully extend a bit of metal pops out of a square hole locking the strut in place. Push the strut further up and it releases.

Can anyone give me a correct description as I can't remember what I asked for about 10 years ago!

Hi Alistair, is there anything Here that may do the job?

How about these? **LINK**

Brian

Hold Open Stay Here may be what you are looking for.

Posibly these?

https://www.catchesandlatches.co.uk/lid-stays-hinges/

I seem to remember that my Frogeye Sprite had a similar strut arrangement to support the open bonnet. Replacements are available, but at a price ( around forty quid !). Could you not use a gas strut such as are used for tailgate lifts? Plenty on eBay in various sizes and specs for under a tenner.

John

I would not use a car gas-strut to hold a small plastic machine-guard. They are designed to balance a far heavier mass than that, so would be physically very hard to handle.

Some machines, including my Myford VMC, use a basic toggle: just two links pivoted together at mid-point when both are in line. Pushing the joint while closing the cover down slightly makes the links go past alignment by a couple of degrees of so, against a small stop on one of them.

The friction slide thingies used on modern windows instead of hinges ought to be well up to the support job. I have a stash of used ones in the "gotta be useful" box. If you fancy trying the idea PM me and a pair are yours for postage costs.

The locking struts in Brians link are effective but, if the ones I saw are the same model, quite hefty.

Eurofit offer a variety of lid stays :- **LINK** including light duty gas struts, smallest is 50 newtons force, about 11 lb.

The ordinary folding desk stay like this :- **LINK** can quite easily be modified to work as an over centre toggle type support as described by Nigel. I did one many years ago which worked OK. Darned if I can remember exactly what I did tho'.

An ordinary drawer slide will do the deed just fine if you ass a sprung clip. In principle its easy to come up with a two position clip which releases if you push the lid beyond its holding position and re-arms ready to support the lid next time as you swing it shut. In practical its probably more works than the job is worth.

Clive

Hi, All.

Thanks for all the valuable information. I have bought a pair of the type suggested by Brian G from RS. Why I didn't look there before i don't know. I ordered some bits and pieces from them last week!

I didn't want to use a gas strut as when they have to be compressed to "go overcentre" they put a big strain on the perspex cover which weighs about 25 Kgs. as I well know when I knocked out the plastic tube I was holding it up with and had to visit the hospital for a neck X-Ray. It was sore for more than a week.

The pair I bought a few years ago were not the same as the Camloc I have bought from RS they were more like a drawer slide that locked when extended.

A bit late, but I just came across these when searching for something completely different and remembered this thread:-

From here:- Small Bonnet Stay Auto-Close