Sofa-bed continued:
Need to make a bracket for the piston end of the 12" actuator.
This will join the actuator and the square tube. I want it long enough so it will use two bolts to attach to the tube. If the bracket is long enough to cover two of the perforations on the tube then part of the bracket will have to fit between the square tube and the part of the actuator that fits around the piston. For want of a better term I'll call the part of the actuator that fits around the piston the "drive column".
Use two pieces of 2" aluminum angle. Here is the bracket pieces pushed up against the black plastic collar at the top of the drive column.
Measure the amount the bracket overhangs the tube. This measurement corresponds with the width of the part of the bracket that must fit between the square tube and the drive column.
To make room for the bracket to fit between the square tube and the drive column, raise the piston up as high as possible while keeping the mounting hole within the bracket.
Measure the gap between the tube and the drive column.
One other consideration is this holding pin. It will go through the bracket, into the piston mounting hole and out the other side of the bracket.
There must be enough of a gap between the inner side of the bracket and the Center Support so this spring ball will exit the inner side of the bracket
Draw up a quick design on the closest thing to write on (the side of the Center Support).
Cut out the pieces.
And do a test fit.
Take one more measurement.
Update the drawing.
Drill out the pin holes.
Fit the bracket together.
Use a piece of square tube as a guide to mark on one bracket piece the location of the two holes and then drill out.
Use the first piece as a guide to mark both holes in the second piece of the bracket.
Drill out both holes in the second bracket.
MISTAKE
I should have known there was no way I was going to drill those second set of holes in the EXACT same place just by using the marks. It only has to be off by .01" and the bolt won't fit.
The
SMART way would have been to drill the first hole then bolt the two bracket pieces together and drill the second hole using the first piece as a guide.
Which is what I did to fix it.
Need to bolt the bracket to the square tube. Because of the clearance issue I'm putting the bolt head between the bracket pieces and the nut inside the tube.
To use the socket inside the square tube the bolt can't be too long. I found a 1/2" bolt (top bolt) too short and the 3/4" bolt (bottom bolt) too long. So by hacksawing off three threads from the end of a 3/4" bolt I have the perfect length.
Use the modified socket with the magnetic tool to get the nut on the end of the bolt inside the square tube.
One small problem. The nut keeps wanting to jump out due to the magnetic attraction.
Hold the nut down till it gets started inside the tube and it will stay in place.
Use the same method for tightening bracket that was used for the Seat Platform angle.
Position the square tube in the guideway and use the pin to connect the piston to the bracket and check alignments.
Attach the power to the actuator and run the tube in and out several times. Laugh like a mad scientist.
Not done yet.
Even with all my careful measurements I made a mistake somewhere. When the actuator is full extended (sofa position) the end of the square tube should be even with the front of the Center Support. As you can see here it's off by a little more than a 1/8" of an inch.
To fix this problem I reposition the base of the actuator until the square tube is flush with the edge of the Center Support. Drill a new hole and bolt the actuator base to this new spot.
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