"Dean Hoffman" " wrote in message
...
On 2/2/13 3:05 PM, Robert Green wrote:


Uses an interesting triangular brace that extends higher up on the hinge
pole. It's been a long time since I've worked with such gates, but I
recall
they always sag and many had wire tensioners with turnbuckles to raise
them
back to square once the started sagging. That might be hard to
accomplish
in a stereo cabinet so I think I am going to use three 4" hidden casters
and
one fixed pivot point. I recall some gates had support rollers if
ground
under them was level and that's when I thought the massive jack column
hinge
idea had some limitations. (-: .

The support posts would tend to give with the weight over time
unless they were securely anchored. There aren't many farmers in my
area (south central Nebraska) raising cattle anymore. The feed lots are
big operations anymore. The operators aren't shy about using concrete
to anchor things.
I've seen gates with wheels on the outer ends as you mentioned.

Yep. As you note, the gate posts tend to give way after time as material
fatigue sets it. While the plywood I'd use is pretty dimensionally stable
and would be resistant to sagging, it would still do so over time,
especially if there was a heavy load towards the end of the shelf. A
support wheel is the way to go to distribute the weight evenly. A single
hinge pole design would have put enormous stress on the floor below it.
Since I once saw a floor jack punch through the concrete it was sitting on,
I am less inclined to use that design.

With a pivot point at the left rear, there would be little or no pull on
the
wires exiting the unit. Putting the pivot up front means I'll have to
leave
a substantial slack loop on each incoming/outgoing cable.


Lazy Susan type thing in the middle of the end?

Yes, something like the ball bearing mounts heavy duty casters use but
without the wheel attached and something like a pipe flange mount screwed
into the floor under the carpet. I am definitely going to use push pins and
cardboard cutouts made to scale to determine where to swing it from. I
could even finally decide not to pivot at all, but to use casters on all
four sides and pull the unit away from the wall when I needed access.

Thanks for your input!

--
Bobby G.