Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Desktop Periscope


This is a little desk toy I made for my office cube. When cranked to its full height of five feet it affords a view over the cubicle walls. It can also be dropped to about three feet so as to not raise suspicion when its not in use. The top mirror rotates 360 degrees so I can see behind me as well. Both mirrors are mounted on pivots to adjust their angle.

I used red oak for most of the wood parts, the winch drum is turned from solid maple. The metal bits are aluminum, the pulleys, mirror mounts and rope guides were all turned on a small lathe.

The mechanism is pretty simple, the mirror support rods are constructed in two telescoping sections, there is a series of pulleys on both that allow a winch drum to pull the top section up, a ratchet and pawl keep the winch from winding back when the handle is released.

I will put together a video once I get it installed in the office.

2 comments:

greg lavoie said...

Very cool, can it be attached on to a bicycle?

David Bynoe said...

Not yet... but hrmm. would be good on a kayak/canoe.

I am thinking a pair of horizontal periscopes would be cool on a bike, ramp up your depth perception so you can see how far apart the mountains in the horizon are.