Madame Guillotine #2

[pwhole]

Personally I don't like 'flush to the floor' entrances, but this one would probably be a bit of work to do that without redoing the whole top, as the entrance hole isn't that large. The scaff tubes are very handy, but it's still a bit of a drop for smaller folks if they don't have etriers. Another set of tubes clamped higher up would sort that out though.

I guess it would end up about the same dimensions as the Oxlow one if it were built up above surface, but it does seem a lot of work to fix a fairly small problem.

 

[nickwilliams]

How about something like this:

http://www.albert-jagger.co.uk/products/ironworks/antiluce-fasteners

fastened to the boulder, lined up with a hole in the lid?

 

[AR]

That does have a lot of merit as a plan, since it just requires drilling two holes. Those fasteners are easy to operate one-handed.

 

[Madness]

How about something like this:

http://www.albert-jagger.co.uk/products/ironworks/antiluce-fasteners

fastened to the boulder, lined up with a hole in the lid?

That is a very good idea

 

[pwhole]

Works for me too.

 

[nickwilliams]

Brough Mill sell these as spares for agricultural trailers. I'll collect a couple to play with next time I'm in there.

 

[bograt]

Those anti-luces are not that easy to disengage if there is a load against them, for instance if the wind is blowing behind the lid- you would have to push against the wind to release it, I would consider a hinged prop similar to the old style Landrover bonnet support.

 

[Mark Wright]

And they are a bugger to undo when they are frozen or when your fingers are frozen.

I reckon a metal lid like the one on Rowter Hole would be the safest, easiest and cheapest.

Mark

 

[Jenny P]

If the farmer would accept a grill rather than a solid lid, it would be easy to arrange for that to swivel via nut in one corner and lock it down with a captive bolt requiring a "Derbyshire key".  You'd have to ask the farmer about using a grill instead of a sold plate though - but the standard Derbyshire key system discourages wandering walkers from fiddling because they don't usually wander carrying a large adjustable spanner. 

OTOH, a grill probably wouldn't catch the wind to slam down and could have a chain attached to stop it dropping right back when it was open so it was easier to pull down over the hole behind you.

 

[Mark Wright]

Or an even easier and cheeper solution to the 'fairly small problem' could be to leave the lid as it has been for the past 20 years, but when its windy, be careful and always have your helmet on before you go down.

When the sunroof on my 2CV flipped open in the wind once and hit me on the head I didn't try and redesign the sunroof mechanism, I just refrained from trying to open the sunroof while I was driving and it never happened again.

As Phil said, even having just been hit on the head, it is a fairly small problem that can be easily mitigated without the need for any effort or expense other than a post on this forum and the DCA website/newsletter.

Mark

 

[alastairgott]

we need to get a sticker of this guy for your battery box