I need to come up with a right angle gearbox (example)
I’m not a blacksmith and local hardware stores are coming up empty apart from selling a right angle drill attachment (which would work but they’re a bit pricey for my purpose).
The purpose: to hide a water valve (positioned upright) & control it from the other side of a wall. (back story)
My ideas so far:
find a broken angle grinder that someone threw away (seems unlikely) & cannabalize the gears
build right angle gears out of wood
harvest worn down bicycle cassettes from the trash and orient them at right angles against each other. They are designed to mate with a chain, so I’m not sure how well it would work. The valve is only turned on/off a couple times per year, so maybe I can get away with it.
go to a toy store and find a kid’s Capsela set (do they still make these?); though I imagine it might exceed the cost of a right angle drill accessory anyway and it would possibly break under stress.
What other tools or appliances should I look for on a dumpster dive which would likely contain a right angle gearbox?
I wouldnt use pex. A sharkbite will work with regular copper tube. The peg gear system would be the easiest to “cobble together” without too many tools.
Maybe this plus camouflage the area by making it into a small bench or shelf. The enclosure would keep moisture out of the valve area. The camouflage would hide the enclosure, and if done well, would make the area easier to keep clean.
It would be nice to have curtains that absorb street noise.
Some custom curtain tailors offer a fabric that claims to be soundproof. It’s a little pricey. Not absurdly pricey, but it’s also a bit hard to be confident that such thin fabrics can absorb much sound (they claim 20%).
I would prefer to try hacks. I’ve heard that thick furniture moving pads absorb sound well. I’ve also heard that fiberous fabrics can be effective. For the moment, I probably want to pass on edgy ideas like egg cartons. Maybe later on those. What fabrics are decent for reducing sound? Specifically, I’m wondering about carpets or painter’s drop cloths. Not the simple white canvas drop cloths, but the thicker drop cloths may out of recycled fabrics.
I live next to a bridge with heavy traffic, a river, and train tracks on either side of said river. Thankfully the train only comes by once or twice a day on our side, but constantly over on the other one.
I got used to the noise relatively quickly after moving in, like maybe a month or two. I’m used to city noise though.
That being said, my eventual plan is to get some heavy wooden window shutters. I figure I can close them up in the colder months, and it should block some noise out. I do keep the windows open in the summer though, no A/C here.