Measure Twice, Cut Once

I've been unable to focus on anything else but figuring out how to secure the right side of the motor. My preference is to use the same material that I use for the left mounting plate, 3/8" aluminum. The first trick is that bracket has to be two pieces or have notches for the pole screws so it can be slid on from the left. The other gotcha is there has to be some clamping mechanism to secure the motor.


I came up with this basic design a few days ago, but dismissed it because two 3/8" brackets will be fine to resist motor torque and vertical/hoizontal loading from the chain tension. But loads parallel to the shaft need something else. It came to me this morning, add an angle bracket and use the mounting holes in the case. (edit one year later:  no additional pieces needed, the dual bracket arrangement is plenty strong with regards to axial loads.)

I was so jazzed at having a solution, I cranked out the template to make the wood prototype. I also tweaked the geometry on the left bracket, thinking I could cut them both and have the wood parts done. Haste makes waste...

I neglected to check if I had enough RotoZip bits
and busted my last one starting the new bracket. I did manage to cut out a sloppy version of the left bracket, so at least I could get it fitted. Wrong-O! In adjusting the bolt pattern location, I appearantly changed the bolt circle diameter, making that version completely worthless. The only bright side of these wasted efforts is that it's only wood, not the actual 3/8" Aluminum.