Making A Galley Safety Bar

In Use:

Slide forward for full access to

sink & drawers there

Lean back against belt on stb'd tack, against bar on port tack

Slide aft for full access to refrigerator and drawers

To Install/Remove:

	Take the bar from its stowed position, in clips adjacent to the companionway Holding the bar horizontal and on a diagonal, insert the end with the movable collar into the right-hand base (Base #1, see fabrication notes below)
	Gradually force the right-hand end of the tubing deeper into the right base, while swinging the other end closer and closer to the left-hand base (Base #2, below)
	Note the collar on the left side is permanently located on the tubing with about 1/4" of the tubing protruding Stop once the left-hand base lines up with the tubing.
	Slide the tubing to the left until the collar meets the base. At this point there's about 1/4" of the tubing sticking into both the left and right bases
	Holding the tubing in position, use an allen wrench to loosen the set screw on the right-hand collar, then slide the collar up against the right hand base and tighten the set screw. The tubing is now held captive between the two bases. To remove, just reverse the process

Fabrication Notes:

Materials:

	2 ea. 90° Stainless Steel Rail Base for 1 inch OD tubing (e.g. West Marine 7220049)
	1 inch diam. SS tubing long enough to span space in galley
	screws to mount rail bases
	1 automobile lap-only seat belt
	2 SS rings, 1-1/8 to 1-1/4 inch ID

Tools:

	Drill motor with 1"+ spade bit & bit to drill mounting screws holes
	Screwdriver
	Dremel tool or similar mini-grinder with cutoff wheels and grinding wheels

Hacksaw, flat and round files

Take two 90 degree SS rail bases for 1 inch tubing (I used square bases but round bases should work too). Cut off the riser sections as close to the bottoms as possible using a Dremel tool and abrasive cut-off wheel (or hack saw) and retain for later use as locking collars and bases. Clean up the cut surfaces. Cut the tubing to a length just a very tiny wee bit shorter than the space it needs to span. Place the bases on the ends of the tubing, base bottoms facing out, and position the tubing and bases into their final location. Mark the screw locations for where the bases will be mounted. Remove the tubing and bases, then drill and screw both bases into place.

At this point, the tubing and bases could have been mounted in place and it would work as a safety bar but it wouldn't be easily removable. The trick here is to make a hole behind one of the bases (I'll refer to this base as Base #1) that's slightly larger than the tubing diameter and deep enough for the tubing to slide into far enough to just barely clear the opposite Base #2. Then, working with a small grinder and hand files, bevel the sides of the Base #1 (the one with the hole behind it) enough to allow the tubing to swing sideways sufficient to clear the opposite base and then be worked free. The fit here is trial and error and the base will probably need to come off and on a few times, but keep at it. It'll be right when the tubing can be brought into position on a slight diagonal, then one end fitted into Base #1 and pushed on in until it bottoms. The tubing should then just be able to be swung into alignment with the other base (Base #2) and slid into final position so it protrudes simultaneously into each base plate.

The seat belt ends opposite the buckle need to be fastened to the SS rings. Wrap one end through one ring and sew a box stitch where the end overlaps the rest of the belt. Repeat on the other end.

For the final assembly, slide the seat belt end rings onto the tubing and slide one of the collars (riser, cut off earlier) on to each end of the tubing, top-side-inward/cut-side-out and set screws loosely in place. These collars will eventually serve as end stops. Put the tubing into place between the mounts, wiggle it into place, and slide it into final position against the cabinet end that was not hollowed out (Base #2). At this point, both ends of the tubing should extend into the bases a bit, say roughly 1/4 inch on each side or more. Slide the collar on the Base#2 side right up against Base #2 and tighten both grub screws, The collar on this side will stay fixed on the tubing in this position from now on. Now slide the other end stop against Base #1 and tighten the grub screws just enough to keep the tubing from sliding side to side.