Ball,Shuttle.... Lifter/grabber

Using the ball lifter to lift the ball from 25 feet below

About the tool

We play cricket and badminton on our terrace. It's obvious for the ball or shuttle to cross off the boundary and fall off the terrace. I used to run 2 floor downstairs to get the ball back. It really spoiled the mood to run downstairs and then come back with the ball. So I decided to make a tool to make this easy.

I came up with this tool which can easily lift ball,shuttle,clothes and other items that accidentally fall of my roof. Its mostly made up of recycled material and has two ropes to control it.

This is one of my most handy homemade tools.

Materials Required

PVC sewer pipe (5 inch diameter) 1 feet long
A small hinge
Thin ropes of two color
Thin wire
Screws
Tools (drill machine, saw, screwdriver.....)

Step 1: Cut the Pipe Into Two Halves

Cut the pipe into two equal halves using a saw blade.

Step 2: Attach the Hinge

Take a marker and mark down the holes for the hinges. Using a drill machine drill down the holes and screw the hinge between the two halves of the pipe.

Step 3: Adding the Controller Rope

The controller rope (red in my case) will be used to control the opening and closing of the claw. This rope when pulled, opens the claw and closes when released. Drill two holes in each half and make the loop. Join these two loops to a long rope which will finally form the controller of the claw. Follow the pictures to understand better.

Step 4: Adding the Lifter Rope

The lifter rope (yellow in my case) will be used to move the controller up and down of the terrace. This rope is only used to lift the device. Take a long rope of different color and form a loop around hinge. Follow the pictures to understand better.

Step 5: Weaving the Ends

Drill holes on the ends ( 2 cm apart) and using a thin wire, weave the ends so that the items don't fall off the claw while lifting up.

Finally, Using It !

How it works ?

Yellow rope to lift the device

Red rope to control opening/closing of claw

Lower down the device from your roof using the yellow rope. Once your device is lowered to ground, release tension on the yellow rope and pull the red rope to open the claw. Once the claw is opened, aim the open claw to the item to lift. Once you are above the item, release the tension on red rope and pull back the yellow rope to get the claw up along with your item :-)

This all may sound complex but trust me it's very easy and you will like to play with it :-)

Congratulations ! You no more need to go downstairs ever to lift up your fallen items.

This is my first instructable. If you liked/enjoyed please vote for me in the contest :-) , It means a lot to me.

Thank you