Friday, June 29, 2018

Ask and ye shall receive

 I love crowdsourcing.
Yesterday, I solicited your ideas for an easy-to-operate latch
for Alex's bedtime crate, to replace this plastic contraption
which a toddler probably could open but I can't.
Nice face, Alex.
You provided links and all manner of great suggestions.


Since I'm not planning to go to town or my mailbox for a week, 
I opted for the simple and available in my garage approach,
based on Elsewhere from Amsterdam's idea of:
"Take a piece of timber and carve out exactly the widths of the two knobs.
To close you just slide it over them from the top. To open you push it from the bottom."
and Brigitte's idea of "a simple piece of flat wood with 2 grooves for the handles
that you slip on top, between the handles and the doors."



I'm not sure that this is what either of you pictured, but let's see how it works.


The puppy pushes and the doors stay closed!



Alex: It's too early to go to bed!


23 comments:

  1. OMG! your last pix has me in stitches! love your contraption: simple, easy, cheap,and using what you already have. that is my rule also, don't buy, use what you have. Under this rule, I made an amazing soup the other day: had loads of onions, so I said: onion soup, yes! needed flour: had coco and chickpea flour, yes. needed red wine: had Russian vodka, yes. you know what? this soup was soo good I even had it for breakfast!!!

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  2. Exactly what I had in mind! Well done!

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  3. It will be interesting to see if Alex is a puzzle solver.
    Will she figure out how to dislodge the the door latch (paw thru the gap )?

    Looks like her ears are taking a different shape position in these photos.
    Or is she just focused on you?
    GREAT PHOTOS!!

    M in NC

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  4. Yeah!!!! Happy!!!! I'm part of the 7MSN-community. Honoured!

    (PS You might want to deepen the carved out areas a bit more, so it 'sinks' a bit further over the knobs, but hey, if it works, it works!)
    (PPS: please kiss that adorable face... irrestible…)
    Elsewhere from Amsterdam

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    1. This was EXACTLY what I was going to suggest, as well! Elongate those holes so Alex can't figure out how to push up and open those doors! That should be an easy fix before the fixing needs to be done!
      Awwww … Alex definitely has her worried face on! LOL She's a smart pup, fix it before she figures it out!!
      Hugs from CO … Marcia

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  5. Hi Brigitte, glad to see some syncronicity in the simple but sure-department!
    Elsewhere from Amsterdam

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  6. Alex is so cute. Great solution.

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  7. Great save. And you're correct, both my toddler grandsons could easily open your previous one! I couldn't buy, they could!

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  8. I love Redneck solutions; and that photo of Alex is hilarious.

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  9. Picture #2 - I can actually see the wheels turning in Alex's head as she begins to figure a way to outsmart this piece of wood!
    Awesome idea! I might suggest painting it to match the rest of the crate. Retain the beauty of the crate!
    ~ Linda K.

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  10. LOL! That last photo made me bust out laughing! What a face!! Looks like the wood piece works! Yeah!

    Sydney
    NE Oklahoma

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  11. Excellent pictures! Especially the last one.

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  12. That Alex is just too danged cute!

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  13. That's such a great idea. Your dog is adorable!

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  14. Oh Alex, you are so much fun to watch!!

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  15. Great fix......but I would lengthen the grooves to make it a little harder to knock off (based on my life with escape artists!) I always had something I could clip with a snap for security.

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  16. Great work! I love all her faces - especially the last one! So adorable.

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  17. PERFECT! Yes, I would make the grooves a little bit deeper. So they sit down on the knobs a little lower.
    The other thing I may suggest is adding a felt backing to the block of wood so it doesn't scratch up the paint.
    Alex is adorable. From a few past posts, it looks Miss Smooch is becoming accustomed to her new sibling. Have you introduced her to "the boys"? Alan, George, and JC. It will be fun to see their reactions. ENJOY your July 4th!

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  18. Haha those photos are awesome! I am enjoying your adventures with Alex.

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  19. i think the last picture could be on your next calendar!

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  20. An American in Tokyo7/9/18, 6:05 PM

    Those pictures of Alex are hilarious!!
    I hope she doesn't figure out how to slide the wood up anytime soon! ;)

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