Carry Handle - How to carry the M4 with one hand?

Hardware
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I’m an old guy with mobility issues, so I use a cane or handrails to walk around the shop a lot. It currently takes two hands to pick up the M4 as I have it set up: I must either grasp it by the two “linear rod support” vertical pylons, or by slipping fingers under the sled and lifting by the base. Both of these options require two hands to safely lift the tool. And I’d really like to have one hand free for the cane or a handrail.

Has anyone come up with a way to lift and carry the tool with a single hand? I am thinking that the “linear rod supports” could potentially each get one 1/4 inch hole towards the top and simply pass a rope through them to make an arch-shaped handle at the top. Would drilling that size hole cause a structural problem with the linear rod supports?

Is there a best option for where to drill? It’s probably a bad idea to drill at the very top cell where all the nuts are that connect the tops. But the next row down has two cells that might be best option - not sure if there’s a difference structurally between the cell closest to center or furthest away. From a carrying standpoint I don’t think it would make a difference.

The next option would be to make some type of clamp that fits around the linear rod supports, but that seems really elaborate. I’d value some discussion if anybody has any ideas on how drilling a small hole in the supports might be OK or cause problems. Or even better, if there is a carrying solution I haven’t thought of.

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I think that you are on the right track. The linear rod parts are the best place to lift from. I’m a little worried that they might crack if they were drilled though

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I am also worried about cracking a support - I’m really lazy and don’t want to rebuild the tool! Is there any engineering info on the strength of the plastic as it’s been molded and the amount of stress that’s put on the arms? Before removing any material from the linear rod supports, it would be good to know whether the current design covers double the stress that usually occurs or ten times the stress. That’s probably a ridiculous request, but thought I’d ask before I start guessing. Thanks -

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I normally just grab it by the support.

as for engineering analysis, the maslow isn’t built with that levelof planning.
An idea is generated, tried, and if it works well enough, that’s good enough. If
it doesn’t, something gets beefed up and tried again. Those supports were added
because the linear rods were not stiff enough without the added support.

David Lang

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