# Special name for pivoting flagpole base with worm gear drive? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 21, 2021, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/special-name-for-pivoting-flagpole-base-with-worm-gear-drive/938381 "2021-03-21T22:18:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2021, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/special-name-for-pivoting-flagpole-base-with-worm-gear-drive/938381/1 "2021-03-21T22:18:25Z")
I’ve seen flagpoles that pivot at the bottom, and have a bit over 90 degrees of worm gear in the pivot. There’s a worm you turn to raise and lower the pole as a cantilever. Beautiful big cast steel gears. Is there a special name for this? I’ve been googling images with every description I’ve thought of but have turned up nary a one. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2021, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/special-name-for-pivoting-flagpole-base-with-worm-gear-drive/938381/3 "2021-03-22T00:17:17Z")
Sounds like a new Pole-ish variant. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2021, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/special-name-for-pivoting-flagpole-base-with-worm-gear-drive/938381/4 "2021-03-22T00:17:55Z")
Moved from QZ to GQ. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2021, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/special-name-for-pivoting-flagpole-base-with-worm-gear-drive/938381/5 "2021-03-22T13:28:15Z")
> [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#): > > Moved from QZ to GQ. I posted in QZ? Whoops – how’d I do that?? Thank you! ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2021, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/special-name-for-pivoting-flagpole-base-with-worm-gear-drive/938381/6 "2021-03-22T13:31:15Z")
Big fat quadrant gear at the base? Saw one of those once. Don’t recall it was a very big pole, maybe 10 or 12 feet? ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2021, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/special-name-for-pivoting-flagpole-base-with-worm-gear-drive/938381/7 "2021-03-22T22:29:52Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Don’t recall it was a very big pole, maybe 10 or 12 feet? Yeah, maybe. Tell you why I want it to know what it’s called. First, I think big cast gears are gorgeous. Second, Ms. Napier wants a martin house, but they have to be cleaned regularly she says. So, I thought… well… ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2021, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/special-name-for-pivoting-flagpole-base-with-worm-gear-drive/938381/8 "2021-03-22T22:33:52Z")
Not a bad idea, and I get off on big cast gears also. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2021, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/special-name-for-pivoting-flagpole-base-with-worm-gear-drive/938381/9 "2021-03-22T22:35:51Z")
If that’s your goal, why not just a hinge at the bottom of the flagpole? ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2021, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/special-name-for-pivoting-flagpole-base-with-worm-gear-drive/938381/10 "2021-03-22T22:43:22Z")
> [@Napier](#): > > I’ve been googling images with every description Try using the keyword ‘hinged’. That gets me a lot of results. None that I saw with a giant gear, but a lot with either steel cables and pulleys or a spring loaded mechanism to lower the entire thing so the pole is laying down on the ground (usually used for changing light bulbs without needing a cherry picker). ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2021, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/special-name-for-pivoting-flagpole-base-with-worm-gear-drive/938381/11 "2021-03-22T23:51:27Z")
I the world of radio antennas, a tower or mast like this is called a tilt over, though I don’t recall any with a worm gear drive. > [@Joey\_P](#): > > That gets me a lot of results. None that I saw with a giant gear, but a lot with either steel cables and pulleys or a spring loaded mechanism to lower the entire thing so the pole is laying down on the ground (usually used for changing light bulbs without needing a cherry picker). A lot seem to be deadweight counterbalanced, too. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2021, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/special-name-for-pivoting-flagpole-base-with-worm-gear-drive/938381/12 "2021-03-23T00:08:47Z")
> [@jnglmassiv](#): > > A lot seem to be deadweight counterbalanced, too. For that reason I looked up 'Bascule Flagpole;, but got no relevant hits. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2021, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/special-name-for-pivoting-flagpole-base-with-worm-gear-drive/938381/13 "2021-03-27T21:26:20Z")
The GQ thread about [birds and their spots](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-birds-have-their-own-spots/938805) along with this thread got me interested in Purple Martin houses, and that led me to this [Martin House plan that shows a simple pulley and crank lifting system.](https://purplemartinplace.com/images/plans/HandyMag_Martin_House.pdf) Not what you were looking for but perhaps better than a simple hinged pole. Now thinking about making one of these houses. Or maybe a bat house. ---
**Author:** ![Bonum\_Legatum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bonum_legatum/32/6183_2.png) [@Bonum\_Legatum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bonum_Legatum)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2021, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/special-name-for-pivoting-flagpole-base-with-worm-gear-drive/938381/14 "2021-03-28T19:28:17Z")
Not a worm gear, but check this company’s site for a flagpole - recommended for use with a “lowering winch”: > **[Products - General Structures Inc.](https://generalstructuresinc.com/products/)** > > Whether you need a commercial light pole or sports lighting, General Structures has the pole to need for your project.