That L-shaped component you are talking about is called a bell crank, and it requires a hinge point upon which it can rotate. Push perpendicularly to one end, and you get a force perpendicular to the other end. Vary the angle between the two arms and you change the directions of the input and output forces. Vary the lengths of the two arms and you change the mechanical advantage of the crank.
An example (two are shown):
