Project by That_Weird_Uncle | posted 03-04-2019 10:28 PM | 1257 views | 1 time favorited | 7 comments | ![]() |
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My shop is 1300 sq feet with a finished out office and bathroom taking up about 350 sq feet of that space. I’ve got a ceiling that is 17’ at the peak and so i have a loft area over the finished office/bathroom that i use for storage. To make better use of the space i needed a way to get things up there safely. I framed in a couple of sections of the wall right in front of my bathroom as it is indented/shallower then the office there is a little cove area that is essentially wasted space (wasted space meaning i cant put tools there of course) The walls have 4×4 supports that carry the load all the way to the concrete floor. I had a 5/8” thick T beam in my junk pile that i created a saddle for out of some 2×12’s that span the wall and are lag bolted in place. Then i installed some 2×6’s on the wall where i was planning on putting a track system/ ladder for the elevator. Initially my plan was to fabricate the ladder/track but when i got to the scrap yard i found a 3/8” thick angle iron utility ladder that actually suited my purpose really well and i only paid 30 bucks for it. I cut it down and welded some 5/8” thick L iron brackets to the ladder then drilled holes in them and bolted them to my previously installed 2×6 stock using 6” structural rated GRK bolts. after that it was time to make the trolly/elevator platform that would ride up/down the ladder/track. I got some casters and welded up a T brace for the left/right the casters were then welded to the brace i created an I shaped piece with hole patterns at the top/bottom of the I then drilled/tapped holes into the platform frame. I was just barely able to flex the elevator platform onto the ladder/track then i bolted the I in place. I installed a connection point of the hoist right on that I section and installed the hoist above. Eventually ill be changing the 2 ton chain hoist out for an electric one but its just what i had laying around and it actually works great + you can’t beat the reliability/ safety factor of something designed to hold %4000 of the load i actually intend. In all i have lifted about 400lbs of freight on this elevator with zero flex the platform is probably 120 lbs and the chain hoist is about 120 as well. I have the hoist chained to the top of the ladder as a safety precaution. I was thinking of adding a ratcheting catch made of plywood that will grab the ladder rungs in the event of a failure but haven’t quite gotten around to designing that part of the project.
-- "The beatings will continue until the morale improves" --Grandpa
7 comments so far
pottz
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7136 posts in 1550 days
#1 posted 03-04-2019 11:15 PM
love your innovative spirit,nice dust collector too.welcome to lj’s weird uncle.
-- sawdust the bigger the pile the bigger my smile-larry,so cal.
That_Weird_Uncle
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55 posts in 285 days
#2 posted 03-04-2019 11:49 PM
Thanks pottz! I love basic engineering so anytime i can solve a problem with some i’m a happy guy. I hope to be posting many more projects on here. I’ve had my shop about 3 years now and am only now wrapping up the drudgery projects like electrical/drywall/epoxying the floor/insulating enough that i can actually start to work on some fun things.
-- "The beatings will continue until the morale improves" --Grandpa
pottz
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7136 posts in 1550 days
#3 posted 03-04-2019 11:54 PM
i hear ya we can always make or buy what we need except time,there’s never enough.
-- sawdust the bigger the pile the bigger my smile-larry,so cal.
swirt
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#4 posted 03-05-2019 02:25 AM
That is very cool. So clever and useful. I wish I had one. Would love to store wood in my attic.
-- Galootish log blog, http://www.timberframe-tools.com
Mainiac Matt
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9376 posts in 2894 days
#5 posted 03-05-2019 07:12 PM
Very cool. I’d really like to rig up something similar in my barn loft.
-- Matt -- I yam what I yam and that's all what I yam
CaptainKlutz
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2062 posts in 2060 days
#6 posted 03-06-2019 01:32 AM
Nice.
BTW – Hillbilly would not have painted it, so that label doesn’t fit. :)
-- I'm an engineer not a woodworker, but I can randomly find useful tools and furniture inside a pile of lumber!
markgrogan1
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35 posts in 1906 days
#7 posted 03-20-2019 03:51 AM
It never hurts to have some sort of system in your storage room that will help with the bigger and bulkier items. For that reason I much prefer to have ground level storage rooms, but of course, a lot of people still have attics or garages with unused headspace that they will need this sort of apparatus for help with moving things around!
-- Mark Grogan @ https://www.supereasystorage.com.au/locations/wollongong/
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