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He Made His Own Shop "Elevator"
The balcony storage area in Ron Mickle's shop is much more useable now that he can get there by elevator. 
    The shop balcony area is 8 ft. deep and 25 ft. long. "It's 80 inches off the floor, so lifting anything up for storage presented a problem for someone who's only 5 ft. 8 in. tall," says Mickle. "Now I c
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He Made His Own Shop  Elevator  FARM SHOP Maintenance The balcony storage area in Ron Mickle s shop is much more useable now that he can get there by elevator       The shop balcony area is 8 ft  deep and 25 ft  long   It s 80 inches off the floor  so lifting anything up for storage presented a problem for someone who s only 5 ft  8 in  tall   says Mickle   Now I can ride up to the balcony with whatever I want to store        He made the elevator-lift using a no  1700 Warn winch  some purchased steel  two old riding lawn mower tires and two small caster wheels  The winch is powered by a 12-volt battery and is operated by a remote controller attached to a 10-ft  long cord         The unit converts from a forklift to a 3 by 4-ft  platform  so I can use it as a work bench for a tiller or snowblower at standing height  No more lying on the ground to work on small equipment or to change the oil   says Mickle       The 3 by 4-ft  platform is contained by a pair of wooden 2 by 4 s on either side and held secure by 1/8 by 2-in  steel straps       A pair of pulleys give the elevator a 3 to 1 reduction on the cable lift  slowing it down and adding to its lifting ability  The winch is rated at 1 700 lbs   It goes up at a nice  comfortable slow speed   says Mickle            A lever-operated brake is used to take the weight off the rear tires and hold the unit steady as I ride it up  The system works on an overcenter principle  Pulling up on the lever drives a pair of steel rods into the floor  and lifts the back end of the elevator 3/8 of an inch  which is just enough to take the weight off the tires so the unit can t slide       I m very happy with it  and my friends think it s pretty snazzy   says Mickle   I spent only about $300 to build it  I use a handle on back of the elevator to move it around       The lift carriage is made from 2-in  sq   1/4-in  thick tubing  The mast is made from 11/2-in  sq  tubing and with 3-in  wide  3/16-in  thick steel plate        Contact: FARM SHOW Followup  Ron Mickle  S30 W37174 School Section Lake Rd   Dousman  Wis  53118  ph 262 965-2479; jmickle@execpc com  
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