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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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