Tree-Mounted Machinery Lift
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It’s easy for Marshall Berkoski to get under the equipment he’s working on with the help of an old forklift mast and a big tree. When his old forklift was vandalized to the point of no repair, Berkoski salvaged what he could. The vandals had broken off knobs, smashed dials, and removed levers.
“I tried reselling it, but I had no takers,” says Berkoski. “So, I took the hydraulic pump off the engine and put it on a stand. I took the hydraulic controls from the dash and replaced the levers.”
He also salvaged the oil reserve tank, hoses, and mast. He connected the pump to a 16-hp. Briggs & Stratton engine and ran a 10-ft. piece of pipe from the pump to the forklift mast, which he tied to a big tree.
“I used channel iron to extend the forks and added a pipe to the side of one of the forks,” says Berkoski. “This lets me drive my lawn mower on, and the rear wheels sit on the saddle formed by the pipe and the fork. This ensures access to the blade spindles.”
The tree gets double duty, as does the lift. Berkoski has a chain hoist hanging from a large branch. He uses it to unload stuff from his pickup.
He also uses the lift for other equipment. When his 3-pt. mounted finish mower was clumping up grass, he set it on the lift and raised it for easier modifications.
“At first, I took out the drop chains, which reduced some clumping,” says Berkoski. “I then removed a shield welded to the bottom of the deck at the edge of the blades. It hung down lower than the blades. Cutting it out made a world of difference. Working on it was easy with the lift.”
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Marshall R. Berkoski, 110 W 5th St., Cantril, Iowa 52542 (ph 319-397-2205).
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Tree-Mounted Machinery Lift FARM SHOP Tools It’s easy for Marshall Berkoski to get under the equipment he’s working on with the help of an old forklift mast and a big tree When his old forklift was vandalized to the point of no repair Berkoski salvaged what he could The vandals had broken off knobs smashed dials and removed levers “I tried reselling it but I had no takers ” says Berkoski “So I took the hydraulic pump off the engine and put it on a stand I took the hydraulic controls from the dash and replaced the levers ” He also salvaged the oil reserve tank hoses and mast He connected the pump to a 16-hp Briggs & Stratton engine and ran a 10-ft piece of pipe from the pump to the forklift mast which he tied to a big tree “I used channel iron to extend the forks and added a pipe to the side of one of the forks ” says Berkoski “This lets me drive my lawn mower on and the rear wheels sit on the saddle formed by the pipe and the fork This ensures access to the blade spindles ” The tree gets double duty as does the lift Berkoski has a chain hoist hanging from a large branch He uses it to unload stuff from his pickup He also uses the lift for other equipment When his 3-pt mounted finish mower was clumping up grass he set it on the lift and raised it for easier modifications “At first I took out the drop chains which reduced some clumping ” says Berkoski “I then removed a shield welded to the bottom of the deck at the edge of the blades It hung down lower than the blades Cutting it out made a world of difference Working on it was easy with the lift ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Marshall R Berkoski 110 W 5th St Cantril Iowa 52542 ph 319-397-2205
