On 13/04/2012 14:05, John Stumbles wrote:
My mum's got one of those contraptions of 4 strips of wood suspended from
a pair of metal hangers, raised and lowered from pulleys screwed into the
ceiling by sash-cord-type rope. She's getting on and finding it hard to
manage the weight so I'm thinking of some sort of winch which would give
her a mechanical advantage, or maybe even some sort of electric gizmo. My
Google-fu isn't winning he anyone have any suggestions for sources of
suitable devices?


You could try a boat winch (used to pull boat on to trailer). Machine
Mart stock some. I used one to upgrade a hay soaker, it's a bit big and
clunky but it works and has ratchets both ways.