I want to make an elevator of sorts for our newly acquired cabin. This is
because moving any appliances in and out is a bear the way the stairs,
railings, walkways, etc. are located.

I want to make a section of handrail removable, and make a hoist maybe 48"
square for lifting items like fridge, furniture, and wheelchair bound people
up to the level of the porch, a distance of about 8 feet.

Total weight I would guess at 1,000# max, and that is figuring at the most,
a fridge and two people. Platform would be about 250#.

So, I would put in a 2,000# capacity hoist.

Any suggestions of brand names? I imagine it would be used maybe 25 times a
year.

Steve

Lifting people requires special dispensation from various regulatory
agencies. I would give up on that aspect or expect to lay out some
serious bread.

As for the rest, get rid of the platform and use slings.

I own a three story building with narrow halls and winder staircases.

I rigged my porch rails to be removable and hung a block and tackle
off the porch roof. I've used it to lift two fridges a 40" stove,
dishwashers, several yards of construction debris and about 180 10 ft
sheets of 5/8" drywall.

I still use it to tote my anvil or Chinese bandsaw out of the
basement.

Paul K. Dickman

On Tue, 16 Aug 2005 13:16:10 -0700, "SteveB"
wrote:

I want to make an elevator of sorts for our newly acquired cabin. This is
because moving any appliances in and out is a bear the way the stairs,
railings, walkways, etc. are located.

I want to make a section of handrail removable, and make a hoist maybe 48"
square for lifting items like fridge, furniture, and wheelchair bound people
up to the level of the porch, a distance of about 8 feet.

Total weight I would guess at 1,000# max, and that is figuring at the most,
a fridge and two people. Platform would be about 250#.

So, I would put in a 2,000# capacity hoist.

Any suggestions of brand names? I imagine it would be used maybe 25 times a
year.

Steve

"SteveB" wrote

I want to make an elevator of sorts for our newly acquired cabin. This is
because moving any appliances in and out is a bear the way the stairs,
railings, walkways, etc. are located.

I want to make a section of handrail removable, and make a hoist maybe 48"
square for lifting items like fridge, furniture, and wheelchair bound
people up to the level of the porch, a distance of about 8 feet.

Total weight I would guess at 1,000# max, and that is figuring at the
most, a fridge and two people. Platform would be about 250#.

So, I would put in a 2,000# capacity hoist.

Any suggestions of brand names? I imagine it would be used maybe 25 times
a year.

I used to hoist lots of heavy stuff up to the upper floor of a barn with the
traditional chain hoist. What I liked about it was that it rolled along a
big chunk of I beam. So you could lift a heavy load, roll it into the barn,
then lower it to the floor. But you may not like a big I beam going through
your cabin.

For this kind of application, particularly if somebody in a wheelchair is
involved, I would go with something totally reliable and safe. This is not a
time to experiment. I would look into the horizontal elevator concept. I
have seen a lot of these with waterfront homes that sit on a cliff, high
above the beach.

They had a set of rails. Some were made of wood, but most were metal. They
would have wheels that were made to ride on the metal. A little platform
with wheels was constructed on these rails. This was then hooked up to a
winch of some kind.

You got on the little platform, closed the chain and pushed the winch
button. And yoo were lowered or raised along the rails. This was the simple
version that did not involve a long distance. For those applications, much
more expensive and complicated elevators were needed.

But with eight feet vertical distance, you shouldn't have too much of a
problem. Just make sure that your movable platform is rock solid and can not
come off of its tracks. It might be an idea to construct a set of stairs
right beside it. This would be handy in terms of providing extra security
to the load when using the movable platform.

A friend of mine used to make gym equipment. He did something like this for
his leg press machine. He would install casters to run on either angle iron
or the corner of square tubing. And he would install these on both the top
of the rail as well as the bottom. He would then fine tune the sled to slide
smoothly. And this thing was solid and secure. The casters literally
wrapped the rails. No way was that thing ever going to fall off.

I think that something like this would be much easier to build and design
than a more traditional vertical solution.

"Ignoramus23305" wrote in message
news
On Tue, 16 Aug 2005 13:16:10 -0700, SteveB
wrote:
I want to make an elevator of sorts for our newly acquired cabin. This
is
because moving any appliances in and out is a bear the way the stairs,
railings, walkways, etc. are located.

I want to make a section of handrail removable, and make a hoist maybe
48"
square for lifting items like fridge, furniture, and wheelchair bound
people
up to the level of the porch, a distance of about 8 feet.

Total weight I would guess at 1,000# max, and that is figuring at the
most,
a fridge and two people. Platform would be about 250#.

So, I would put in a 2,000# capacity hoist.

Any suggestions of brand names? I imagine it would be used maybe 25
times a
year.

Most "hoists" are not legal to use for lifting people.

i


Will anyone here who has done anything "illegal" with regards to
fabricating, rigging, lifting, hoisting, etc. please raise your hand?

Did we miss anyone? ( I can't see through all the hands.)

I thought not.

Steve

"Lee Michaels" wrote

I used to hoist lots of heavy stuff up to the upper floor of a barn with
the traditional chain hoist. What I liked about it was that it rolled
along a big chunk of I beam. So you could lift a heavy load, roll it into
the barn, then lower it to the floor.

I did that once on a work truck. Built a mongo truck rack, with small I
beam on it. Had a Dayton 12v. winch on it. Lifted a small portable welding
machine in and out. It worked really slick.

On this, though, I just want to go straight up and down.

Steve

Lee Michaels wrote:

"SteveB" wrote

I want to make an elevator of sorts for our newly acquired cabin. This is
because moving any appliances in and out is a bear the way the stairs,
railings, walkways, etc. are located.

I want to make a section of handrail removable, and make a hoist maybe 48"
square for lifting items like fridge, furniture, and wheelchair bound
people up to the level of the porch, a distance of about 8 feet.

Total weight I would guess at 1,000# max, and that is figuring at the
most, a fridge and two people. Platform would be about 250#.

So, I would put in a 2,000# capacity hoist.

Any suggestions of brand names? I imagine it would be used maybe 25 times
a year.

I used to hoist lots of heavy stuff up to the upper floor of a barn with the
traditional chain hoist. What I liked about it was that it rolled along a
big chunk of I beam. So you could lift a heavy load, roll it into the barn,
then lower it to the floor. But you may not like a big I beam going through
your cabin.

For this kind of application, particularly if somebody in a wheelchair is
involved, I would go with something totally reliable and safe. This is not a
time to experiment. I would look into the horizontal elevator concept. I
have seen a lot of these with waterfront homes that sit on a cliff, high
above the beach.

They had a set of rails. Some were made of wood, but most were metal. They
would have wheels that were made to ride on the metal. A little platform
with wheels was constructed on these rails. This was then hooked up to a
winch of some kind.

You got on the little platform, closed the chain and pushed the winch
button. And yoo were lowered or raised along the rails. This was the simple
version that did not involve a long distance. For those applications, much
more expensive and complicated elevators were needed.

But with eight feet vertical distance, you shouldn't have too much of a
problem. Just make sure that your movable platform is rock solid and can not
come off of its tracks. It might be an idea to construct a set of stairs
right beside it. This would be handy in terms of providing extra security
to the load when using the movable platform.

A friend of mine used to make gym equipment. He did something like this for
his leg press machine. He would install casters to run on either angle iron
or the corner of square tubing. And he would install these on both the top
of the rail as well as the bottom. He would then fine tune the sled to slide
smoothly. And this thing was solid and secure. The casters literally
wrapped the rails. No way was that thing ever going to fall off.

I think that something like this would be much easier to build and design
than a more traditional vertical solution.

Also make sure you have a safety brake mechanism. Easy enough to use the
winch cable tension to hold up a spring loaded brake arm. If the cable
snaps the brake kicks in.

Another possibility would be to adapt one of the hydraulic scissor dock
lifts. Those are generally designed to handle a large load and people as
well and have provisions for removable hand rails.

Pete C.

On Tue, 16 Aug 2005 16:56:06 -0400, "Lee Michaels"
wrote:

BIG SNIP

I would look into the horizontal elevator concept. I
have seen a lot of these with waterfront homes that sit on a cliff, high
above the beach.

They had a set of rails. Some were made of wood, but most were metal. They
would have wheels that were made to ride on the metal. A little platform
with wheels was constructed on these rails. This was then hooked up to a
winch of some kind.

You got on the little platform, closed the chain and pushed the winch
button. And yoo were lowered or raised along the rails. This was the simple
version that did not involve a long distance. For those applications, much
more expensive and complicated elevators were needed.

But with eight feet vertical distance, you shouldn't have too much of a
problem. Just make sure that your movable platform is rock solid and can not
come off of its tracks. It might be an idea to construct a set of stairs
right beside it. This would be handy in terms of providing extra security
to the load when using the movable platform.

A friend of mine used to make gym equipment. He did something like this for
his leg press machine. He would install casters to run on either angle iron
or the corner of square tubing. And he would install these on both the top
of the rail as well as the bottom. He would then fine tune the sled to slide
smoothly. And this thing was solid and secure. The casters literally
wrapped the rails. No way was that thing ever going to fall off.

I think that something like this would be much easier to build and design
than a more traditional vertical solution.

Hey Lee,

This is called an inclined elevator or inclined lift, and is as
illegal as the hoist type the OP wants to make. Gym equipment falls
under a separate safety category.

Brian Lawson,
Bothwell, Ontario.

On Tue, 16 Aug 2005 14:43:37 -0700, "SteveB"
wrote:


"Ignoramus23305" wrote in message
news
On Tue, 16 Aug 2005 13:16:10 -0700, SteveB
wrote:
I want to make an elevator of sorts for our newly acquired cabin. This
is
because moving any appliances in and out is a bear the way the stairs,
railings, walkways, etc. are located.

I want to make a section of handrail removable, and make a hoist maybe
48"
square for lifting items like fridge, furniture, and wheelchair bound
people
up to the level of the porch, a distance of about 8 feet.

Total weight I would guess at 1,000# max, and that is figuring at the
most,
a fridge and two people. Platform would be about 250#.

So, I would put in a 2,000# capacity hoist.

Any suggestions of brand names? I imagine it would be used maybe 25
times a
year.

Most "hoists" are not legal to use for lifting people.

i


Will anyone here who has done anything "illegal" with regards to
fabricating, rigging, lifting, hoisting, etc. please raise your hand?

Did we miss anyone? ( I can't see through all the hands.)

I thought not.

Steve


Hey Steve,

I've done lots of "illegal stuff", but usually it is a one time thing,
with a definite time span and a known risk.

Exactly how much risk are YOU willing to take? A simple "assist" to
answer my question would be to speak to your home owner insurance
provider about your plan. If they say OK, then have at it, illegal or
not, but get it in writing from them.

One simple thing that people tend to forget, especially with real
property (ie...your house or cottage), is that there is no guarantee
that the originator will always be the owner, and even while he is the
owner there is no way that he can guarantee that he will be the only
user, no matter what he tries to do to assure that.

You might be the best elevator builder the world will ever know or
see, but so far as I can see to this point you have no idea of what
and why. And even if you are the safest operator of such, what about
your children or other family or friends "using it" without your
participation or permission?

This is the last I will read or comment on this thread.

Take care. Really.

Brian Lawson,
Bothwell, Ontario.

I have built two elevators for residential use , one for my boss and one for
his dad

we used rebuilt tow motor masts and hydraulic power units from ebay


the safety is controlled by your fabricating skills and a one way flow valve
built into the bottom oh the hydraulic cylinder

even removing the hose completely the elevators only fall at a certain rate

we also built safety catches into the side that wont let it fall more than
an inch or two if the gate is open

that being said , the controls were a pita

no operation with open gates , securing the entrance and exit doors if the
car is not present

making the car trigger these portal locks and making the car not run until
the portal doors are closed was the biggest, gripe


I would not recommend building it for anyone else but yourself

also would not leave it operable when not present


I have seen one elevator using a chain hoist used to lift motorcycles to a
loft for storage
it works great but not real safe , if that little 3/8 bolt holding you to
the end of the hoist chain takes a vacation.................


please post pics when your done

"Brian Lawson" wrote

I've done lots of "illegal stuff", but usually it is a one time thing,
with a definite time span and a known risk.

Exactly how much risk are YOU willing to take? A simple "assist" to
answer my question would be to speak to your home owner insurance
provider about your plan. If they say OK, then have at it, illegal or
not, but get it in writing from them.

One simple thing that people tend to forget, especially with real
property (ie...your house or cottage), is that there is no guarantee
that the originator will always be the owner, and even while he is the
owner there is no way that he can guarantee that he will be the only
user, no matter what he tries to do to assure that.

You might be the best elevator builder the world will ever know or
see, but so far as I can see to this point you have no idea of what
and why. And even if you are the safest operator of such, what about
your children or other family or friends "using it" without your
participation or permission?

This is the last I will read or comment on this thread.

Take care. Really.

Brian Lawson,
Bothwell, Ontario.


All very valid lucid points.

This is not meant to be a daily conveyance, and that is why I put in the
original post that I believe I would use it 25 times a year, and probably
half of that.

It would only be used when there is no other practical way to move things in
and out. I would be the only operator. It would function as any other
lifting device. A very once in a while thing.

Steve

Okay. We've gotten off track again.

What brand of electric hoist do you like or recommend? I am going to use it
to pull engines.

Steve

On Tue, 16 Aug 2005 17:35:28 -0700, "SteveB"
wrote:

Okay. We've gotten off track again.

What brand of electric hoist do you like or recommend? I am going to use it
to pull engines.

Steve

I had a rough plan to build an um, engine puller myself. The idea was
that first I'd remove the grill on the car, then push it up to a thing
that looked a lot like one leg of a 2-post car lift with a platform
that reached under the car. ;-) BTW, I have an old single-post car
lift, and I've been known to climb up into the car while it's in the
air to get the parts I bought but forgot to take out before raising
the car. Anyway, if I had a granny in a wheelchair, I'd let her ride
up and down in the car if she wanted. :-)

Wayne

"SteveB" wrote in message
news:cQrMe.51391$DW1.32259@fed1read06...
| I want to make an elevator of sorts for our newly acquired cabin. This
is
| because moving any appliances in and out is a bear the way the stairs,
| railings, walkways, etc. are located.
|
| I want to make a section of handrail removable, and make a hoist maybe 48"
| square for lifting items like fridge, furniture, and wheelchair bound
people
| up to the level of the porch, a distance of about 8 feet.
|
| Total weight I would guess at 1,000# max, and that is figuring at the
most,
| a fridge and two people. Platform would be about 250#.
|
| So, I would put in a 2,000# capacity hoist.
|
| Any suggestions of brand names? I imagine it would be used maybe 25 times
a
| year.
|
| Steve

Why a hoist and not something like a scissor lift? To use a standard
scissor lift you'd have to make arrangements to either lower the base of the
lift to ground level, or raise ground level with a ramp.
Genie lifts do what you are describing, in a platform lift, which is a
telescoping beam arrangement that goes up and down. I modified one to move
200# about six feet, but you can get them in all sizes. They make gobs and
gobs of different kinds of machines.
http://www.genielift.com/
Used might be the way to go, but I've never shopped for 'em.

On Tue, 16 Aug 2005 17:35:28 -0700, "SteveB"
wrote:

Okay. We've gotten off track again.

What brand of electric hoist do you like or recommend? I am going to use it
to pull engines.


In this case go for quality not price. Yale comes to mind but there
are others out there.

Wayne Cook
Shamrock, TX
http://members.dslextreme.com/users/waynecook/index.htm

"carl mciver" wrote

Why a hoist and not something like a scissor lift? To use a standard
scissor lift you'd have to make arrangements to either lower the base of
the
lift to ground level, or raise ground level with a ramp.
Genie lifts do what you are describing, in a platform lift, which is a
telescoping beam arrangement that goes up and down. I modified one to
move
200# about six feet, but you can get them in all sizes. They make gobs
and
gobs of different kinds of machines.
http://www.genielift.com/
Used might be the way to go, but I've never shopped for 'em.

I tell ya, if one can stand the nit pickers and ankle biters here, there is
a great fountain of knowledge and ideas!

Your idea is outstanding. I don't mean to pop yer balloon, but someone beat
you to the idea via a private e mail.

I would have never thought of it. I looked up 2 ton electric chain hoists,
and came up with about $1700 for a name brand. Plus, all the time and
effort, and hassle of making something that might be dangerous at worst.

This fella says he did the same thing, and paid $1500 for it from a rental
place. Heck, since it will be stationary, I can get one with a fried drive
motor, so long as the scissors work okay. It's only going to be a 4 or 5
foot rise, as the lift deck is about three feet off ground level already.

So, kudos to you and the other fellow for thinking outside the box. (I
would give his name, but I think he wanted to avoid the flaming going on.
He knows who he is.)

We will be going to the cabin Friday, then on a trip through Northern
Nevada, and up to Jackpot, then back to the cabin to meet relatives for
Labor Day.

So much to do. Going to do some fancy iron work, some gates, some stair
railings out of Indital stuff, just a lot.

That scissor lift is going to be handy.

And safe, too. Already OSHA approved to lift people. Guard rail. Toe
kick. You couldn't ask for more.

Steve

PS: I think the other way would have been more exciting to ride on, though.
But then, you're talking to someone who has actually ridden a headache ball
on a crane, and a 1" line with a boot loop down from a crown block eased
down by a drawworks cathead.

If'n ya know what I'm talking about ...............

"SteveB" wrote

"carl mciver" wrote

Why a hoist and not something like a scissor lift? To use a standard
scissor lift you'd have to make arrangements to either lower the base of
the
lift to ground level, or raise ground level with a ramp.
Genie lifts do what you are describing, in a platform lift, which is a
telescoping beam arrangement that goes up and down. I modified one to
move
200# about six feet, but you can get them in all sizes. They make gobs
and
gobs of different kinds of machines.
http://www.genielift.com/
Used might be the way to go, but I've never shopped for 'em.

I tell ya, if one can stand the nit pickers and ankle biters here, there
is a great fountain of knowledge and ideas!

Your idea is outstanding. I don't mean to pop yer balloon, but someone
beat you to the idea via a private e mail.

I would have never thought of it. I looked up 2 ton electric chain
hoists, and came up with about $1700 for a name brand. Plus, all the time
and effort, and hassle of making something that might be dangerous at
worst.

This fella says he did the same thing, and paid $1500 for it from a rental
place. Heck, since it will be stationary, I can get one with a fried
drive motor, so long as the scissors work okay. It's only going to be a 4
or 5 foot rise, as the lift deck is about three feet off ground level
already.

So, kudos to you and the other fellow for thinking outside the box. (I
would give his name, but I think he wanted to avoid the flaming going on.
He knows who he is.)

We will be going to the cabin Friday, then on a trip through Northern
Nevada, and up to Jackpot, then back to the cabin to meet relatives for
Labor Day.

So much to do. Going to do some fancy iron work, some gates, some stair
railings out of Indital stuff, just a lot.

That scissor lift is going to be handy.

And safe, too. Already OSHA approved to lift people. Guard rail. Toe
kick. You couldn't ask for more.

Sounds like a plan. I never thought of using a scissors lift to lift
anything that high. But they lift things into the air much higher than that.

What I have used as a scissors lift is a work table for assembling wood
projects and welding. Both were home made work stations. They used a hand
crank and a threaded rod. But they only had to lift or lower things a foot
or so for the most part.

But you are right. There is enough things out there in the world along these
lines that you should be able to come up with something that meets your
needs.

In addition to Yale, Budgit and Coffing also make good chain hoists. Don't
get to large a one. If something binds, you want to stall the hoist, not
pull the mounting out of the ceiling. Build your top mount stronger than the
stall force of your hoist. Also build your cage to take the stall force. A
dead-man set of pins to stop it from dropping would be easy to add and
greatly increase safety. (must pull on this or cage won't drop) You pay a
HUGE premium for single phase. Three phase is easy to find. Do you need
three phase for your shop anyway?

If you're interested, I have an old 1 ton Coffing hoist I'd sell cheap. It
needs a new brake installed. I was going to fix it, but found one in great
shape at an auction for less than the parts on this one would cost.

Karl


"Wayne Cook" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 16 Aug 2005 17:35:28 -0700, "SteveB"
wrote:

Okay. We've gotten off track again.

What brand of electric hoist do you like or recommend? I am going to use
it
to pull engines.


In this case go for quality not price. Yale comes to mind but there
are others out there.

Wayne Cook
Shamrock, TX
http://members.dslextreme.com/users/waynecook/index.htm

"SteveB" wrote in message
news:8iyMe.56847$DW1.41314@fed1read06...
SNIP
| This fella says he did the same thing, and paid $1500 for it from a rental
| place. Heck, since it will be stationary, I can get one with a fried
drive
| motor, so long as the scissors work okay. It's only going to be a 4 or 5
| foot rise, as the lift deck is about three feet off ground level already.
|
| So, kudos to you and the other fellow for thinking outside the box. (I
| would give his name, but I think he wanted to avoid the flaming going on.
| He knows who he is.)
|
| We will be going to the cabin Friday, then on a trip through Northern
| Nevada, and up to Jackpot, then back to the cabin to meet relatives for
| Labor Day.
|
| So much to do. Going to do some fancy iron work, some gates, some stair
| railings out of Indital stuff, just a lot.
|
| That scissor lift is going to be handy.
|
| And safe, too. Already OSHA approved to lift people. Guard rail. Toe
| kick. You couldn't ask for more.
|
| Steve
|
| PS: I think the other way would have been more exciting to ride on,
though.
| But then, you're talking to someone who has actually ridden a headache
ball
| on a crane, and a 1" line with a boot loop down from a crown block eased
| down by a drawworks cathead.
|
| If'n ya know what I'm talking about ...............

I've been in a couple situations similar, but never deadly if I had to
use both hands for something.

There are gas and electric scissor lifts. The electric I think would be
best for you, since it's still usable if the power goes out, and hey, the
batteries could also be used to help provide power to the cabin when the
lights go out. They have dead man controls, which means they can be
operated by someone on the ground to override the upper controls. They can
go as high as you feel like paying for, but at some point batteries don't do
the job. The big ones even come with outriggers. I've had some 40 or 50
feet in the air, which when swaying gently is highly unnerving for me. I
can tolerate heights, as long as I feel like I'm in complete control.
At work some have been modified to help install certain bulky components
to the airplanes that would otherwise be very scary, so much so that the
thing barely resembles a scissor lift. The platform is very stout and you
can do a lot of things to it. I'm sure a large rental place wouldn't mind
parting with one to get rid of it, since the drive systems take the biggest
beating. Sounds like a fun project.

Where I work, we bought several of the platforms and scissor sets that
would produce the level change we needed. The hydraulics were provided
by a dedicated electric pump and tank system. Everything is enclosed in
cagework so you can't get in to the scissor system with the power on.
Instead of bolting the scissor system to the top of a carriage and
drive unit, we just bolted it to the shop floor.

Craig C.

On Tue, 16 Aug 2005 17:35:28 -0700, "SteveB"
wrote:

Okay. We've gotten off track again.

What brand of electric hoist do you like or recommend? I am going to use it
to pull engines.

LOL!

I'd use something that incorporates a "Weston brake". They're found
on boatlifts and chainhoists, among other things. It's a device
that prevents a load from falling if the handwheel, chain, motor or
whatever stops. On a boatlift, you must wind the load down as well
as up. If you let go of the handwheel, it just stops where it is.
That's no insurance against cable or structural breakage, so those
parts would need to have ample safety factor and perhaps some
redundancy in the design.