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"Storage Lift" Frees Up Space In Shop
One evening last fall Chris Kornkven was storing things in his shop for the winter and found himself standing high on a step ladder, trying to lift a bicycle up to a hook on a rafter.
"The bottom of the rafters is 10 ft. above the floor, so hanging things from them is a difficult job. Space is at a premium in m
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"Storage Lift" Frees Up Space In Shop FARM SHOP Miscellaneous 32-4-39 One evening last fall Chris Kornkven was storing things in his shop for the winter and found himself standing high on a step ladder, trying to lift a bicycle up to a hook on a rafter.
"The bottom of the rafters is 10 ft. above the floor, so hanging things from them is a difficult job. Space is at a premium in my shop, and I thought there had to be a better way of storing things by making use of the wasted space between the rafters," says Kornkven.
After thinking about it for a couple of days, he got the idea for a new-style storage lift. It has worked out so well that he says he's interested in patenting the idea.
He had been given a used garage door opener which still worked, so he decided to mount it from the purlins between the rafters. The opener is mounted in such a way that the motor is toward the lower part of the roof, with the lift chain pointed toward the peak. The rafters are spaced 10 ft. apart, so Kornkven bought some garage door tracks and 10-ft. long by 1 1/2-in. dia. pipe. The tracks are bolted onto each rafter facing each other like they would with a garage door. Kornkven welded garage door rollers to the inside of the pipe and attached 1/8-in. cable to the lift chain. The cable runs through pulleys to hooks that he bolted onto the lift pipe. Counterweights are connected to other hooks bolted to the pipe in order to offset the load.
"The button to operate the garage door is located in such a way that the operator doesn't have to stand under the lift, and pins inserted in the tracks make the operation as safe as possible," says Kornkven.
Light chains are attached to other hooks that are spaced across the width of the pipe and hang down freely.
"Now when I want to store bicycles, garden tools or other items I just press the button and the lift lowers down toward the floor. I can stand on the floor and attach things to the chains. Then when I press the button again, the lift raises them up between the rafters where I can store them out of the way," notes Kornkven.
Total cost of the project was about $75, he says.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Chris Kornkven, N6280 County P, Helenville, Wis. 53137 (ph 920 699-2376).
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