Fold-Up Shop Elevator

Fold-Up Shop Elevator BUILDINGS Miscellaneous Gary Gradek Ukiah Calif makes the most of an upper storage area in his 30 by 40-ft shed with a shop elevator he built to get up to it It’s operated by a 110-volt electric hoist he bought for about $100 When not in use it can be quickly folded up out of the way “It comes in handy for storing stuff that’s too awkward to carry up a ladder ” says Gradek “I came up with the idea after I built a 30-ft wide by 16-ft high by 4-ft deep steel storage rack at one end of my shed The hoist raises and lowers a 36 by 32-in wooden platform that rides up or down a pair of tracks at one end of the storage rack The hoist is rated at 220 lbs However I added a pulley on the carriage to raise the lifting capacity to 440 lbs The hoist is not recommended for lifting people “I finished building the hoist in early November but have already used it to move containers full of stuff we don’t have room for in our house including kids toys and Christmas decorations ” The hoist came with a remote control and a 6-ft cord which Gradek lengthened to 12 ft He used rectangular tubing and plywood to build the carriage and welded metal hinges on back of it so it can be folded up out of the way A pair of chains connect the carriage to a frame made from 2-in square tubing The frame is fitted with small wheels that ride on tracks made by welding sections of sliding barn door track together Gradek used 2-in square tubing to build the storage rack and bolted it to the shed’s floor with concrete anchors The rack supports 3 wooden shelves spaced about 4 ft apart “I keep anything that’s on wheels on the shed’s floor and made a cut-out in the bottom shelf to make room for a big wheeled air compressor ” says Gradek “I used a pair of 2 by 12 boards to build a 24-in wide walkway alongside the entire length of the middle shelf so I can access anything stored on that shelf I plan to install a guard rail on the walkway to make it safer to use ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Gary Gradek Ukiah Calif ph 707 695-6040; gradekconcepts@gmail com

To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click here to register with your account number.