Basement Hoist

[Al T.]

I'm halfway through making my latest project, a basement hoist.

Being disabled and overcoming obstacle's is a way of life for me. I needed a universal way of lifting anything from floor level to 6 feet high and also be mobile enough to easily move desks and equipment by myself while I am in a seated position.

A lift that will allow me to put boxes on my top shelves, lift 500 lb chairs and scooters, and also lift me up to ceiling level when I run wires or install lights.

It is 76" tall * 30" depth * 50" wide on HF castors. I used 3/16 * 1 1/2" angle throughout. The remote 110vac 400lb hoist mounts on top. A varity of lifting jigs will be made for odd shapes as deep cycle batteries, cabinets and desks. A special one will allow me to transfer onto it to get work done up in the ceiling, I cannot use a ladder for more than 3 minutes at a time.

Pictures will follow soon.
Wish me luck!

[Roger]

Sounds like small electric forklift.

[Arbo]

Al,

Your innovation and strong will power should be an inspiriation to alot of young folks out there. If only there were more like you!

[Guest]

Originally posted by Arbo
Al,

Your innovation and strong will power should be an inspiriation to alot of young folks out there. If only there were more like you!

Yes, and to old folks, too!

[Al T.]

That's real nice of you all to give me compliments like that!

Due to the advice and pictures I received from you, gave me the knowledge to create equipment to overcome certain disabilities and continue being productive.

I will try to post tomorrow my electric lift progress. It is halfway finished. That sucker is heavey!! 2 o'clock in the morning there I was trying figure out how to stand it up without waking my wife. Using a step by step lifting progress with my previsous hoist it finally stood up. It clears my basement I beams by 1/2 inch, perfect! All that is left is to attach the removeable leg stabilizers, mount the hoist and create a couple of lifting cradles.

[morpheus]

update ?

- jack

[Al T.]

The hoist got put on hold until I can get some flat stock to stabilize the legs, they are quite long. I'm putting my order in tonight, should be welding by next weekend.

I'm working on my neighbors replacement stand for his barbeque. About 3/4 finished with that, just need 8 inch wheels so he can drag over bumpy grass without getting stuck.

I promise pictures of both and any future projects. I didn't forget the hitch assembly that I need for my TracAbout chair. That will be the most difficult and fun one yet.

I finding time just ain't long enough when you need time for a hobby. Working full time daily, selling, servicing scooters and chairs at night, not to mention all the Honey Do's. Not much time leftover for the fun stuff.

[morpheus]

there's never enough time is there Al !

come back and update us when you do get more done and get some pics of it.

- jack

[Al T.]

Here's some pictures, finally. Seems like I'm working on mutible projects at the same time now. The hoist is halfway completed. I'm waiting for some flat stock to finish it.

Here the bottom and a partial view of my messy shop, No Labels on Anything!!

[Al T.]

Another pic,

Here's the top of it, clears all major I beams, I needed it that tall so it could lift anything so I can get underneath to do maintenance.

[Al T.]

Here's another, I'll post the finished hoist later on.

The hoist is so big I cannot fit it into the frame. Here's the bottom.

[Arbo]

I'm anxious to see this one work! Looking good so far. Keep up the good work, Al.

[Guest]

Al, that's a tremendous undertaking! I can't, for the life of me, see how you got it to stand up! From the picture I see, I would be worried about picking up something too heavy, and the legs collapsing with you underneath! We need you Al, for the inspiration you give, is...I'm lost for words here...all I can say is thank you. Anyway, if you could add a way of locking in the legs with angle iron, bolted on one end, to the bottom, near the caster, that you can move out of the way to position your load under, I would feel better about it. There would likely be times you couldn't get them all in place, due to the size of you load, but it would sure help.

[Al T.]

I thought about safety first as you did Rocky. I am waiting on some flat 1/8 by 1 1/2 stock to be used for inward and outward leg flexing tendencies. I will mount it flat on the floor inbetween each leg. They will be removable and adjustable up and down for lifting over a table or desk. The braces will be flat against the floor will be very easy to roll over by my scooters and chairs. This makes it natural to leave them on most of the time. Since the wheel base is so wide the legs will want to spread outwards as the load increases. The braces strength will be greater in tension then in compression. So I think they'll work out ok.

I'm also incorporating a adjustable load platform that can be secured under the load to hold it in place in the event the electric hoist lets loose. It will also serve to stabilize the scooter to stop it from swinging.

As soon as I get this finished I'll show detailed photo's of it. Please let me know if you see something or have advise on its construction. Thanks for your help.

[Arbo]

OK, now I'm confused. You say the braces will lay flat on the floor, but your frame sits up on casters. I am a little concerned abou the safety issue of making these braces adjustable up and down the legs. This means drilling more holes which will inherently weaken the legs themselves. I was picturing your braces just above the casters on all four sides. I think you are right about the idea of the legs wanting to go outwards. I don't know how much weight you are looking to lift. Are you planning on being able to move this thing under a load? I would also be thinking about the force on your forward legs when moving. There will be an awful lot of inward force on those legs and I'm concerned that the 1/8" will buckle under that force. Don't get me wrong Al. I'm not trying to nit pick your project, I'm just somewhat concerned about your safety. If i'm off base here, let me know.