Platform lift to mezzanine? PIC

[Steve Mathews]

I'm in the process of extending the mezzanine in my shop/barn and was thinking it might be useful to fabricate and install a platform lift. Besides storage the much larger area could be used for lighter and less often used stationary tools like my jig saw, etc. Using a lift to get stuff up to mezzanine might be easier than using the stairs. Has anyone tackled such a project?
477170

[Andrew More]

I think you're looking for something like Jay Bate's elevator project for his workshop.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8rGrDSq83c&t=1s

And yes, he's going to die, when it collapses, which will cause the workshop to catch fire, killing his wife and kids, and then drawing the entire state of Mississippi into a rip in the space/time continuum.

[Lawrence Duckworth]

477189.....I used two winches and a single cable looped up and down the ladder and through the carriage for stability (one cable with each end connected to a winch drum.

477185 477186477187477188

[Leigh Betsch]

Yes I built one. I use it everyday

[ChrisA Edwards]

Not sure if will help, but about 15 years ago, I installed a 4 post car lift in the center bay of my garage. It could lift 9000lbs and go to a height of 6'6" all on 110v.

I extended the lifts surface area using two layer of 3/4" plywood, making an 8' x 16' platform.

On the back wall of my garage, I built a shelf/deck, 6' 3" off the ground, about 4'6" wide x 23' long.

I used the car lift to transfer motorcycles, from the floor, up on to the storage deck. I also used it to store ATV's, Zero Turn lawn mower and motorcycles. It basically gave me a fourth bay.

Here's a video of photos I took along the way.

This is a slideshow of pictures, probably better that the YT video below.
https://www.mad-ducati.com/SlideShow6.php?mode=Gallery&GalleryId=E7YyZ597LwItszuYZ60e2I6Az1N29PzD5mTe2I03


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8r-SCEuHRYs

[Jim Becker]

I think you're looking for something like Jay Bate's elevator project for his workshop.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8rGrDSq83c&t=1s

And yes, he's going to die, when it collapses, which will cause the workshop to catch fire, killing his wife and kids, and then drawing the entire state of Mississippi into a rip in the space/time continuum.

You beat me to it...I was going to mention Jay's solution. I don't think he'll die, but...it's certainly a light duty solution.

[Mike Wilkins]

Hey Lawrence-you need to stop feeding those spiders 'roids.

[Lawrence Duckworth]

Hey Lawrence-you need to stop feeding those spiders 'roids.

yeah... I know they're big but ya get used to them :)

[Steve Rozmiarek]

I like your shop Lawrence!

To OP, I think most people just use a forklift. They have the benefit of being useable for other stuff too.

[Lawrence Duckworth]

I like your shop Lawrence!

Thanks Steve. I built the building in 2010, now daize I call the building my Sanctuary. :)

[Alan Lightstone]

I seriously thought about doing this when I was building out my workshop. Having 17 foot ceilings, I often look up and say "Boy, I would love to build a loft up there to use the space."

Which part of Jay Bates system do you think is light duty? The winch? The floor/cab?

Having an elevator in my house, I could rant on for days regarding issues with a very high end automatic door elevator. Sadly, they are not without issues either.

I take advantage of the tall ceilings in my workshop by having several 1 ton electric winches installed to help lift some things. For example, my heavy large crosscut sled lives hanging from the ceiling on a hoist, and I have 10 foot ramp that lives hanging from the ceiling to enable large machines to be rolled up from my garage floor to the elevated raised access floor of the workshop. Basically, having learned this in my last shop, I love electric hoists since I have such a bad back. I had seriously looked into installing a bridge crane when I built my shop, but cost and the realization that it could only lift one thing at a time, vs several individual one ton cranes can lift multiple things at once sent me in that direction.

Basically, I'd love an elevator and a loft. Sigh...

[Jack Frederick]

My shop has attic trusses and is therefore for light storage only. I cut a bay out of the 2’oc trusses. It pretty much ended up 22x48”. A winch mounted above at the peak and a separate lift platform. I don’t use it often, but it works well for me. Your mezz is a properly built structure and has capacity. I think for your place I’d be looking at a trolley system with rails up at the peak that you can roll out to lift and roll in once up to the level.

[Alan Lightstone]

I found another build for an elevator lift that's similar, but he added some homemade safety features. Looks very Rube Goldberg, but could be very effective.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgdsamzPN8w
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKfYjWBLKis

And, there's this video of an elevator lift fail. Ouch:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-EQMigvmYs

[Lawrence Duckworth]

don't some of these winches have built in brakes for safety?

Alan...I've been thinking about putting an elevator in our home. We have a "Panic" room in the basement and the layout for getting there would be ideal. The last time we had a tornado warning the sirens went off and we got an all clear by the time my wife fixed her hair and put on her makeup, I could put a dressing table down there too.

[Alan Lightstone]

don't some of these winches have built in brakes for safety?

Alan...I've been thinking about putting an elevator in our home. We have a "Panic" room in the basement and the layout for getting there would be ideal. The last time we had a tornado warning the sirens went off and we got an all clear by the time my wife fixed her hair and put on her makeup, I could put a dressing table down there too.


Tornado warning here yesterday. About 10 miles or less north of us. Does get your attention.

[Andrew More]

And, there's this video of an elevator lift fail. Ouch:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-EQMigvmYs

It's not like it's not dangerous, but ladders are also dangerous. Once you're a few feet about the ground you're in danger. Here's a quick compilation:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuEAlzJXjxc

Yet few people seem to think about the dangers of ladders, or compare the danger of ladders to DIY elevators.

[Alan Lightstone]

It's not like it's not dangerous, but ladders are also dangerous. Once you're a few feet about the ground you're in danger. Here's a quick compilation:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuEAlzJXjxc

Yet few people seem to think about the dangers of ladders, or compare the danger of ladders to DIY elevators.

Sadly, I made a good living over the years taking care of patients who fell off ladders and needed surgery. The first patient I ever saw as an intern fell off a ladder and bled to death in front of me. Never forgot that day.

[Steve Mathews]

I've all but given up on the idea of a platform lift. My compact tractor with pallet forks almost lifts to the height needed to lift heavier stuff up to the mezzanine.

[Andrew More]

Sadly, I made a good living over the years taking care of patients who fell off ladders and needed surgery. The first patient I ever saw as an intern fell off a ladder and bled to death in front of me. Never forgot that day.

At least you were often able to help them. Ladders are very dangerous, but just like cars, most people have become inured to the dangers. (Not to get too political, but it surprises me how often people focus on the things that are unlikely to kill them as needing more regulation)

Just curious if you've ever treated anybody who had an elevator injury.

[Frank Pratt]

I watched that youtube of all the ladder fails and found myself unkindly thinking that most of them deserved the Darwin award. Those practices were so egregious that I don't know how they could have expected to not get hurt.

[Tom Bender]

Yeah, DIY Tom's lift still has glaring weaknesses. Looks like he used vice grips to crimp 1/2" pipe threads so they would not slip. And,,,the list is too long to bother with. It's a Tool Time starter kit.

[Alan Lightstone]

At least you were often able to help them. Ladders are very dangerous, but just like cars, most people have become inured to the dangers. (Not to get too political, but it surprises me how often people focus on the things that are unlikely to kill them as needing more regulation)

Just curious if you've ever treated anybody who had an elevator injury.

No, but when I lived in NY, the day after I used an elevator in a building it fell injuring or perhaps killing the occupant. Plus a building a few apartments down the street from where I lived in college killed a woman who somehow looked down an empty shaft and if I remember correctly was decapitated by the cab. Ewww!!!! :eek:

So, to say the least, I have a healthy respect for elevators. Needed one in my present house, but even high-end ones definitely have issues. I don't worry about our present one falling and killing you (lots of safety features). But getting stuck and needing the fire department, I do think about that.

The Guinness Book of World Records longest fall survived in an elevator was a 75 story (>300 meters) fall in an elevator in the Empire State Building in 1945 when the B-25 bomber crashed into the building. All of the elevator cables and safety cables were severed and the elevator was in free-fall. Air pressure and severed cables acting like springs when they piled up at the bottom of the shaft saved her life. Ouch.

And in a last bit of bizarre elevator trivia, how to survive an elevator fall was part of my freshman biomedical physics course at MIT. Basically, lie down flat on the floor, with your hands behind your head. The object being to maximize your surface area with the floor of the elevator to decrease force/area. Praying is optional, but recommended.

Mythbusters looked at the concept of jumping and found it worthless.

People have survived falling out of planes with no parachute, including a stewardess strapped into her seat in a plane that disintegrated, but that's a whole other topic.

Now back to your regularly scheduled program, looking at how not to build workshop lifts...

[Frank Pratt]

Yeah, DIY Tom's lift still has glaring weaknesses. Looks like he used vice grips to crimp 1/2" pipe threads so they would not slip. And,,,the list is too long to bother with. It's a Tool Time starter kit.

That one scared me. No wonder at all that he fell. Terrible design and terrible workmanship. I didn't even watch the whole thing.

[Leigh Betsch]

Yes there are much better ways to build a shop elevator. I wouldn't even ride his "fixed" design. I borrowed a enclosed trailer that used those drums to wrap the cable. The set screws slipped and the drums free wheeled dropping the ramp. In his case the lift would free fall, again.

I built a pretty robust shop elevator but I'm a bit reluctant to post my design as there are plenty of DIY'rs that really shouldn't undertake the construction. In the end there will always be a risk involved.

[Leigh Betsch]

I decided I’d link to a video of my shop built elevator. I will say that there are plenty of risks with such a thing. I’ve done the sheer strength calculations on the fasteners and the axel shafts of the pulleys. I’m confident that it is over engineered for my application. I am an engineer, a trained and experienced welder as well as a journeyman tool and die maker. I’ve built many metal projects so I’m confident that the workmanship is adequate. But please be aware that this is not a fail safe design. If any of the components fail the elevator will fall. I am comfortable with the risk. You will have to judge for yourself if you think your skills and engineering are adequate for a project like this.

Shop elevator
https://youtu.be/Wj_I4t7KEn4

[Alan Lightstone]

Interesting lift, Leigh. Why did you mount the hoist on the side with two pulleys? I can see it having less torque to sway and being solidly attached, but is there a safety advantage in this approach?

Oh, and totally jealous of your storage space.

[Leigh Betsch]

Just so I wouldn’t hit my head on it. The attic height is 5’10” which doesn’t leave a lot of head room. However I am thinking about changing the design to put the cable hoist in line with the pull and eliminate the pulleys. I get some twist to the cable as it is, which over time I think it could cause wear on the cable. Currently I do monitor it closely and if I see cable wear I’ll remount the hoist. It won’t be directly over head but rather mounted to the gantry and between the channel guide rails. Without a snatch block the hoist is rated at 600 lbs, which is way more than I ever plan to lift. The pulleys system doesn’t increase or decrease the lift capacity but a snatch block would double it. The gantry is made of 1x4 steel box tubing, welded and gusseted. Again, way over built for a 600lb load. It is lagged into the end wall, and supported from below with a 4x4 1/4” angle iron lagged into a triple sistered joist supporting the gantry from below. The joists set on the end wall of shop which is actually a concrete foundation wall that goes 4 ft below grade and another ft above grade. So the entire support structure is fully capable to support a 600lb lift. The failure mode that I see is if the guide system were to fail,the platform would tilt dumping the load (and me) to the ground, and cause the platform to swing out possibly pulling the gantry off the wall and of course crash to the ground. To this end I’ve calculated the strength of the lag system of both the guide rails and installed 10 x the lag screws that should really be needed and I’ve used 1/2”’axel bolts on the guide trolleys. I don’t see any of this failing. But again this is not a fail safe design so I do monitor everything closely.

[Bill Dufour]

People have used a forklift mast as a lift with a platform on the forks. A three stage mast will not need as much headroom. A simple electric driven hydraulic pump and oil reservoir.
Bill D.