home built lift

jmkjr72 · Posted: Sun Dec 20, 2009 7:20 pm Post subject: home built lift

well i was looking around one day and found some plans on ebay for a lift but i decided to wing it

his pics
http://s70.photobucket.com/albums/i103/jcs182/MCLift/?action=view&current=MCLiftver1.flv

his ebay add

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250533896487
my lift

materials
2 2x2x8
2 2x8x8
6 2x4x8
2 4x8 sheets of plywood cut into 3X8 i used 21/32 thick it was on sale you could proably use thiner

now onto the black or galvanized threaded pipe
2 30" long 1/2 dia if you have a heavy bike upgrade all pipe to 3/4"
4 24" long
4 elbows
4 tees
2 unions (not couplers but unions they give you some flex and alow you to thred together)
now you will need to do some math on your own at the hardwear store you will need to make 2 sections that have the tees that measure t
32 inches T-------union------T from outs side to out side
4 6" long
1 36" long
2 3/4" tee (with a heavy bike up grade to 1" for these parts)
1 48" long 3/4" pipe
2 6" long 3/4" pipe

a bit of rope

and a shit load of wood screws some long and a bunch of short

start by drilling some holes lagre enough for the pipe to slide thru put one at the front end on the 2x8s 1' from the front 1 1/2 inches from the top of the board(stack the 2x4s so your holes are in the same spot)
and put one 1' from the ramp end on the 2x4s centered
now make a quick mock up pipe elbow and tee on a 24" pipe
now place the 2x4 on top of a 2x8 alinged flush with the bottem(you should still see the hole you drilled in the 2x8
now with the mocked up pipe part aling the elbow with the hole in the 2x4 and angle the pipe forward and mark where to drill your hole in the 2x8 1 1/2 inches from the top of the 2x8
now take the mocked up pipe and aling the tee with the hole in the 2x8 angle it back and mark where to drill your hole in the 2x4
now stack the boards up and drill the holes
drill an extra set of holes in the 2x8s 1' from the ramp end(this is for the lock mechanism)

now its time to start assembly
place the 2x4s on the base (one of the sheets of plywood)
6 inches from the out side edge
out of the other 2x4s cut a brace to put between the bases 2x4s at the ramp end (dont put any braces in the front this needs to be open for your jack to lift it)
now run the 30" pipes thru the 2x4s place the elbows on the pipes
now screw the 24" pipes into the elbows and place the tees on the ends of these pipes
take some parts of 2x4 6" to 8" long and drill holes centerd in them (you need 6 in total 2 front and 2 rear and 2 for the lock
now between the tees put the filler pipes and unions in with 2 blocks on the front and 2 on the rear bar (these are to help supprt the pipes that run right unter the top of the lift
run the lock pipe thru the holes farthest back on the 2x8 slip the 3/4 tee thru the pipe so it "floats" the assemble the lock 48"pipe between the 2 tees and 6" pipes on the tee that isnt run thru the 1/2" pipe

put the s6" sections of pipe on the tees and slide the 2x8s over them
now its time to cut up some 2x4s to brace the 2x8s they should lay flat in the front and rear flush with the top of the 2x8s the front should be just about soild as clost to the pipe as you can get as this is where you are lifting from and in front of and behind each pipe except the lock pipe (this only gets braced behind)

now its time to get your floor jack out and use it to figure out where to put bottem braces(these double as part of the lock) jack it up and figure out where you need stops and screw them in(you will have to flip the lift over to secure them

now tie the rope onto the 3/4 pipe where the tee locks in the bottem and run it over the lift arms to the front(this is the release for the lock)

now is the time to make sure everthing seems to be lifting properly

if all looks good its time to secure the top deck to the 2x8s (all the 2xs should be screwed into the plywood every 6" or closer

Wheelz · Posted: Sun Dec 20, 2009 7:38 pm Post subject:

nice lookin lift, maybe someday i will find the time to do something like that. First, must clean out shed, to have a proper "shop" i can't even see my bike stand in the damn thing.......

jmkjr72 · Posted: Sun Dec 20, 2009 7:59 pm Post subject:

well betweent the next 2 summers im hoping to build a seprate garge just for my scooters

Lostmycage · Posted: Sun Dec 20, 2009 8:17 pm Post subject:

Very cool! Thanks for posting this. I love home made stuff. That looks sturdy and simple - the perfect combination.

BuddyRaton · Posted: Mon Dec 21, 2009 1:09 am Post subject:

Nice job!

iwabj · Joined: 29 Apr 2009 Posts: 587

easy · Posted: Wed Dec 23, 2009 9:41 pm Post subject:

i got to come up with something over Christmas. I got to drop the engine out of my Chetak to replace the head gasket. I just got a transmission jack to help with replacing the transmission in my crx. lift range is 8 in to 2 ft just need to modify it

ericalm · Posted: Thu Dec 24, 2009 2:58 pm Post subject:

I love this. Is it possible to store this vertically—upright?

What would you say the cost was for the whole project?

Lostmycage · Posted: Thu Dec 24, 2009 3:16 pm Post subject:

ericalm · Posted: Fri Dec 25, 2009 12:58 am Post subject:

Me: "If there was something a little smaller than a twin mattress that I could store upright in the garage, could I…"
Wife: "That's pretty big."
Me: "You don't even know what it is yet!"
Wife: "Yeah, but a twin size, that's kind of big no matter what it is."
Me: "It's, uh, smaller…"
Wife: "Does it go with our plan for the garage?"

This is the point at which I decide not to ruin Christmas by saying something along the lines of, "OUR plan? No. MY plan? Hell yeah."

jmkjr72 · Posted: Sat Dec 26, 2009 10:18 pm Post subject:

the way this is built you can tip it on it side or stand it up right and push it up against the wall in the garage
yes you can build it smaller to suit your needs as long as your scooter fits on it
i picked the size i did so i can use it as a big work bench too
i spent 150 on materials but a lot is going to depend upon your local market and where you shop i could have gotten the plywood cheaper at menards or fleet farm but they dont rip cut it for you

the same thing goes for the pipeing you should look around before you buy to find the best price as prices can very widely from one place to another i belive home depot had the best prices but then you have to figure in the time to wait for some one to cut and thread the pipe

Lostmycage · Posted: Sun Dec 27, 2009 3:01 am Post subject:

This was the first link in the new FAQ section for DIY tools and accessories.