iDRY Vacuum Kilns

Sponsors:

anyone ever make a elevator for a barn/shop

Started by UNCLEBUCK, January 17, 2004, 09:23:24 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Dave_Fullmer

Boy, talking about that hay trolley sure brings back memories.  In 1949 when I was 12, I went out to a farm to help with the hay.  Got paid $1.00 per week and board and room.  Bernie had a big old barn on his 80 acres just outside of Big Rapids, MI.  He cut his hay with a horse drawn mower with a cut off tongue behind his B Allis Chalmers.  He raked it with a team of horses and a dump rake.  He taught me how to drive the tractor, and we picked up the hay with a loader behind the wagon.  When we got to the barn, we pulled the wagon into the barn from one side, unhooked the wagon and drove the tractor out the other side of the barn.  We would hook the barn rope to the tractor and off I would drive it to the end of the track we made.  It would take about 3 sets of the forks to get the hay off the wagon.  When it was off, we then had the big job of mowing it away.  If you didn't mow it back to the sides of the haymow, it would lay in big knots and be hard to dig out to feed the cows in the winter.  Bernie is now in his late 80's with altzimers but he and his wife still live on the farm.  I tried to buy his '51 CA that he bought new a few years ago, but he didn't want to sell.  I did buy his '55 WD45 WF and I am in the process of restoring it.

What good memories.  We sure worked back then.
If it aint Orange (AC that is) it won't run.

Corley5

So far the tax assessor hasn't noticed the improvments 8) ;) :D.  I always use the torches on the slab outside just to be safe.  Never had any thing said about torches in any wooden building.  Before they were here they were in the old shop across the road which is an old granary.
Burnt Gunpowder is the Smell Of Freedom

UNCLEBUCK

holy cow !  great pictures Corley5 and HP and from all of you this is fantastic the interest in making a barn into a shop .I was gone all day , went on a 6 hour drive up by north shore of lake superior to get a few parts for my old R john deere and the man that sold the parts to me had a portable bandsaw sitting by his shop so I had me a looky up close and those bandsaws are neat, never seen one up close like that . I told him to become a member to the forum and I think he may ! I thought about my wild idea of wanting my woodshop up in the loft all day too and boy am I excited now after reading everyones replies. Tomorrow I will go really check out this track and carriage business and the trap door idea and look at the old rotten rope still hanging in the corner , my mind will be a buzzin with ideas now ! When I was a kid me and all my cousins would give suicide rides in the loft by having one kid hold the rope while we all pulled on the other end and cataupulted the kid hanging on it to the cieling and then hold him there until he started to scream , no wonder dad found us a old round baler ! we had too much fun up in the haymow ! nice barn/shop Corley5 and very cool elevator HP , great stories Dave F , good tips isawlogs,good instructions MinnesotaBoy , now I better do what Bro said and have a look at my old rotten rope , I am going to hook it up and just lift something very light and learn quick how this carriage thing works and report back . More pics and more stories I say !  ;D
UNCLEBUCK    bridge burner/bridge mender

Minnesota_boy

Be ready to really jerk on that rope when the load gets to the top so you can get it past the latch at the end of the track.  Otherwise, the load will lock at the top and just hang there and you'll be unable to bring it into the barn or lower it either.
I eat a high-fiber diet.  Lots of sawdust!

Dave_Fullmer

Yeah UncleBuck,
Minnesota boy is right about the jerking, but I would be also concerned about the latch being stuck from no use for "how many years?".  It would be pretty bad if you got a load up there and couldent get to it to get it unstuck.

Dave
If it aint Orange (AC that is) it won't run.

amishboy

Hey, Unclebuck, just a quick line to bring you up to date on my barn-to-house conversion.I to needed an elevator and I also decided to use a forklift for that purpose.I found an old Clark 24 volt forklift at TRW in Winona that had a blown drive motor, but the mast hdy's were in grade A shape. I paid 250.00 scrape value and had Bernies Equipment haul it to Holmen Wi for me , it cost me 85.00.I then installed twelve foot by five foot by twelve inch concrete slab, that cost me 400.00.I then rented a lull 4x4 and lifted the forklift into position. and that cost me 316.00. I am in the process of buying two sealed FGM solar batteries. The reason I chose these batteries is that they are setup for recharging by a solar panel, They also have no memory. I then link these batteries which are 12 volt in a series to produce the required 24 volts to run the forklift. These batteries are then charged and hooked to the solar panel and I never have to worry about a power outage. The batteries cost around 750.00, They should be good for about 15 to 20 years.I hope this will help you in your endeaver, If you have any more questions give me a call at 608-526-6690 any time of the day. thanks Amishboy.   

beenthere

amishboy
Welcome to the Forum.
You picked a 6 yr old thread, and Unclebuck is not with the Forum anymore.
south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

KellyH

Did it again!  Got to reading a thread and didn't even look at the date just enjoyed the information and kept reading.  :D  I was about to post information on how my uncle back home in Tennessee has built an elevator in their new home from an old Clark StandUp Forklift like the ones they use in grocery warehouses with narrow aisles when I seen it pointed out the age of the original thread.  A good story is a good story no matter how old or when it started.  In any case if you want to know how he did it I will call and get some details and maybe even a picture or two.  Happy Holidays!  ;)   
"Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is who you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are."

beenthere

TurboMan
Would like you to do that  8)

I recall years back going through furniture factories that just had a moving continuous rope moving between floors with cross bars of wood every 6' or thereabouts. There was a hole in the floor above (similar to the hay chute used to get into the haymow and throw hay down) and you would just grab ahold of a bar and step on the next one and step off on the floor above or the next one, whichever. To go down, just move around the post to the same rope returning in the other direction. Step on, hang on, and ride down. The rope never stopped.

Simple, and seemed to work just great.
south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

KellyH

We have a local flour mill with that very same kind of thing.  It's just big enough to put a foot on and step over with the other foot.  The "Up" side isn't as scarey as the "Down" side.  Miss a beat and you get hit in the head with the next step coming your way.  Coornidated people only please. lolzzz  :D

I'll call my uncle tomorrow and see about getting some pictures and a description.

Happy Holidays Everyone!
"Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is who you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are."

mrcaptainbob

I lucked out. Big time. My younger son acquired a replaced elevator. My barn lofts are ten feet high. This outfit came to me in pieces and had to be assembled using the tell tale marks rubbed through the paint. Well, the main cylinder is a 4" by ten foot by 480 pound beast! The side rails are eight foot steel tee sections weighing 80 ponds each. There were some revisions needed to the cabling, but it works GREAT! There is no cage to it, but it did come to me with the base cage frame. Basically box tubing that formed an ell shape, where the floor is five feet wide and about four deep. THe standing part is also five wide and about five high. Since there's a ten foot span between lofts, I decked the cage frame with 2-by stock and sheet wood. I now have a four foot wide platform/cat walk from loft to loft. The hydraulics on this is so powerful that it will easily raise over a thousand pounds. Although I don't plan to use it for that. Another great use is it makes available an easy, height adjustable work bench. I can roll an engine block or trans on there and raise it to work height quite nicely. I really like the idea of the fork lift. Clever cabling and trussing will keep it well braced and safe. Good luck with yours.

Thank You Sponsors!