Forklift Mast Used To Build Shop Elevator

Forklift Mast Used To Build Shop Elevator FARM SHOP Miscellaneous Larry Wood turned an old Clark forklift mast into a heavy-duty shop elevator by mounting it along one wall and building a platform onto the mast in place of the forks He uses it to ride up to the upper level of his shop

    The elevator is controlled by electrically-powered hydraulics so a simple electric switch is used to move it up or down Makes it easy to retrieve parts or other equipment from the upper storage area

    “Now I can ride up to the balcony with whatever I want to store ” says Wood “The 2-stage mast will lift 2 tons about 12 ft high although the barn’s second floor is only 9 ft above the floor The platform is big enough that I can load lots of stuff on it ”

      He attached the mast to a 2 by 6 steel tube located between two of the posts on his shop wall He welded a steel frame to the mast forks and bolted a 4 by 6-ft long 3/4-in thick plywood floor onto the frame

    He made an electric-hydraulic power pack for the elevator by combining a 12-volt hydraulic power unit and a 12-volt battery that’s attached to a trickle charger Electric-operated elevator buttons are mounted on the forklift and on the wall

    “The elevator only uses power on the way up so when I push the button it coasts down I store the elevator at the second floor level just to keep it out of the way ” says Wood

    He bought the hydraulic power unit used at a yard sale for $125 He paid $100 for the forklift mast and spent about $200 to rebuild it adding new rollers and repacking the hydraulic cylinders

    Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Larry Wood 2081 Newmans Cardington Rd Waldo Ohio 43356 ph 740 726-2656; lawpressman@aol com

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