Modified Motorcycle Lift Used As Adjustable Scaffold

Modified Motorcycle Lift Used As Adjustable Scaffold FARM SHOP Maintenance When Mark Yax needed to replace some rotten wood on his barn this past autumn he decided to modify his 1 000-lb rated Harbor Freight motorcycle lift into a man lift scaffold to complete the work “I’m getting older so I didn’t want to work off a ladder ” says Yax “I thought if I could put a cage on the lift I’d be able to safely reach what I needed to ” Yax used an old 2 by 2-in bed frame for the 6 railings and cage supports and added swing-out gates on either end of the platform for entry and exit A bracket on one end supports a ladder for him to climb into the raised scaffold The pump-up hydraulic cylinder to raise and lower the lift is normally controlled by foot pedals but Yax extended the handles with black pipe so he could operate them by hand from inside the elevated platform To raise the scaffold higher he welded 3 by 3-in square tubing to the underside of the lift for his tractor’s 3-pt hitch forklift attachment forks to slide into For extra safety he drilled holes through the forks and inserted bolts to secure the scaffold Yax also covered the deck surface with gritty Rustoleum truck bed coating for a non-slip surface “I can adjust the front/back tilt and level the platform with the adjuster on the lift arm when the tractor is on a small slope ” he says “It raises about 4-ft in the air and the tractor lifts it another 3 ft so I can work comfortably at a height of 10 ft It’s great for painting cleaning gutters or working on windows ” He says the total cost of the project was about $100 as he already had the motorcycle lift and most of the metal lying around Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Mark Yax Valmark Tool and Machine LLC 36755 Pettibone Rd Solon Ohio 44139 valmarktool@aol com

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