Following on from my DIY car lift thread, I'm looking for an auto latching mechanism. When the lift goes up, I want a spring loaded pin to lock the lift in position. When it is jacked up again, I want the latch to release so the lift can be lowered. Plagiarism is the sincerest form of flattery so can anyone point me in the direction of something to copy?
Try having a look at the mechanism of a Hi-Lift Jack as used for off roading.
That might do what you want.
how about something like on axle stands.
Ratchet and pawl off an old winch? Not sure about likely loads etc perhaps something agricultural would be plenty strong enough if there's anyone handy on a farm with plenty of , ahem scrappy machinery
Making it so it releases when lifted again would be the hardest part.
Could you run a hand cable pull to a dead man's handle on the lift control panel?
What sort of lift? Scissor?
ETA - Disassembling a push latch type thing would probably be a good start (push to open, push to latch type car interior cubby cover latch)
[Edited on 30/6/11 by indykid]
It will be a parallelogram lift using the cylinder from a trolley jack for the motive power. I want a locking mechanism rather than relying on the jack but a manual release will be tricky as the lift will be under the car and the handle at the front. A pull cable might do it if I can't find a suitable auto mech.