Sarah
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| posted on 30/6/24 at 11:41 PM |
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access lift (homemade!)
Folks
I do some gardening in my spare time and one of the jobs is maintaining hedges.
One in particular is 75m long, about 2 - 3m thick and between approx 2m high (ideal) though when I took over the job about 3.5m high. The ground is
fairly smooth.
Cutting the face is easy but the top necessitated saw horses and scaffold boards which is very tedious.
So, I'm thinking of making an access lift, nothing heavy duty - just to lift me, various bits of hedge trimming tools up about 1.25m. Want to
make as light as possible - so oval (wishbone?) tube for the uprights with a modified renault grand espace bike rack for the platform, using an
offroad winch to raise platform.
So the lifting bit should be fairly easy but I want to be able to move it while standing on it - I though about wheelchair motor and controller or
petrol mower self drive assembly transplanted to homemade chassis. Steering would be helpful too.
Looking forward to any ideas etc please.
Thank you
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MikeR
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| posted on 1/7/24 at 10:38 AM |
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Conscious you're 1+ meters high, anything going wrong with a motor could prove painful. You'd therefore want simple and slow, definitely not
jerky.
Why not a second winch which you anchor at one end of the run. Then wind the winch to move. If you want (but this may be jerky), get a battery and
electric winch.
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dmac
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| posted on 1/7/24 at 11:04 AM |
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Build a hand cranked bicycle style transmission, nice and low geared since you're not going far so it will be smooth and easy..
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nick205
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| posted on 1/7/24 at 11:37 AM |
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Rather than you clambering about on a frame holding a hedgecutter and having something move you along...
Can you not get a different hedge cutter that works at height (longer pole). You stay safe on the ground, walking along holding the hedgecutter?
I'm sure I've seen them where the heavier part of the machine is on a cradle or backpack.
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Sarah
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| posted on 1/7/24 at 11:52 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by nick205
Rather than you clambering about on a frame holding a hedgecutter and having something move you along...
Can you not get a different hedge cutter that works at height (longer pole). You stay safe on the ground, walking along holding the hedgecutter?
I'm sure I've seen them where the heavier part of the machine is on a cradle or backpack.
Yeah, I have a long reach hedge cutter with additional extension about 3m which gets very tiring very quickly. It would be best if I had access to far
side of hedge, but that's farmland and no permission yet.
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jacko
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| posted on 1/7/24 at 04:30 PM |
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I would buy a aluminium framed scaffolding then fit four bike wheels to it as you need to move forward just pull on the hedge
The bigger the wheels the better .
If you wanted to be posh you could have two wheels steering
G
555
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SteveWalker
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| posted on 1/7/24 at 04:50 PM |
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How about forgetting the lift function, just making a platform that is high enough, but easy to climb and modifying a mobility scooter to move it
around? Once up there, there is no need to climb down to move to the next bit anyway. Steering just needs extended column and extended tie-bars to
allow for wider spaced wheels and the height, while the drive just needs extended axles. Motor and control is already designed for low speed (you can
usually set the maximum with a knob), the drive provides braking to hold it in place, operation is by a hand control and the front and back sections
are separate parts.
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MikeR
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| posted on 2/7/24 at 09:28 AM |
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How much do you want to spend? I can see us slowly working towards https://www.accessplatforms.co.uk/sr1018d.html 
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nick205
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| posted on 2/7/24 at 10:47 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by MikeR
How much do you want to spend? I can see us slowly working towards https://www.accessplatforms.co.uk/sr1018d.html
Now there's a price!
We have to hire one of those (+ operator) in at work to access things in the ceiling space of our warehouse. Expensive and sloooooooow.
As you might imagine, they access platform has to be fully lowered before it'll let you "drive" it around. Needs to be on a properly
smooth hard surface as well. Conrete floor in our warehouse.
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SteveWalker
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| posted on 2/7/24 at 10:47 AM |
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Just another thought, reverse the idea, keep you on the ground and make a trolley to hold your hedge cutter at the right height. Walk it along the
whole hedge, extend the cutter further out, walk it along again and repeat until the whole width is cut.
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Schrodinger
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| posted on 2/7/24 at 11:25 AM |
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I am reading your post as if you are being paid to do this work on another's property.
If so then I think you need to consider third party insurance (which I presume you have) and whether the insurers will still cover you should you have
an accident and injure a third party while using something you have cobbled together. I would guess that they would not pay out if this was the case
and you alone would be liable.
[Edited on 2-7-24 by Schrodinger]
Keith
Aviemore
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Sarah
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| posted on 2/7/24 at 12:36 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Schrodinger
I am reading your post as if you are being paid to do this work on another's property.
[Edited on 2-7-24 by Schrodinger]
I am being paid and do have insurance. Fortunately nobody is around when I work there
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nick205
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| posted on 2/7/24 at 12:50 PM |
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IMHO you're better off keeping yourself on the ground and finding a way of raising the hedgecutter.
Preferably a safe way, i.e. a solution where you've bought purpose designed (and tested) kit for the job.
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hobbsy
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| posted on 4/7/24 at 05:11 AM |
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Having maintained tall hedges I can definitely see why that OP wants to get up higher as anything with an extension pole knackers your arms in short
order.
There's gotta be a way!
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MikeR
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| posted on 4/7/24 at 12:18 PM |
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Why not put the cutter on a wheeled dolly with height adjustment and wheel that around?
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Sarah
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| posted on 4/7/24 at 10:22 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by hobbsy
Having maintained tall hedges I can definitely see why that OP wants to get up higher as anything with an extension pole knackers your arms in short
order.
There's gotta be a way!
I'm going to find it!!!
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