I have a need for something like this...

LINKY

...but I'm not prepared to pay in excess of £200 for it! Can anyone suggest a similar device, from somewhere else? I don't need hydraulic power - a crank handle will do - and I need to lift around 75kg max.

Alternatively, does anyone have a DIY design? Infuriatingly, I used to have a design from Model Engineer magazine, but I can't find it any more...

cheers,
David

what about this one?

http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/product/details/cml2-hydraulic-motorcycle-lift

can't lift quite as much, but basically the same, i think

actually, what am i saying, it lifts more!

[Edited on 23/5/07 by blakep82]

Have you tryed the e of bay?

it would probably be easier to knock on up with a cheap trolly jack built in, you could go 10 to one leverage and still lift 100-200kgs. If the jack has 3 inches of travel that would lift the platform 30", enough?

As for design, bodge something! Half an hour with some graph paper should do it!

It's for lifting my steam loco.



Had a minor catastrophe the other day when it fell over and had its steam turret smashed (now fixed again). It's an awkward so-and-so to move around, being both heavy and strangely shaped, and I need to have it either on the deck (for storage), about 8" or 10" up (to go on my trailer) or near-enough at bench height (for maintenance).

I may well build one - if I can be *rsed - but when there's a solution already available...

cheers,
David

build a little ramp and drive it up?

Currently I use my engine hoist to move it around - but it take a HUGE amount of garage re-arrangement to get everything in place before the lift, and the risk to both me and the loco is too high.

What I forgot to mention is that I also need decent-sized wheels on the trolley, as my garage floor ain't too smooth.

Here's another picture where a mate's driving the beast, to give you some idea of the scale of the loco...



It's a tough lift for 2 blokes - probably 125 - 150 pounds, all top-heavy and hard to get a good grip.

Chris - the spec for your trolley is good - I may well get back to you if I fail to find something cheaper.

David

makro had bike lifts for under 100 quid last time i went. hth

I have one of those and they are crap the wheels dont turn round properly and it wobbles when you put weight on it. As for the weight its rated for it cant lift four batteries at 38 kgs each in a oner with out someone assisting it till it gets going.
I would seriously not recommend you use it for lifting your loco. Ours has been over on its side a few times and once it was a charged battery that made some mess.

Better to get the quad bike lift and make a rail set on that. Its much more stable and less likely to tip your loco on the deck. As for our trolley we just lift by hand using two bodies........better and quicker.

Chris no disrespect to your gear its probally better than the rs one we got.



[Edited on 24-5-07 by mangogrooveworkshop]

david have a look here i'm sure you could come up with some mods for your usage

I still think a lift table is the way for me to go - most of the time the loco will be stored at the lowest setting. Every week or so it will lift to around 300mm to wheel it onto the trailer. Once in a blue moon it will go high enough to wheel it onto my bench - at which time I can get a second pair of hands to steady it until it's safe.

I think I've found a volume/page reference for a Model Engineer article for a DIY scissor lift table that uses the screw and nut from a large scissor jack. Hopefully that will meet my needs - time will tell (although a proper table driven by dry horlicks would be easier!).

Thanks for all the ideas - all have been inwardly digested, and will contribute to the final outcome, I'm sure.

cheers,
David