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The desire for comfort is a completely normal desire. And a person who knows how to create comfort in a home will definitely think about how to make an elevator with his own hands. Often a lifting mechanism - an elevator is needed in a cellar or basement, on the second floor in a garage or house. It’s a different story when disabled or elderly people live in the house.
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Video version of the article
It is advisable to provide for the installation of an elevator at the architectural design stage. Installing an elevator in a completed house adds both work and financial costs.
Elevator lifts are divided into the following main types:
1) Electric(electromechanical).
2) Hydraulic.
3) Pneumatic(airlift).
To move the elevator, some kind of power device is required, the most convenient and practical power supply for which is electricity. Therefore, electric motors are part of the drive, regardless of its type. However, it is customary to call the elevators of the most common cable system electric, probably because in them the engine force is directly transmitted to the cables that move the cabin.
1. Electric elevator, which we use in multi-storey buildings, works on the principle of a counterweight: the cabin is fixed on cables, at the other ends of which a counterweight is attached. The drive mechanism, located in the upper part of the elevator (engine room), having received an electrical signal from the panel buttons, sets the system in motion through a pulley wheel. Thanks to the counterweight, cabin inertia is reduced to a minimum, which ensures smooth movement and allows you to get by with a significantly lower power electric motor.
2. Hydraulic lift works on the principle of a jack. The electric motor creates fluid pressure in the system, and the hydraulic cylinder pushes the cabin upward. No electricity is consumed during descent. This type of elevator has no counterweights and is silent. But because high pressure V hydraulic system requires qualified maintenance and a powerful power plant.
3. Cabin pneumatic elevator works like a piston. To move the elevator upward, a vacuum of air is created in the air shaft above the cabin by powerful fans. As a result, increased pressure under the cabin pushes it upward. To descend, the pressure at the top and bottom of the cabin is equalized, and it smoothly goes down.
Now let’s ask ourselves the question: how to make an elevator with your own hands in the house, is it feasible for your hands and wallet?
A pneumatic elevator requires components that are almost impossible to make with your own hands. If you buy ready-made ones or order their production, the very idea of making an elevator with your own hands is lost. And the final cost will be rounded up to such a figure that purchasing and installing a ready-made airlift will cost less.
For self-repair or vehicle maintenance is required inspection hole or a lift. It is not possible to dig a hole in every garage, so many car owners are thinking about self-installation lift After reading the article, you will learn how to make a car lift with your own hands, what you will need for this and how much such work will cost you.
There are three main types of mechanisms that are used to repair cars:
Lifts are also divided according to the method of lifting the car:
The most popular type of lifts are screw fork lifts. They are based on a long threaded shaft made of tool steel that can withstand loads of up to 2–3 tons. However, making such a mechanism at home is almost impossible due to the complexity of making forks. Therefore, screw platform devices are more suitable for DIY manufacturing. They are made in the form of two parallel channels, laid with ribs down and attached to screw drive mechanisms that provide lifting of the platforms. In such devices, the requirements for shafts are noticeably lower, because lifting is provided not by two, but by four shafts. Their significant disadvantage is the need to use a jack to repair the suspension, because the wheels of the car do not hang in the air, but stand on channels.
Often forklifts and platform lifts for cars are made with a chain drive. In terms of their characteristics, they are in no way inferior to screw ones, but they are more difficult to make with your own hands. After all, coordinated operation of all electric drive motors, as well as braking devices, is required. For making scissor lifting devices most often they use a hydraulic drive, although some DIYers are experimenting with a chain or screw drive. 
The main problem faced by everyone who wants to make a car lift themselves is high price parts, which makes it much cheaper to buy a used device. After all, hydraulic cylinders of sufficient length and carrying capacity cost tens of thousands of rubles. Custom, durable tool steel worms (threaded shafts) will cost at least the same. As a result, the cost of building the simplest scissor lift with your own hands reaches 100–120 thousand rubles, while the cost of new Chinese devices various types starts from 80 thousand rubles.
In addition to cost, there are two more factors that cast doubt on the feasibility of making a lifting mechanism for a car with your own hands - reliability and safety. The weight of even a small car often exceeds one ton.
If a car lift can't handle the load, the car will fall on the person underneath it. Such cases are known. All of them ended in death or severe disability.
A car may fall off a lift for the following reasons:
To make a lift with your own hands, you have to either take ready-made diagram, hoping that its author carefully calculated the strength of all parts, or perform these calculations yourself. Only a highly qualified engineer can do this kind of work; an ordinary car enthusiast cannot do it. In addition, it is necessary to calculate how much load the drive and brake mechanism can withstand. If any of these calculations are made incorrectly, the car lift turns into a deadly trap. No less important is the calculation of the basis of this mechanism. It is not enough to simply pour a thick layer of concrete, because it is necessary to provide fastenings located in strictly defined places. 
If you nevertheless decide to build a car lift with your own hands, and you are not afraid of the dangers of this homemade product, then start selecting parts by searching for the drive mechanism and stopper. These parts can be found in the following places:
For a scissor lift, you will need two hydraulic cylinders of suitable power and length, a compressor for them, and hydraulic hoses. The scissor circuit is the easiest to manufacture, but it is impossible to make a reliable brake in it. Therefore, if a hose bursts or one of the cylinders leaks, trouble cannot be avoided. Shafts and electric motors with gearboxes suitable for platform or fork lifts are easiest to find where old machines are replaced with new ones. This will cost much less than ordering worms from a turner. And the stopper of such mechanisms is not complicated - a helical bar with a lock, made of steel 1-2 cm thick.
If you still decide to take a risk and make a car lift with your own hands, then before choosing any scheme and starting assembly, find those who have already made such a device. See how it works, make sure it is safe. After all, you are not risking your car, but your life. If, when the car falls, one of your family members is under it with you, then you will put his life at risk.
Don't buy it at a hardware store. This is an understandable desire: the cost of such equipment may not be much less than the cost of your car, and it will rarely be used (only if you are not going to open a service station in the garage).
The idea has arisen, the desire too, now it’s time select the design of the device to be created. To do this, you should pay attention to factory-made lifts presented on the special equipment market, “peek” at their design and imagine whether you can do something similar.
Most likely, the first one that will catch your eye is two post lift, which can be found in almost every auto repair shop. This type of device can be equipped with an electromechanical or electrohydraulic drive.
In the first case Inside each rack there is a threaded shaft rotated by an electric motor with a gearbox. There is a bearing nut on the threaded shaft, which moves along it and accordingly raises and lowers the “legs” on which the car rests.
In two-post electro-hydraulic In the lift, the shaft is replaced by a hydraulic drive, the pressure in which is created by an electric motor.
Exist other options of similar design, but with one, three or four racks.
Another type of lift is scissor, where a platform with a system of levers (called "scissors") is raised and lowered using hydraulic actuators driven by electric motors.
When creating such designs, you may encounter many questions and problems that need to be solved. First of all, it is job safety– no one wants to be seriously injured or disfigured due to a broken lift on one not-so-lucky day.
Therefore, you should choose the materials and design of the device so that it can withstand the weight of the car, while with a solid reserve.
It is also worth taking care of the manufacture of locking mechanisms, allowing you to keep the car in place in emergency situations with the lift.
And in order to prevent the latter, it is necessary to inspect them regularly: for an electromechanical drive, it is necessary to check the wear of the threaded shaft and the bearing nut; for an electrohydraulic drive, it is necessary to check the integrity of the hoses and cylinders.
AND main problem The problem faced by those who want to make a two-post or scissor car lift with their own hands is the complexity of manufacturing and the high cost of parts. It is almost impossible to create a long threaded shaft at home; selecting cylinders and hydraulic hoses is a complex matter, and they are not cheap.
But there is a simpler one and more suitable for manufacturing in garage conditions a variant of a car lift that turns the car on its side at an angle of 45°-60° and is called tipper. Let's take a closer look at it and see what and how it can be made from.
How to make a lift in the garage with your own hands? Lift-tilter consists of several parts: front pillar, shoe, platform, upper, lower and rear beams and connecting elements between them.
For manufacturing you need steel sheets 4 mm thick, angles, bushings, fasteners and tools for welding, cutting and drilling metal.
The first stage of manufacturing the tipper– a shoe that serves as a supporting surface for the jack. The shoe should be made of steel sheet as shown in the drawing, and it is very important to maintain the dimensions of the “eye” so that it moves freely up and down the front pillar.
Herself the stand is made from corners 32 1500 mm long, which are assembled into “squares” and welded. We will need two such “squares” connected to each other by segments of corners; the distance should be such that the upper beam can move between the “squares”.
In their lower part, make a hole for the support pipe, then you need to make several holes at certain intervals - they are necessary for the metal fingers that will fix the shoe and the upper beam.
Second phase creating a tipper with your own hands - creating this beam and a platform for it. The platform is assembled from a steel sheet, the edges of which must either be bent to form a “box”, or its sides must be welded to the lid of the “box”.
In our case, the length of the platform is 350, width is 150, and depth is 20 millimeters. Inside the “box” you should put a piece of wood cut to its dimensions; it is fixed with fasteners inserted into the drilled holes in the side sheets of the site. Rubber is attached to the top of the tree, an eye is welded to the metal below for fastening to the top beam and stiffening ribs - and that’s it, the site is ready.
The upper beam itself is assembled from two corners 1500-1700 mm long, welded together in U-shaped profile. A metal insert needs to be welded inside approximately in the middle, which is necessary for better fixation of the jack. Next, you need to weld a plate of the same length and height to the U-profile so that at the end you get a rectangular beam.
One end of it is tightly welded with a small plate, to which, in turn, a bushing is attached for connection with the rear beam; guides for the jack and bushings for the metal stopper pins are welded to the other end.
Next step– production of a rear beam, necessary to support the car on the side opposite to the one being tipped over. The length of the beam should be approximately equal to the length of the car, so they take four corners 32 with a length of 1500 mm and weld them two at a time into a square profile.
They should be connected to each other using a rod square section, inserted inside the profiles, and using rivets.
In the middle of the rear beam it is necessary to weld connecting node, made from sheet metal. It is necessary to connect the rear, upper and lower beams to each other.
Lifting mechanisms vary in design. First of all, they are divided depending on the number of racks. Today, there are many two-post models on the market, as well as four-post modifications. In this case, their traction devices are installed hydraulic or mechanical.
Among motorists, parallelogram lifting mechanisms are considered to be the most popular. They are also called scissor models. Additionally, there is a plunger type of device. To make your own model at home, you should familiarize yourself in more detail with design features the most popular modifications.
To do this with your own hands, you must first take care of the lower beam. For this purpose, many experts recommend preparing a clamp in advance. With its help you can hold the central pin. However, it is important to secure the frame first. To do this you will have to use a welding inverter.
Next, to assemble it, it is important to select a high-quality hydraulic device for lifting the beam. After its installation, the handle is mounted. A single-channel gearbox is suitable for these purposes. The lift stand can be made from aluminum plate. The supports for the mechanism are installed last. Before doing this, it is important to check the strength of the clamp. In order to weld the supports, you will have to use a welding inverter.
Assembling a car scissor lift with a three-leg shoe with your own hands is quite simple. In this situation, the base is prepared U-shaped. After this, it will be possible to fix the pickup. For this purpose, many experts recommend using a clamp. The hydraulic mechanism itself can be installed on screws. In this case, it should not block the supports.
Next, to make a lift, you need to fix the gearbox. To do this, a small plate is cut out of a steel sheet. It must be welded at the top beam. In this case, the minimum distance from the edge must be 2.2 cm. After this, the shoe is attached directly. The first support is installed at the hydraulic mechanism. At this time, the other two supports should be located at the front edge of the model.
And with a U-shaped one, how to make a lift with your own hands? Answering this question, it must be said that in this case it will be difficult to make a base. To do this, you will have to cut many long plates of steel sheet. In this situation, experts recommend installing a cast iron shoe. In this case, the hydraulic mechanism must be located at the lower beam. Next, to assemble the lift with your own hands, you need to mount the gearbox.
To do this you will have to use a clamp. The first support is welded only after the clamping nut has been secured. The beam should be cut on a machine. In this case, the distance between its corners must be at least 230 mm. Some modifications of the specified lifting mechanism involve the use of pumps. In this case, they are necessary to lubricate the hydraulic mechanism. To install this part, it is important to weld additional support at the rear beam. In this case, much depends on the dimensions of the piston pump.
How to make a lift with your own hands with an L-shaped rear beam? In order to assemble a model of this type with high quality, the base is first prepared. For this purpose, the plates are selected steel type. Their minimum thickness must be 2.2 mm. Next, to assemble the lift with your own hands, you need to attach the side supports. It is not necessary to use a clamp for this purpose.
The next step is to weld the beam itself. To make it yourself, you will need three equal-sized sheets of metal. Their minimum length must be 120 mm. After welding them, the upper beam is fixed. In this case, it is more expedient to use a small-sized hydraulic mechanism. This way the gearbox can be placed next to it.
Folding this type of lift with your own hands (the drawing is shown below) is quite difficult. First of all, it is necessary to prepare the rivets. Next, it is important to prepare the base for the lifting mechanism. To do this, you need to use two plates. Cast iron in this case is used quite rarely. In turn, steel surfaces are less susceptible to corrosion, and this should be taken into account. On the lower beam, rivets are made at intervals of 23 cm.
Next, to assemble the lift with your own hands, all that remains is to fix the hydraulic mechanism. In this case, pneumatic modifications are used quite rarely. The piston in this situation must have a diameter of at least 4.5 cm. Shoes are most often used of the steel type. A lever is installed to adjust the lifting mechanism. To further stabilize the base, supports are welded. The platform itself is made with rubber gaskets.
To make a car lift with an aluminum rod with your own hands, you need to select a pipe with a diameter of about 4.4 cm. After this, its upper part is carefully sharpened. This is necessary in order to weld the pick-up to it. In this case, you need to prepare four supports. The stabilization of the hydraulic device is increased through the use of special clamping nuts. In some cases, caissons are installed in structures.
For models with pumps they are quite popular. The supports are most often selected from steel. The minimum metal thickness in this place should be 3.5 mm. Next, to do it yourself, you need to install a gearbox. The mechanism must be controlled through a lever. The rod itself must be mounted on a longitudinal platform. For this purpose, the beam is prepared rigid.
To make this type of garage lift with your own hands, a pipe should be selected with a diameter of about 4.5 cm. Then you need to prepare the base for the device. Most often it is installed U-shaped, however, other modifications also have a right to exist. In this case, much depends on the dimensions of the hydraulic device. You should also consider the power of the pump that is intended for lubrication. If we consider the most simple model with a steel rod, then it is better to choose an L-shaped base. Cast iron beams are ideal for it. To make a garage lift with your own hands, you next need to install the traction platform directly. For this purpose, sheets are mainly used of the steel type. However, aluminum alloy is also quite durable. The rod itself should be installed in the middle part of the lower beam.
For this purpose, a recess is made in this place. To fix the upper beam, it is better to use a clamp. After securing the hydraulic device, the gearbox is installed. For this type of lifting mechanism, it needs a single channel. In this case, the stand must be installed under the supports. In this case, the pickup is welded last. In this case, it is necessary to calculate the length of the lever in advance so that it does not come into contact with the supports and the upper beam.
Assembling the pads with your own hands is quite problematic. In this case, you can’t do without a clamp. First of all, it is important to weld the base for the device. To do this you will have to use a machine. In this case, the pads are easiest to make from steel plates. In this case, supports for them must be selected that are quite strong, minimum thickness metal should be 2.2 mm. At the same time, there are a wide variety of pickups. The bottom beam in this situation can be made of steel sheets.
To do this, they are cut to a width of about 120 mm. Caissons are used quite rarely in these devices. It should also be noted that hydraulic mechanisms are suitable for different capacities. In this case, much depends on the area of the lower beam. To stabilize the device during operation, many experts recommend welding rigid supports into the lower beam. Install the stand on lifting mechanism only necessary after fixing the hydraulic device. In this situation, the linings need to be mounted on top part pads. As clamping device a regular nut is used. To adjust the tension of the mechanism, a conventional lever is usually used.
To make a model with three lifts, the base will have to be made in an L-shape. In this case, the pads should be located at its corners. Screws are usually used to secure them. The upper beam itself can be steel. In this situation, it is more advisable to buy sheets with a thickness of about 2.3 mm. Pumps for the system are only suitable for piston type. In this case, two-channel gearboxes can be used with great success.
To install the top beam, a grabber is first installed. A clamp is used to secure it. In this case, the rod to stabilize the platform can be made of aluminum. Fixing the linings is done last. However, before this, the pads must be thoroughly cleaned. To do this, it is best to use sandpaper.
On the roof or upper floors, and without special devices this is very difficult. We will describe the process of assembling a simple and reliable construction hoist with your own hands, which can lift up to 300 kg alone.
The device assembled according to the above diagram is absolutely mobile and can be brought to building object even a passenger car with roof rack.
For assembly you will need:
The lift is a trolley sliding on rollers between two T-rails. To make them you will need wood good quality humidity not more than 12%: timber 60x40 and board 25x80. Any curvature is undesirable; the tree should not have any defects.
The beam in the guide plays the role of a spacer, setting the distance between the shelves of the brand. It should be 2-3 mm larger than the diameter of the rollers; if necessary, plan the beam along the narrow end and bring it to the desired thickness.
To assemble the guide, you need to insert a beam between the boards and align them along one edge. To ensure that the structure is completely monolithic, it is recommended to coat the contacting edges with PVA glue before assembly.
Fold the parts, align them under the square and secure with clamps. Then fasten the boards and beams with white anodized self-tapping screws 55 mm long, screw them in a checkerboard pattern with a step of 30-35 cm in each row. Both boards need to be fastened with self-tapping screws, so the guides will be less susceptible to warping.
If you want to make the guides longer than the available lumber, lay the beams and boards with an overlap of half the length. If spliced correctly, the structure will be exceptionally strong; all that remains is to bring the internal joints of the boards to zero for smooth movement of the rollers.
After assembling both guides, cover them with two layers of drying oil. Check the width of the gap under the rollers and, if necessary, adjust with emery cloth. At a distance of 30 mm from the end in the center of the bar, make a through hole with a diameter of 14 mm in the tee. Use it for bolted connection guides with crossbars, place wide washers under the nut and bolt head. To avoid displacement of the diagonals, make a connection with a half-tree hem.
Start by assembling the frame: insert three 75 cm long crossbars between 130 cm pieces of 40x40 mm timber. Install the middle crossbar 40-45 cm from the bottom edge. Fasten the joints with self-tapping screws, or better yet, assemble the frame using tenon joints.
Attach two 80 cm pieces of timber perpendicular to the frame to the bottom beam, insert a 75 cm long crossbar between their ends and fasten the structure. To strengthen the pallet, make two inclined gussets 60 cm long from timber or boards, cut the edges at an angle of 45°. Attach the gusset to the pallet at a distance of 40 cm from the corner.
Cut a sheet of plywood measuring 83x84 cm and drill holes 20 mm from each edge in 7 cm increments. Through the holes made, screw the bottom of the pallet to the frame with self-tapping screws 45 mm long.
If you plan to increase the load capacity of your cart, the junction of the pallet frame and gussets must be reinforced with overlay plates and angles, and the plywood on the bottom with metal brackets. Attach loops to the upper corners of the frame for padlock with a tail length of at least 70 mm. Insert an M14 bolt into the holes and screw a self-locking nut onto it. You need to pass a piece of cable about 2 meters long under the bolts and tie it into a loop, to which the traction rope will be attached through a carabiner or thimble.
On the upper and lower crossbars between the guide posts you need to secure one rigging block. Fastening is only possible by means of a bolted connection with mandatory installation under the nuts there are wide washers, or better yet, metal plates.
It is recommended to purchase climbing pulleys with a bearing or rigging pulleys with a groove. Most products have a solid body with tight-fitting cheeks, therefore, releasing the cable from the pulley is impossible.
If you're trying to accommodate existing skates, consider adding a retractor lug to them. Roll 6 mm thick steel wire until a loop is formed, and then bend the edges of the structure at the required distance for fastening under the nut to the axis of the block. If you equip the block roller with a swivel, lifting the load will be more convenient and the cable will last longer.
For smooth sliding of the cart, it should be equipped with four roller wheels installed on the sides 20-25 cm from the corners. Buy rollers with maintenance-free bearings and a single-sided steel axle at least 20 mm long. Instead of standard rollers, ball bearings with a closed cage and a cage width of at least 25 mm or wheels from old roller skates can be used.
The roller axis must be removed and a hole to match its diameter must be drilled in the center of the 40x80 mm plate. Having inserted the axle into the hole, install it strictly perpendicular to the plate and weld it, then make four holes in the corners for the M8 bolt.
A very useful addition that significantly increases the safety of use will be the installation of landing pockets for fixing the front wheels of the trolley in a raised position. This is not only very convenient when unloading, but also makes it possible to use the lift yourself.
To install pockets, it is necessary to cut out part of the back board of the guide on which the trolley rollers rest. When lifting, the wheel will slip into the formed opening and stop on a U-shaped block assembled from three bars. To prevent the wheel from accidentally popping out, leave a small lip on the board. After unloading, the trolley can be easily removed from the landing pockets and lowered down, holding it by the cable.
To lift more load at a time, you can strengthen the vertical frame of the cart and install a movable block on it, but this will increase the length of the rope by 1.5 times. The traction rope, in this case, is attached to one of the corners between the guide and the connecting crossbar, passed into a movable block on the trolley, then placed in the fixed upper and lower pulleys.
It is also possible to install the gate as on a well for convenient winding of the traction rope. It can be made from a cut of 100x100 mm timber, brought to a hexagon by a plane. To install the gate, you will need additional L-shaped posts and replacing the bottom crossbar mounting bolts with studs of the appropriate length. The loosened bolts must be used for oblique mating of the racks with the guides.
Using a gate implies increased danger, because a person is always at the lift. To prevent the cart from breaking and falling, it is recommended to install the simplest jumar of climbing equipment next to the upper block.
