Recommendation points
- Assembling the guides
- Cart design
- Brackets for blocks
- Rollers and their fastening
- How to improve the lift
During construction, it is often necessary to lift building materials to the roof or upper floors, and without special devices this is very difficult. We will describe the do-it-yourself assembly process of a simple and reliable construction hoist, which alone can lift up to 300 kg.
The device assembled according to the above diagram is absolutely mobile and can be brought to the construction site without any problems even by a passenger car with an upper trunk..
For assembly you will need:
- glued timber 60×40 mm – 10 m;
- timber 40×40 – 9 m;
- board 25×80 – 16 m;
- rigging block with bearing – 2 pcs .;
- roller bearing with axle – 4 pcs .;
- nylon cable – 12 m;
- plywood 15 mm – less than 1 m2.
Assembling the guides
The lift is a cart sliding on rollers between two T-rails. To make them, you need good quality wood with a moisture content of no more than 12%: a 60×40 timber and a 25×80 board. Any curvatures are undesirable, the tree should be free from defects.
The bar in the guide plays the role of a spacer that sets 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 timber along the narrow end and bring it to the required thickness.
To assemble the guide, you need to put a bar between the boards and align them along one edge. In order for the structure to be completely monolithic, it is recommended to coat the contacting edges with PVA glue before assembly.
Fold the parts, align them with a square and secure with clamps. Then fasten the boards and the timber with white anodized self-tapping screws 55 mm long, screw them in a checkerboard pattern with a step in each row of 30-35 cm. You need to fasten both boards with self-tapping screws, so the guides will be less susceptible to warping.
If you want the rails to be longer than the lumber you have available, stack the beams and boards with an overlap of half the length. With proper splicing, the structure will turn out to be extremely strong, all that remains is to bring the internal joints of the boards to zero for the smooth movement of the rollers.
After assembling both guides, cover them with two layers of linseed oil. Check the width of the roller gap, if necessary finish with an emery cloth. At a distance of 30 mm from the end in the center of the bar in the T-bar, make a through hole with a diameter of 14 mm. Use it to bolt the rails to the crossbars, place wide washers under the nut and bolt head. To avoid displacement of the diagonals, make a joint with a half-tree felling.
Cart design
Start by assembling the frame: insert three bars 75 cm long between 130 cm pieces of 40×40 mm timber. Set the middle bar 40-45 cm from the bottom edge. Fasten the joints with self-tapping screws, or better – assemble the frame on the spike joints.
Attach two 80 cm pieces of timber perpendicular to the frame to the lower beam, insert a 75 cm long bar between their ends and fasten the structure. To strengthen the pallet, make two inclined scarves 60 cm long from a bar or board, cut the edges at an angle of 45 °. Attach the gusset to the pallet 40 cm from the corner.
Cut out a sheet of plywood with dimensions of 83×84 cm and drill 20 mm holes from each edge with a step of 7 cm.Through the holes made, screw the bottom of the pallet to the frame with 45 mm self-tapping screws.
If you plan to increase the carrying capacity of your cart, the joints of the pallet frame and gussets must be reinforced with overhead plates and corners, and the plywood at the bottom with metal brackets. Attach padlock loops with a tail length of at least 70 mm to the top corners of the frame. Insert an M14 bolt into the holes and screw the self-locking nut onto it. Under the bolts, you need to pass a piece of cable about 2 meters long and tie it into a loop, to which a traction rope will be attached through a carabiner or thimble.
Brackets for blocks
On the upper and lower crossbars between the guide posts, one rigging block must be fixed. Fastening is possible only by means of a bolted connection with the obligatory installation of wide washers under the nuts, or better – metal plates.
It is recommended to purchase climbing block pulleys with bearing or grooved rigging pulleys. Most products have a solid body with tightly fitting cheeks, therefore, it is impossible to drop the cable from the pulley.
If you are trying to adapt your existing casters, provide them with a damper ear. Roll the steel wire 6 mm thick until a loop is formed, and then bend the edges of the structure at the required distance to fasten it under the nut to the block axis. Equipping the block roller with a swivel will make it easier to lift the load and the cable will last longer.
Rollers and their fastening
For smooth sliding of the trolley, it should be equipped with four roller wheels installed on the sides 20-25 cm from the corners. Purchase rollers with a maintenance-free bearing and a one-way steel axle with a length of at least 20 mm. 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 drilled to fit its diameter a hole in the center of the plate 40×80 mm. 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.
How to improve the lift
A very useful addition, significantly increasing the safety of use, will be the device of landing pockets for fixing the front wheels of the cart in the raised position. This is not only very convenient when unloading, but also makes it possible to use the lift yourself.
For the arrangement of pockets, it is necessary to cut out a 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 the U-shaped block, assembled from three bars. To prevent the wheel from accidentally jumping out, leave a small ledge on the board. After unloading, the cart can be easily removed from the landing pockets and lowered down, holding on to the cable.
To lift more load at a time, you can reinforce 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 the 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 100×100 mm cut of a bar, brought to a hexagon with a plane. To install the gate, you will need additional L-shaped posts and replacing the bolts of the lower crossbar with studs of the appropriate length. The released bolts must be used to obliquely mate the racks with the rails.
The use of a gate implies an increased danger, because a person is always at the lift. To prevent the trolley from breaking and falling, it is recommended to install the simplest jummer of climbing equipment near the upper block.
I would like to know if there are any specific techniques or guidelines to safely lift a heavy load onto a roof using a DIY construction hoist. Are there any recommended materials or equipment that should be used? Additionally, are there any safety precautions to be aware of during this process? Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!