Concept drawing. It'll probably change, but this is a side view of the
starting point. Not shown: hand winch, block and tackle hoist. Shown
in 'down' position.

--
Morris Dovey
DeSoto Solar
DeSoto, Iowa USA
http://www.iedu.com/DeSoto/

"Morris Dovey" wrote in message
...
Concept drawing. It'll probably change, but this is a side view of the
starting point. Not shown: hand winch, block and tackle hoist. Shown
in 'down' position.

--
Morris Dovey
DeSoto Solar
DeSoto, Iowa USA
http://www.iedu.com/DeSoto/




Keep in mind that with this style lift that the front arm/wheels on the
floor will need to be wider than the pallet "or" you will need to build your
own pallets. Most pallets have a bottom that would prevent lifting if the
front wheels go under also.
You will probably build your own pallets and you can leave the bottoms off
but if you receive freight on a regular pallet you will probably not be able
to fully off load and set the pallet on the floor.

"Leon" wrote in message

Keep in mind that with this style lift that the front arm/wheels on the
floor will need to be wider than the pallet "or" you will need to build
your
own pallets. Most pallets have a bottom that would prevent lifting if the
front wheels go under also.
You will probably build your own pallets and you can leave the bottoms off
but if you receive freight on a regular pallet you will probably not be
able
to fully off load and set the pallet on the floor.

Build one and use it to move that 21 pound footstool!




--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 6/1/07
KarlC@ (the obvious)

"Swingman" wrote in message
...
"Leon" wrote in message


Build one and use it to move that 21 pound footstool!





OK, that's not funny. ;~)

So uh, are we on for Saturday night?

"Morris Dovey" wrote in message
...
Concept drawing. It'll probably change, but this is a side view of the
starting point. Not shown: hand winch, block and tackle hoist. Shown
in 'down' position.

--

Unless you have a very smooth surface all the way, larger wheels will make a
big difference.

Edwin Pawlowski wrote:

| Unless you have a very smooth surface all the way, larger wheels
| will make a big difference.

That was my thought, also. I planning to use 5" or 6" pneumatic
casters. The last pallet (photo attached) went out on a pallet jack
with tiny steel wheels - a sled would probably have been easier over
the gravel drive.

--
Morris Dovey
DeSoto Solar
DeSoto, Iowa USA
http://www.iedu.com/DeSoto/

"Morris Dovey" wrote in news:467c8b43$0$10297$815e3792
@news.qwest.net:

Edwin Pawlowski wrote:

| Unless you have a very smooth surface all the way, larger wheels
| will make a big difference.

That was my thought, also. I planning to use 5" or 6" pneumatic
casters. The last pallet (photo attached) went out on a pallet jack
with tiny steel wheels - a sled would probably have been easier over
the gravel drive.

--
Morris Dovey
DeSoto Solar
DeSoto, Iowa USA
http://www.iedu.com/DeSoto/


What about using a big, honking, handtruck? Like moving a refrigerator?

Patriarch

Patriarch wrote:

| What about using a big, honking, handtruck? Like moving a
| refrigerator?

If I were a big, honkin' guy (or if I were just 20 years younger),
then I'd give it a try. This pallet weighs more than I do, and others
will weigh twice as much as this one. The lift gate is always an
option, but I'd rather give myself a break - both from the lifting and
the lift gate charge.

I played around with the CAD drawing this afternoon to add a bit of
strength in a couple of key places - and came up with a way to adjust
fork spacing. At this point I've become so involved with the design I
think I'd want to try it out even if I found a commercial unit I could
afford. :-)

--
Morris Dovey
DeSoto Solar
DeSoto, Iowa USA
http://www.iedu.com/DeSoto/

Morris Dovey wrote:

Patriarch wrote:

| What about using a big, honking, handtruck? Like moving a
| refrigerator?

If I were a big, honkin' guy (or if I were just 20 years younger),
then I'd give it a try. This pallet weighs more than I do, and others
will weigh twice as much as this one. The lift gate is always an
option, but I'd rather give myself a break - both from the lifting and
the lift gate charge.

I played around with the CAD drawing this afternoon to add a bit of
strength in a couple of key places - and came up with a way to adjust
fork spacing. At this point I've become so involved with the design I
think I'd want to try it out even if I found a commercial unit I could
afford. :-)

--
Morris Dovey
DeSoto Solar
DeSoto, Iowa USA
http://www.iedu.com/DeSoto/



Morris,
Have you considered getting a Genie lift? They aren't that
expensive and if you lay down some plywood you can roll it
right up to the truck. No need to reinvent the wheel.

http://www.genieindustries.com/ml-series/ml-1-3.asp

--
Robert Allison
Rimshot, Inc.
Georgetown, TX

Robert Allison wrote:

| Have you considered getting a Genie lift? They aren't that
| expensive and if you lay down some plywood you can roll it
| right up to the truck. No need to reinvent the wheel.
|
| http://www.genieindustries.com/ml-series/ml-1-3.asp

I wasn't even aware there was such a thing. I like it - and bookmarked
it for future reference as a possible (jobsite) installation tool. I
really like the compact design.

The wheel has already been reinvented, and I'm planning to build the
wooden loader, which is now a 2x4 and 2x6 pallet lift and should come
in with a less than $100 materials cost.

Thanks for posting the link!

--
Morris Dovey
DeSoto Solar
DeSoto, Iowa USA
http://www.iedu.com/DeSoto/

If the tinner's jack will work for you, that's great. Be aware
that the design of the hoist will not allow you to pick up
conventional pallets. I noticed your pallet appears open on the
bottom and would work as long as the legs of the hoist can fit you
pallet design.

There are many brands of these, they are common as duct hoists on
new construction:
BillJax
Genie
Sumner

If you where going to stay wood, how where you thinking to get
enough strength where the forks meet the framework?



Keep the whole world singing . . . .
DanG (remove the sevens)




"Morris Dovey" wrote in message
...
Robert Allison wrote:

| Have you considered getting a Genie lift? They aren't that
| expensive and if you lay down some plywood you can roll it
| right up to the truck. No need to reinvent the wheel.
|
| http://www.genieindustries.com/ml-series/ml-1-3.asp

I wasn't even aware there was such a thing. I like it - and
bookmarked
it for future reference as a possible (jobsite) installation
tool. I
really like the compact design.

The wheel has already been reinvented, and I'm planning to build
the
wooden loader, which is now a 2x4 and 2x6 pallet lift and should
come
in with a less than $100 materials cost.

Thanks for posting the link!

--
Morris Dovey
DeSoto Solar
DeSoto, Iowa USA
http://www.iedu.com/DeSoto/

DanG wrote:
| If the tinner's jack will work for you, that's great. Be aware
| that the design of the hoist will not allow you to pick up
| conventional pallets. I noticed your pallet appears open on the
| bottom and would work as long as the legs of the hoist can fit you
| pallet design.

I'm not sure that the Genie will do what I want for pallets, but is
the best thing I've seen for lifting panels into place for difficult
installations. The fact that it can be transported to a job site in a
pickup or van is a plus (maybe).

| There are many brands of these, they are common as duct hoists on
| new construction:
| BillJax
| Genie
| Sumner

Thanks for adding to the list!

| If you where going to stay wood, how where you thinking to get
| enough strength where the forks meet the framework?

In the short term I'll use wood because of cost. I've reworked the
design of the carrier to use a 2x6 vertical member to which I can bolt
a 2x4 fork (tine?) - I'll attach a sketch so you can see my thought...

I'm still tinkering to see if I can attach a pair of 2x6's between
these vertical members securely enough to allow repositioning of or
adding more tines for better load distribution. I'm not sure I'll
actually need to do that, but I'm trying to think ahead of current
needs.

--
Morris Dovey
DeSoto Solar
DeSoto, Iowa USA
http://www.iedu.com/DeSoto/