Scissor Lift

[ch47dpilot]

Has anyone made a scissor type man lift? I was thinking about trying and using one of my Cushman trucksters as the frame. They have Hydraulics so that's not an issue but am conserned about stability. Wheel bases are about 3.5-4 ft wide x 4ft long. I'd be look at going 20-24ft high. I'd be using it to assist in installing a pole barn. Around were I live (low Alabama) the lifts go from $100-250/day. Even if it cost me $600+ to make it would be worth it.

 

[jake98]

Sounds pretty tippy to me. Maybe scaffolding would be the way to go.

 

[LD1]

Has anyone made a scissor type man lift? I was thinking about trying and using one of my Cushman trucksters as the frame. They have Hydraulics so that's not an issue but am conserned about stability. Wheel bases are about 3.5-4 ft wide x 4ft long. I'd be look at going 20-24ft high. I'd be using it to assist in installing a pole barn. Around were I live (low Alabama) the lifts go from $100-250/day. Even if it cost me $600+ to make it would be worth it.

I think you'd have a hard time making one of even under $1000.

They usually use a fairly large diameter and fairly long cylinder. That isn't going to be cheap. As well as all the steel scissor sections and the several pivots.

Plus, you have to use one of them on PERFECTLY flat ground. otherwise a tip-over is a very serious concern.

If you are deal-set on building one, I'd go to the rental place or where-ever and get an upclose look and take some measurments.

 

[JJZ 109]

Going to be costly to be done right. I'd never even think about going up 20-24 feet without some kind of outriggers or stabilizer, flat ground or not. Especially on that small of a platform you have some serious top heaviness and leverage. Shift your weight wrong, push on a truss or other object that you want to move hard enough and over you go, especially if fully extended.
If it's for a one project deal, spend the money and rent one. Save your body.
I bought a gently used JLG T-350 towable boom lift, but I own a seamless gutter outfit and use it all the time. The rental companies around here have the same lifts and those things are never in the yard when you need one.

 

[Craig Clayton]

I have a licence for scissor lifts up to 32' and an additional ticket for 115' mobile boom lifts. Your base area is not HEAVY enough for the height that you are thinking about. The posting is me sitting on the front tire of a 85' machine this summer. It was too hot so I let the younger guy go up and I held the tire down.

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/construction-equipment/182033-85-foot-elevated-platform-pics.html

As you will see the base area of a 85' machine is not large but it is very HEAVY.
There are many sites about lifts if you want to build, I know as I want to make my own.
Craig Clayton

 

[BruceWard]

Around were I live (low Alabama) the lifts go from $100-250/day. Even if it cost me $600+ to make it would be worth it.

In Arkansas I can get an paved surface scissor lift with a 26' platform height for around $700 a month or an all terrain version for $900 a month. Scaffolding costs almost as much.

 

[JJZ 109]

As you will see the base area of a 85' machine is not large but it is very HEAVY.

Craig Clayton

Above is the main reason I didn't go with a rough terrain scissor lift. The cost of a used scissor lift would have been less than what I paid for the boom lift, but the weight would have been prohibitive for my 7,000 lb. trailer and half ton pickup to move from job to job.
The boom lift allows me to get into some more difficult spots anyway so it worked out for me.

 

[beeforty]

Like jake98 and LD1 say about being tippy, you do need a hard flat floor to operate on. These things do sway when you are reaching out trying to work over the edge and I spend all of my time on a concrete hangar floor. I got lucky and picked up 4 stages of scaffolding for $200.00. Put some posts on the top with chains aroundfor safety, you're at 24' Best part I have never had to call someone to get me down when the hydraulics quit on you.

 

[EddieWalker]

Has anyone made a scissor type man lift? I was thinking about trying and using one of my Cushman trucksters as the frame. They have Hydraulics so that's not an issue but am conserned about stability. Wheel bases are about 3.5-4 ft wide x 4ft long. I'd be look at going 20-24ft high. I'd be using it to assist in installing a pole barn. Around were I live (low Alabama) the lifts go from $100-250/day. Even if it cost me $600+ to make it would be worth it.

That's an aweful high way to want to go. How did you figure 24 feet? What will you be doing up that hight?

I've built a few barns, and a few houses, and I've never needed a lift. I would have loved to have had one, but I've done it all with scaffolding and ladders. If you were thinking of spending $600, I'd look into scaffolding and moving it around to where you need it. A really good quality ladder is something that you will always need too.

Eddie

 

[wdchyd]

I would think that finding an older one and rebuilding it would be alot more cost effective than building anything from scratch......as least the engineering and geometry would already be figured out for reliability factors.....there seems to be plenty of used ones that are just too old or worn for commercial work.....it would be a least more of a sure thing to work right....

 

[crazyal]

I think the bushings will be your biggest problem. If i remember correctly they have to be extremely tight fitting or when your extended it'll be very dangerous. Plus a large amount of force when the cylinder extends.

 

[brokenot]

Nobody has mentioned it yet, but proper hydraulics aren't going to be inexpensive either. There isn't a manufactured scissor or boom lift out there that I'm aware of that doesn't have holding valves in the lift cylinder(s).

You do not want to be elevated and have a hose or fitting failure without load checks/holding valves. If you're not equipped as such, your descent from an elevated position will be more rapid than you'd like.

Since the holding valves are built into the cylinder body, they're not easy to rig up or duplicate on your own. Putting a holding valve anywhere but right in, (or on), the cylinder itself renders it ineffective because the plumbing from it to the cylinder could also fail.

The bottom fell out of the used aerial lift market a couple of years ago, and it hasn't made a comeback yet. There was simply too much iron out there when the economy took a dump. A scissor or boom is worth half of what it was only five years ago or so.

Buy one, use it, and re-sell when you're done...

 

[flusher]

Has anyone made a scissor type man lift? I was thinking about trying and using one of my Cushman trucksters as the frame. They have Hydraulics so that's not an issue but am conserned about stability. Wheel bases are about 3.5-4 ft wide x 4ft long. I'd be look at going 20-24ft high. I'd be using it to assist in installing a pole barn. Around were I live (low Alabama) the lifts go from $100-250/day. Even if it cost me $600+ to make it would be worth it.

Don't waste your time trying to jury rig a DIY manlift--the injury risks are too great. Get some good scaffolding.

Scaffold Mart has good stuff and good prices and free shipping on orders over $600.

Scaffold Mart. Scaffolding at the Best Possible Prices

Here the scaffolding I got from SM to build a Japanese pergola last year.



Bakers Type Scaffold Ladder, Scaffold Frame - from ScaffoldMart

I only had to go up 10 ft. I'd use one of their other packages to handle your height requirement.

http://www.scaffoldmart.com/scaffold-tower-packages/26-scaffolding-tower.html

If I were you, I'd stretch my budget a little, get the scaffolding and be safe!!!!

Good luck.