Back to the shop

The big project for the past couple of days has been getting the car lift moved from its storage spot at the little house and then standing it up in the shop.  Its super heavy and I was working alone so it has been a very slow project.  I’m also feeling more lethargic than usual – maybe its after effects of the flu shot on Monday 0r maybe its just normal S.A.D.  We’re seeing the sun so rarely its starting to feel like we’re already in B.C.

Moving the first post from the trailer to the shop.  As you can see it barely fits under the 13 foot door clearance.  That’s also the “heavy” side post – the one with the lift cylinder.

My plan was to set a post on each side of the Genie lift, strap them to the lift so they wouldn`t fall over and then attach the top beam.  My hope was that once the top beam was in place I would be able to run the lift up against the top beam, lift the entire car hoist and walk it into place with the Genie.

At this point both posts are leaning against the Genie, ready for the top crossmember.

I didn’t take any pictures while I was carrying the lift on the Genie.  It would in fact barely raise the lift.  If you look closely at the before and after pictures you can see the yellow lift arms attached in the first picture and removed in the second image.  Those arms are REALLY heavy so I removed them and that made all the difference in how the Genie was able to handle the lift.

There’s some major drilling involved to fasten it down.  That’s a 7/8” bit and I’m using 8” Redhead anchors (wedge bolts).  I found a bit that claims to be able to cut rebar as well as concrete.  Its carbide tipped and so far it has been working well but I’m only 1/3 of the way through the holes.  Four of the holes are under the lift arms so they will have to wait until I get the power hooked up and the lift working.

That’s the power pack that does the lifting.  Its a 230 volt motor and I haven’t completely figured out how it works.  Its clear that you push the lever and it pushes the cylinder out to go up but going down is still a big mystery.  1-800-Michael has worked before – I expect I will need to call again.

That big roller chain needs to be led through the top cross member and down the far side.  The cylinder lifts the wall side and the chain lifts the opposite arm.  There’s a kind of ratchet/cog affair that keeps the arms up which has to be manually released in order to go down but like I said, getting it to go back down is still 3/4 of a mystery.