grim_d
Unlikeable idiot.
- Messages
- 4,271
- Location
- Scotland - Ayrshire
How do you find it?
Sure they are fine but the bit that bothers me is that they could easily be used on an uneven floor and be very unstable.
- Thread starter Gizmo.Y
- Start date
How do you find it?
Sure they are fine but the bit that bothers me is that they could easily be used on an uneven floor and be very unstable.
ajlelectronics
Member
- Messages
- 11,036
- Location
- Gloucester, England
That is the same type as I use. Looks a good price as the only other one I have seen is three Grand.
ajlelectronics
Member
- Messages
- 11,036
- Location
- Gloucester, England
Mine is totally stable on tarmac or concrete. The problem is the bar that prevents gearbox removal. That's why I am thinking of a four poster outside.
Wedg1e
They call me Mr. Bodge-angles
- Messages
- 7,853
- Location
- Teesside, England
The first one we bought was an ex-demo, had never actually lifted a car and was slightly scraped from being built and disassembled, we paid £1200 for it. It was branded 'Bradock' in a blatant ripoff of Bradbury's (or Laycock's) font
but so far :toucheswood: continues to lift a £16,000 x-ray head up and down daily.The legs extend under the car being lifted to help counterbalance the load; we cut them off as they got in the way of the client's inspection trolleys and instead put a tie-bar back to the wall at the mast top. There are also several floor anchor bolts along the rear of the base frame.
You can buy a mobile version with (effectively) a pallet truck built-in so you can wheel it around but I've not seen one in the flesh (metal) - maybe this is what AJL uses?
I'll probably have the unused portions of the lifting frame (rubber pads, screw extenders, even the swinging telescopic bits) going spare when this one's commissioned, the same parts from the last one all got skipped
Once change between the Bradock and this one is that they've done away with the solenoid valve that releases pressure to drop the lift; instead they use a manual lever to depressurise the ram and lower, whilst simulataneously pulling a cable to hold the safety pawl out of engagement. On the Bradock a solenoid retracted the pawl so you had two 'Down' buttons; one let the lift down to the next engagement point for the pawl and the other held the pawl to allow the lift to go all the way down. I'm having to convert this one to the same operation as the Bradock so I've fitted a solenoid valve from Isis Fluid Control and am now trying to find a meaty solenoid to retract the pawl that will fit the space available - hence drawing the entire lift on CAD to make sure it'll all work.
premmington
Member
- Messages
- 6,492
- Location
- Norfolk
I have a garage - when we buy lifting tables (vehicle lifts) - I have to buy new ones for the insurance - paper work trail. It is now questionable - if you can actually fit them yourself and get insurance - based on if anything went wrong - your insurers want an invoice for installation - so they can pass the claim back thru the chain of supply.
We do fit our own lifts here - and never had a problem.
I would only now buy hydraulic lifts (two posts and scissor lifts) - things have moved on from threaded bars and nuts.
Automotech Services Limited
I have had three lifts from them now - cannot praise them enough...
We do fit our own lifts here - and never had a problem.
I would only now buy hydraulic lifts (two posts and scissor lifts) - things have moved on from threaded bars and nuts.
Automotech Services Limited
I have had three lifts from them now - cannot praise them enough...
premmington
Member
- Messages
- 6,492
- Location
- Norfolk
I like fitting lifts - done loads - even sunken flush fitting full length scissor lifts. Quite like a concreting job as well.
Moose McAlpine
Member
- Messages
- 1,628
- Location
- Norf Lund'n
How do you like scissor lifts? I've never had to use one but they look awful to me. Can't beat a baseless 2-post.
premmington
Member
- Messages
- 6,492
- Location
- Norfolk
We have several two post lifts
Plus two full height scissor lifts - one is short sill lift (would not have another on) - tend to use this for tyre fitting.
The longer full length - full height scissor lift I like.
Doing front wheel drive clutches is a job for a two post ramp.
Problem with two poster ramps is - I can never find suspension problems with the weight off the wheels.
Alignment and inspecting suspension is best done on a long scissor ramp (or a four poster).
Flush fit scissor ramps are easy to load cars on for a quick inspection. No mucking about with the arms - just drive on and lift!
General car work is best done on a two poster - even doing brakes on a scissor ramp is hard work with two lifting beams.
What you really want is - lots of two poster ramps (as big as you can fit into your workshop) and one scissor ramp or four poster.
When I first started out - I had one two poster and a long pit (real long thing).
Positioning of ramps in your workshop is the key. Two posters can go at an angle into a corner - you can back a car on them and have more room at the front.
Scissor lifts really wanna be drive thru - with enuf space to put a dead car in front of them. So you can push a dead car off (short distance) - got on with something else - then load the dead car with no effort at all - not even a change in direction.
Flush fit short sill scissor lifts can go in door ways - just drive over them.
I got a bit of a thing about workshop layouts - with a bit of thought - you can make "odd shaped" or small workshops work - Everybody just sticks a ramp in the middle inline to a door. I can normally get more ramps into workshop than the last owner has managed.
Ramps are cheap really - the more ramps you have the better if you wanna do any volume of work (pushing dead cars about is no fun either).
