Dog Elevator

The last project was my scissor lift. I wanted to try something different and make a dog elevator to help my dogs get up on  the couch. To do this I would have change the position of the drill so I could reach it easier and from a different angle.

I have three dogs and they always want to go on the couch, I have some dog stairs but they don't like to use them. When I reach over to lift them they run away, so I thought an elevator may be the solution.

                                                                                                           

Since I will be using my Scissor lift from my last project I wanted to be able to make the new addition that was easy enough  attach and take off. Maybe I will have to build two of them.

This is the video for my Scissor lift ......

  




                                         Dog elevator video                      

                                           


 Pin Gears

To start I will make the gears. I first cut a circle from some plywood and using a caliper I divided it and drilled 10 holes for the dowels.  6 holes will be drilled into the smaller gear.

I used 3/8 inch dowels  for the pins. I cut 16 small piece dowels using my small bandsaw sled.  This goes very fast and  accurate. Since everything is set up cutting a few extra is a good idea.

                                     
A file is used to roll over one end of  the dowels, this will crush the wood a bit and be good for the glue to adhere.  

A slot is cut in the side piece. To do this I cut one side until it hit the stopblock, moved it over and cut the other side. Then the end was cleaned up with the band saw.

A couple of guides were cut and screwed onto the side then a small piece of 1/4 plywood is cut to fit exactly in the guide. Careful measuring and cutting the pieces makes everything move smooth. I find a caliper is best to make precise measurements.

 

These 2 -3/4" plywood  blocks are clamped and drilled, they will be used to guide the threaded rod and small gear.

The ends are rounded ......

....and screwed onto the 1/4 inch plywood slide. 

Two brackets are screwed onto the bottom and the side to hold the slide and gears. Removing the bottom screws of these brackets will make it  easy if ever you want to take off the side.

 Plastic gliudes are put on the bottom to protect the hardwood floor. 

A couple of nuts are used to adjust the height of the threaded rod. A large washer would be a good idea if this thing gets a lot of use.

I haven't checked the max weight it will lift but it lifts these tools and my larger dog no problem.

Molly sitting proud on the elevator. She does not understand it but is not bothered by the noise and she does get on the couch. With a little training I think it will be easier.

Conclusion

My dogs will go on this elevator but will take some training. The lift is very easy to take apart so I can use it in my shop as a work table any time I need too. 

Building slides and gears is fun and this project was very simple.

I hope this motivates you to build something creative.

What else can a lift be used for?

See Also

                                                                                            

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