Mid-rise Scissors Lift in Action

The Atlas Scissors Lift comes in very handy for servicing lawnmowers and snow blowers. I built a 4’ x 8’ platform that sits on the lift and becomes an adjustable height work surface. This allows a snow blower oil change to take place at waist level.

Atlas Scissors Lift

After carefully considering many options I purchased an Atlas Scissors Lift from Greg Smith Equipment to use in the third stall of the “L” Shaped Garage. The lift has proved to be remarkably versatile tool that not only makes car work easier but also provides an adjustable height base for a work surface.

The two photos below show off the range of possibilities for using the lift nicely. In the first the 2008 Lotus Exige is lifted 48” off the floor. The second shows the adjustable work surface in use while building Nordic ski waxing stations.

The images below show the lift in use on a wide variety of jobs performed in the space (so far).

 

Wheel Stand MOD

Although the wheel stands include a set of “wings” that prevent a vehicle from rolling off the front or back of the stands there is nothing to stop the car from moving side to side. Since I plan to use “slip plates” under the wheels for some tasks I decided to fabricate a set of guards to “capture” the wheels on top of the stands.

First a simple layout of the bits and pieces necessary…

Then on to drilling holes in the straps…

Drilling and tapping the wheel stands…

And finally the finished guards…

Atlas Wheel Stands

Working in the “L” Shaped Garage on few projects made it clear that the ability to set a vehicle down on its wheels providing clear access to the underside is highly desirable. The four post lift in the fourth stall provides this sort of access but is very difficult to work around in a space the size of a garage stall. After considering more than a few options I decided to purchase a set of Atlas Wheel Stands from Greg Smith Equipment.

The wheel stands are 34” tall and support 1500 lbs each. They include a 3/8" steel top, heavy duty legs, and adjustable feet. The stands were kind of a PIA to assemble because the holes only barely line up (nothing a couple of pipe clamps couldn't handle). As you can see in the image below the Lotus sits nicely on top of the stands.

Adjustable feet on the legs of the stands provide the ability to set the tops in the same plane. A 78” carpenters level makes it easy to get the stands aligned.

A laser line level makes it easy to fine tune the alignment of the stands even further. The image below shows the Atlas Jack Stands I purchased along with the wheel stands. The “short” tripod stands support up to two tons and include an acme screw that allows you to lift as well as support a load. The 30” minimum height makes them a perfect addition to the wheel stands.

Lotus Exige (First MOD)

So with the Lotus safely tucked away in the garage for the winter I’m off to start making a few modifications (MODs). First up is adding a Monkey Wrench Racing (MWR) Lift Point Kit. The kit adds a new set of lifting points to the Lotus that extend below the aero panels under the car. Without these lifting points you have to first raise the back end of the car and remove the panels to expose the rear lifting points on the frame.

The kit consists of a pair of plates (for each side) that “sandwich” the aluminum frame stubs providing a robust mounting surface for an aluminum stand-off.

The installation exposed a couple of minor problems with the car. Someone had raised )or supported} the car on the frame stubs causing them to bend. Fortunately the damage was limited to a few scrapes and a minor bend to a stub frame. The foam blocks seen engaging the original lifting points at the rear of the aluminum chassis are visible in the image below.

The stub was easily bent back into shape and the “sandwiched” frame stub is probably now better than new!

The image below shows the Lotus supported on the MWR lift Points on top of my Atlas Scissors Lift. The Lift Points make raising the car on a lift very easy and are a nice, easy first MOD.