This morning I designed and started building a jack mechanism to install sheetrock on the ceiling of my house . This afternoon I finished it and used it to put up 2 sheets . It's nothing fancy , a couple of 2x4's with |___| brackets to let them "telescope" . Scrap plywood and some 2x4 pieces for a base and bracing , equipped with swivel casters . Hand crank winch and cable and a small pulley and more scrap plywood for a top platform completes it . The winch is mounted on the moving 2x4 , the cable goes down and around the end - the pulley is mounted in a notch in the bottom end - and back up between the 2x4's to get tied off over the top of the non-moving 2x . There's a groove in one 2x for the cable . The platform is about 73" above the floor when lowered , so I still have to get it up a ways . But once sorta-centered on the top platform , I can roll the thing anywhere in the room , crank the winch to raise it up to the framing , and once positioned another turn locks it in place while I get screws started . I've always in the past just used deadman tees , this is SO much easier !! I'd never considered the possibility , just never did that much overhead and mostly small pieces , but a guy I know mentioned he had one , and the gears in my head ... and had he never mentioned it , I'd be fighting this stuff and wishing I had 3 arms .
- posted
9 years ago