OK, so my workshop is out of wall space. Seriously, there's a cabinet, or machine, or just something on every bit of wall space. Except on the wall over the door to my finishing room. I've used the tops of the cabinets to store a large variety of jigs, etc... over the years, but it involves climbing up a tall step ladder and bringing down sometimes heavy, unwieldly sleds. Not the safest thing I can think of, and I really am getting too old to go up ladders.
My workshop is pretty unique in that I have 15-1/2" tall concrete ceiling with tin sheets covering it. The house was built to withstand at Cat-5 hurricane.
I've had my large crosscut sled suspended by an electric overhead chain hoist in two houses now over the outfeed table of my table saw. That way I can use the heavy monster, and not ever have to lift it. I have a couple of other hoists installed that hold up a long ramp for rolling in heavy equipment, and a few other things. The hoists are rated for 1100/2200 lbs. Not wimpy HF things. Plus, had serious Tapcon bolts driven into the concrete ceiling. Rated for far, far more weight than this ever will involve.
So, I finally got bored enough that I decided to build and have installed an overhead storage shelf to hold a number of jigs that have been taking up progressively more and more floor space, tucked into every nook and cranny that I could think of.
To prevent it getting tippy and dropping jigs on the floor or someone's head, I installed two 1-1/4" linear rails and bearings for it to ride on. I was worried that they would be too precise and hang up, but actually they work great. There is also a chain and four stops on the rail to prevent the shelf from dropping unexpectedly.
Not a Youtube kind of guy, so here are just a few pictures of it:
Moving Shelf 1.jpg
Moving Shelf 2.jpg
Moving Shelf 3.jpg
Clearly overkill, but safer than a tall stepladder IMHO, and a fun engineering project. Certainly not cost-effective, but fun nonetheless.
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Originally Posted by Bill Dufour
