Bunk-Bed Elevator Project

This project used an inexpensive winch, some pulleys, and some wood to make a simple elevator. I made it with my son in a few hours, and it was a good learning time together. The exposed cable and the powerful winch means it wouldn’t be safe for smaller kids.

First we built a triangular wooden tower of about 7 feet tall using 3 2x3’s, with a long through bolt pinning them together at the top, and some wide pieces at the bottom to keep it from falling over.

Next we added a pulley near the top where the three pieces meet. The winch goes at the bottom and runs up and over the pulley at the top, allowing it to lift the chair up and down along the ‘front’ 2x3.

The trickiest and most interesting part was the seat. We used some metal plates, plywood, and 2 caster wheels to trap the inclined beam in such a way that if the cable was holding the back, the rider’s weight would bear down on the wheels.

The winch has one of those safety rocker switches where you have to hold it at all times for it to run — for the elevator ‘operator’. You can find the winch on Amazon. It’s meant to be used in a garage to lift up canoes or ATV’s or similar.