Team 841 built an elevator system with a drill press and chop saw in 2011. The elevator uses 2x1 square tubing as the outer section, 2x1 c-channel for the center and a rolling device in the center (consisting of 2x1 square tubing connected with flat bars).This elevator design worked very well for us and will definitely use it again if the need arises.
Everything was measured with a tape measure, center punched by hand and then drilled with a 1/4 drill bit.
We noticed that there needs to be enough room for the parts to move within the system, make sure that the bearings do not apply too much tension to the moving components.
Here is a link of our design with 254 and 973.
http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/sh...77#post1085150