Beam Clamp On An Incline Beam

[Bob La Londe]

I would love to have a nice telescoping heavy gantry crane, but I don't
need one often enough to pay the price for one as heavy as I would like.
I do have a metal building with a large I-beam across the center. The
building is 60' outside dimension, but the unsupported beam (bolted
together in the middle at the peak with large flanges) is about 55 feet
eyeballing the dimensions. Maybe less. The incline is about 4 degrees.

I'm playing with the idea of putting a beam clamp on the I-Beam and
putting a chain fall on it about 8 feet from the support column on that
end. With a 16' eve height a 15' chain fall should allow for laying the
hook on the floor. Mostly it would get used for outboards, small
blocks, and maybe the occasional big block engine. All under a half
ton, but the immediate thing that got me thinking about it is the
Bridgeport Series 1 CNC mill on a trailer in the shop right now.
Depending on where I look it weighs between 2000 and 3000 pounds. The
spec sheet I am most likely to trust puts it at 2600 pounds. Its not
overloading the tires or the axle on the trailer I hauled it on. That
trailer has a single 3500lb axle, but a few years ago when I hauled ten
sheets of 1/4 inch A36 it was very close to max for the rig. That would
have been around 3264 lbs. So the mill has to be significantly less
than that. I have heavier trailers, but one is high deck and one has rails.

My thought is the beam is certainly heavy enough if it was a short span
like a gantry crane, but being a 55 ft span I might be playing with fire
if I were to try a heavy lift near the middle. I am hoping near the end
more of the load will be vertical on the support column.

In order to avoid slipping I'd put the type of beam clamp used with all
thread to support conduit, ducting, and sprinkler lines on the bottom
flange of the beam on the downhill side of the lifting beam clamp on
each side.

It would be a single (more or less) short duration load so that I could
lift the mill, roll the trailer out from under, and lower the mill onto
a heavy pallet, so it can be positioned with a pallet jack and
eventually set on the floor with my cherry picker (engine crane). The
last part is how I moved, positioned, and set the South Bend mill (which
is over 3500 pounds). The cherry picker won't go high enough to lift
the mill off the trailer.

I don't know how dumb my idea is, but I'm probably going to go for it.
The load time would be measured in a couple minutes, but my thought is
something like this is either going to be strong enough. Or it isn't.

How did I unload the Hurco (4000lbs) you might ask? Yeah, that wasn't
pretty, and I don't have all of that equipment anymore.

It it works I'd leave everything in place, and just swing the chains
over out of the way behind a hook on the support column.

[James Waldby]

Post by Bob La Londe
I would love to have a nice telescoping heavy gantry crane, but I don't
need one often enough to pay the price for one as heavy as I would like.
I do have a metal building with a large I-beam across the center. The
building is 60' outside dimension, but the unsupported beam (bolted
together in the middle at the peak with large flanges) is about 55 feet
eyeballing the dimensions. Maybe less. The incline is about 4 degrees.
I'm playing with the idea of putting a beam clamp on the I-Beam and
putting a chain fall on it about 8 feet from the support column on
that end. With a 16' eve height a 15' chain fall should allow for
laying the hook on the floor. [...snip...] Bridgeport Series 1 CNC
mill on a trailer in the shop right now. Depending on where I look
it weighs between 2000 and 3000 pounds. [...snip...]
My thought is the beam is certainly heavy enough if it was a short span
like a gantry crane, but being a 55 ft span I might be playing with fire
if I were to try a heavy lift near the middle. I am hoping near the end
more of the load will be vertical on the support column. [...snip...]
It would be a single (more or less) short duration load so that I
could lift the mill, roll the trailer out from under, and lower the
mill onto a heavy pallet, so it can be positioned with a pallet jack
and eventually set on the floor with my cherry picker (engine
crane). The last part is how I moved, positioned, and set the South
Bend mill (which is over 3500 pounds). The cherry picker won't go
high enough to lift the mill off the trailer.
I don't know how dumb my idea is, but I'm probably going to go for
it. The load time would be measured in a couple minutes, but my
thought is something like this is either going to be strong
enough. Or it isn't. [...snip...]

You might run a test, lifting say 800#, 1600#, etc while measuring
mid-ceiling deflection, eg with a Bosch laser measure, then
extrapolate to "safe" maximum weight. Of course, if the deflection is
too small to measure (eg <5mm) then probably no worries. Or if it's
several inches, lifting via the ceiling beam would be a no go.*
It's the in-between deflection cases that would be harder to decide...

Whether you can reasonably extrapolate also depends on how the support
column at the wall is braced. Given the 16' eve height, Euler
buckling could occur without warning if the column's not braced both
ways when you exceed critical load. Also see***.

* If ceiling beam lift is no go, you might end up using dual rows of
stacked cribbing, eg crib a platform beside the trailer up to trailer
height, move palleted mill onto platform, and use pallet jack to
alternately take out layers of cribbing.**

** Say pallet jack has 3" min and 8" max to top of forks; and suppose
24" of cribbing between floor and mill's pallet; and 16" of cribbing
between top of forks and pallet. Raise jack a little, remove 4" of
cribbing, lower jack 5", remove 4" of cribbing on jack, raise jack 5",
etc. Ends with forks under the pallet, not in the pallet.

*** If the wall's well-braced you could put your beam clamp nearer the
wall instead of 8' out, and have a winch line across the shop to hold
the chain fall hook out from the wall. [However, if the clamp were
right at the wall I think resultant forces would be about 90% on the
chain fall and 45% on the winch line, which sounds like a high enough
sideways force on the wall to raise the possibility of some exciting
video footage. ... In the grocery store a couple of weeks ago, I
heard one guy say, "How's it going, Bill?", and Bill replies, "Going
great, just great! But it's early enough the whole day could still go
sideways."]

[Bob La Londe]

Post by James Waldby

Post by Bob La Londe
I would love to have a nice telescoping heavy gantry crane, but I don't
need one often enough to pay the price for one as heavy as I would like.
I do have a metal building with a large I-beam across the center. The
building is 60' outside dimension, but the unsupported beam (bolted
together in the middle at the peak with large flanges) is about 55 feet
eyeballing the dimensions. Maybe less. The incline is about 4 degrees.
I'm playing with the idea of putting a beam clamp on the I-Beam and
putting a chain fall on it about 8 feet from the support column on
that end. With a 16' eve height a 15' chain fall should allow for
laying the hook on the floor. [...snip...] Bridgeport Series 1 CNC
mill on a trailer in the shop right now. Depending on where I look
it weighs between 2000 and 3000 pounds. [...snip...]
My thought is the beam is certainly heavy enough if it was a short span
like a gantry crane, but being a 55 ft span I might be playing with fire
if I were to try a heavy lift near the middle. I am hoping near the end
more of the load will be vertical on the support column. [...snip...]
It would be a single (more or less) short duration load so that I
could lift the mill, roll the trailer out from under, and lower the
mill onto a heavy pallet, so it can be positioned with a pallet jack
and eventually set on the floor with my cherry picker (engine
crane). The last part is how I moved, positioned, and set the South
Bend mill (which is over 3500 pounds). The cherry picker won't go
high enough to lift the mill off the trailer.
I don't know how dumb my idea is, but I'm probably going to go for
it. The load time would be measured in a couple minutes, but my
thought is something like this is either going to be strong
enough. Or it isn't. [...snip...]

You might run a test, lifting say 800#, 1600#, etc while measuring
mid-ceiling deflection, eg with a Bosch laser measure, then
extrapolate to "safe" maximum weight. Of course, if the deflection is
too small to measure (eg <5mm) then probably no worries. Or if it's
several inches, lifting via the ceiling beam would be a no go.*
It's the in-between deflection cases that would be harder to decide...
Whether you can reasonably extrapolate also depends on how the support
column at the wall is braced. Given the 16' eve height, Euler
buckling could occur without warning if the column's not braced both
ways when you exceed critical load. Also see***.
* If ceiling beam lift is no go, you might end up using dual rows of
stacked cribbing, eg crib a platform beside the trailer up to trailer
height, move palleted mill onto platform, and use pallet jack to
alternately take out layers of cribbing.**
** Say pallet jack has 3" min and 8" max to top of forks; and suppose
24" of cribbing between floor and mill's pallet; and 16" of cribbing
between top of forks and pallet. Raise jack a little, remove 4" of
cribbing, lower jack 5", remove 4" of cribbing on jack, raise jack 5",
etc. Ends with forks under the pallet, not in the pallet.
*** If the wall's well-braced you could put your beam clamp nearer the
wall instead of 8' out, and have a winch line across the shop to hold
the chain fall hook out from the wall. [However, if the clamp were
right at the wall I think resultant forces would be about 90% on the
chain fall and 45% on the winch line, which sounds like a high enough
sideways force on the wall to raise the possibility of some exciting
video footage. ... In the grocery store a couple of weeks ago, I
heard one guy say, "How's it going, Bill?", and Bill replies, "Going
great, just great! But it's early enough the whole day could still go
sideways."]

If the mills was already on a pallet I might be tempted to tilt the
trailer and slide the mill off the end with a pallet jack and some
ramps. Still wouldn't give me a lift in my shop, but it would get the
mill off the trailer. The distance from the column is dictated by
shelves, position of the mill (or other stuff in the future) on the
trailer, and the parking position options for the trailer. I do have
toe jacks so cribbing it onto a pallet "might" be an option. Haven't
looked yet if there is clearance for them.

There are perlins connecting the central beam and support column to the
front and rear beams and support columns. Of course their are X cables
on one side to prevent extreme building shifting in high wind loads, but
their tension has never visibly changed. Not even with 70 MPH winds.
There is also bracing at a number of locations to prevent beam twist.
Pulling from the bottom of the beam straight down, it doesn't seam that
beam twist would be an issue.

Each column is bolted to a giant steel reinforced concrete cube.
4x4x4ft maybe. Might be bigger. It was big, but it was a while ago.
The cube is part of the foundation, and the slab has fiber reinforcement
and the appropriate steel rebar and steel re mesh. Tilting or shift is
very unlikely. The slab is supposed to be six inches of structural
concrete, but I have drilled it in a couple places, and its possible
it's only 5 to 5.5 in a few places. Except for the deliberate saw cuts
to prevent this 18-19 year old slab has no cracks. I think the biggest
risk is the strength of the beam itself.

I tried using some of the online beam calculators to do basic worst case
calculations, but they are really a bit beyond me. Well, beyond my
attention span anyway. The plug and play calculators don't really do it
for me, and I just haven't been able to motivate myself to wade through
the lists of formulas on others.

FYI: This is a commercial steel building rated for 100MPH+ wind loads.
No snow load was provided, because while I have seen snow here 2 or 3
times, it has always melted as it hit the ground. Even hail disappears
very very quickly.

Your shade tree testing approach using a laser tape measure (or a
weighted string) is probably the best approach for me to do some basic
testing. I just happen to have tens of thousands of yards of string
(fishing line) and a 600lb(ish) outboard on a stand almost directly
under the beam already. Only a few feet off the intended chain fall
location. I have to move the outboard anyway.

[Jim Wilkins]

"Bob La Londe" wrote in message news:v90fgu$38u14$***@dont-email.me...

I would love to have a nice telescoping heavy gantry crane, but I don't
need one often enough to pay the price for one as heavy as I would like.
I do have a metal building with a large I-beam across the center. The
building is 60' outside dimension, but the unsupported beam (bolted
together in the middle at the peak with large flanges) is about 55 feet
eyeballing the dimensions. Maybe less. The incline is about 4 degrees.
...
-----------------------------------

The gantry hoist I built for my sawmill is an 18' long track supported by
tripods at the ends and a moveable A frame at the center, which can be
stepped over long logs, up to 20' so far. I designed for 2000 lbs, then had
to upgrade for >4000 lb logs from mature oaks that were leaning toward the
house, they expand into sunny clearings. One blew down, away from the house,
so I lost confidence in the others.

A single wide flange beam would have been better than spliced sections
structurally but mine needs to disassemble into parts I can carry and
reassemble off-road by myself. The tripods adapt to uneven ground, indoors a
wheeled base would be better. I have a towable 1 ton shop crane instead.

Gantry hoists are usually 8' long, mine needed extra length to span the
bandsaw head plus the log pile and hauling trailer. My track weighs ~250 lbs
without the hoists and can be moved while assembled with temporary wheels
bolted under one end and a trailer coupler on the other.

I bought a 2 ton gantry trolley from HF for the upgrade and so far have
tested it to 3500 Lbs. On the sawmill two separate chainfalls have proven
useful. The second is a 1 ton that operates twice as fast, the 2 ton (not
HF) is tediously slow. Amazon had a 2 ton hanging crane scale for under
$100.

I assemble the track, trolleys and chainfalls on sawhorses and raise them
with a boat trailer winch at each end, the 2 tons are too heavy and awkward
for one man on a stepladder. With the upgrade the track hangs from G70 chain
joined with G100 hammerlocks. G100 chain has shorter links than G70 and is
more difficult to join into slings etc. I bought it at a logging equipment
supplier where I could try what fit together and what didn't, my multi leg
hardware store G30 chain assemblies could be copied in G70 but not in G100
rating. Apparently chain rated for overhead lifting is made from a less
brittle alloy that better tolerates shock loads like falls and electric
winch starts. Hammerlocks have ends that fit where shackles won't but they
aren't as easily assembled, especially on a ladder.

Perhaps you could suspend a carefully leveled beam track from your existing
structure to allow lifting and moving a load off a trailer and onto pipes or
machinery mice, then set it on the floor with a J-bar.
The important number for online calculators is Ixx, in inches ^4. It's the
link between steel beam dimensions in height x weight per foot and load
capacity calculation. I use pinned end conditions to simplify calculations
and disassembly for storage, and double shear on bolt shanks which is why I
modify the thread lengths. The L/360 live load beam deflection limit is to
avoid cracking wall plaster, not for strength. I had to exceed L/20 to
straighten one piece of the used pallet rack channels for my track, it may
have been 50KSI steel.

-jsw

[Jim Wilkins]

"Jim Wilkins" wrote in message news:v9ibrb$fgnr$***@dont-email.me...
...
Perhaps you could suspend a carefully leveled beam track from your existing
structure to allow lifting and moving a load off a trailer and onto pipes or
machinery mice, then set it on the floor with a J-bar.
...
-------------------------
Bad example, you can lift the load and move the trailer, and you have tongue
jacks.

Besides the gantry I have tripod hoists that lift vertically, equivalent to
your stationary suspended hoist. They are cheaper, simpler and lighter and
what I use most, though for assembling the parts of a milling machine or
similar jobs a moving gantry is better.

[Bob La Londe]

Post by Jim Wilkins
...
Perhaps you could suspend a carefully leveled beam track from your existing
structure to allow lifting and moving a load off a trailer and onto pipes or
machinery mice, then set it on the floor with a J-bar.
...
-------------------------
Bad example, you can lift the load and move the trailer, and you have
tongue jacks.
Besides the gantry I have tripod hoists that lift vertically, equivalent
to your stationary suspended hoist. They are cheaper, simpler and
lighter and what I use most, though for assembling the parts of a
milling machine or similar jobs a moving gantry is better.

No, not a bad example. Sure it doesn't fit my exact situation, but its
useful information.


My plan in case I failed to explain it accurately is to lift the load,
roll the trailer forward, and lower the load onto a heavy pallet. I'll
probably put the pallet under the trailer so that total suspension time
of the load will be measured in single digits.

Two things...

1. I have looked at prefab gantry cranes and there are many with
adequate vertical clearance... and as you mentioned.. 8 ft width. They
do not have an 8 ft span however. Most are 8' to the center of the
caster pivots. 94-ish inches between the uprights. This makes it
impractical for unloading heavy utility flat bed trailers which are
typically 8' wide or in some cases 8'6 inches wide. Wider ones are
available of course. A gantry has the advantage of a being able to use
a trolley instead of a beam clamp of course.

2. I actually have considered installing a vertical I-Beam to one side
of the parking bay. (There are shelves there so it really would not be
in the way even though it is an open span building.) Then installing a
horizontal beam from it to the near column. Braced of course. This
would also allow for use of a trolley instead of a beam clamp. I-beams
tend to be lighter than I would like to use or nearly as much as the
cost of a complete gantry crane, even for excess inventory, locally.

[Jim Wilkins]

...

My plan in case I failed to explain it accurately is to lift the load,
roll the trailer forward, and lower the load onto a heavy pallet. I'll
probably put the pallet under the trailer so that total suspension time
of the load will be measured in single digits.

Two things...

1. I have looked at prefab gantry cranes and there are many with
adequate vertical clearance... and as you mentioned.. 8 ft width. They
do not have an 8 ft span however. Most are 8' to the center of the
caster pivots. 94-ish inches between the uprights. This makes it
impractical for unloading heavy utility flat bed trailers which are
typically 8' wide or in some cases 8'6 inches wide. Wider ones are
available of course. A gantry has the advantage of a being able to use
a trolley instead of a beam clamp of course.

2. I actually have considered installing a vertical I-Beam to one side
of the parking bay. (There are shelves there so it really would not be
in the way even though it is an open span building.) Then installing a
horizontal beam from it to the near column. Braced of course. This
would also allow for use of a trolley instead of a beam clamp. I-beams
tend to be lighter than I would like to use or nearly as much as the
cost of a complete gantry crane, even for excess inventory, locally.
--
Bob La Londe
CNC Molds N Stuff

----------------------------------------------
My structural steel is almost all scrap, bought for $0.25 a pound at a
recycling yard before Bidenflation, based on quick mental engineering of
vague plans/wishes. Most of what I bought could be used somehow, if not
exactly as intended.

A folding shop crane or engine hoist can be nearly as useful at much lower
dollar and storage space cost. A load can be moved without swinging by
lowering it onto timbers across the legs. I added a caster tongue jack and
trailer coupler to the mast end of mine and tow it with the tractor.

Their disadvantage is that the legs need to straddle or be under the load,
so they may not lift from or lower to flat on the ground. A pipe tripod with
its feet connected by flat webbing straps (to roll over) can take over for
that. Mine are 8' chain link fence corner posts with top acorn caps on the
bottom, resting in holes in aluminum plates attached to plywood for pavement
use. The taller gantry tripods are 2" x 10' EMT with feet machined from old
cast iron fence post acorn caps from a dealer's junk drawers. For level
floor indoor use the top leg connection could be a rigid triangle like a
camera tripod instead of my fully flexible and sometimes troublesome
homebrew.

A tripod of 2" x 10' water pipe is stronger but difficult to set up because
the center of gravity is so high. A column buckling calculator shows that
the capacity of pipe, EMT or a fence post is quite high as long as the
loading is centered, thus the end cap balls and sockets, and machined solid
balls for the water pipe shear legs. A truck ran over and bent the third
leg so the owner disposed of it to me. I do proof test them with a crane
scale on loads too heavy to lift, or drop.

The 6" drill press vise I mentioned was to hold off-pavement steel base
plates while cutting the hole. The max for my mill's 4" Wilton vise is 5"
with the hard jaws removed, which isn't quite large enough on soft ground. I
found a clean, lightly used 6" Columbian DP vise that can take 6-7/8"
without its hard jaws. After hole-sawing the center I flare the hole like a
trumpet bell to make the socket, and fold down the corners to also dig in.
These baseplates haven't needed to be tied together.
jsw

[Jim Wilkins]

Post by Jim Wilkins
A tripod of 2" x 10' water pipe is stronger but difficult to set up because
the center of gravity is so high.

Also the pipes alone weigh ~110 Lbs and connecting the 3 top ends on a
ladder is difficult and risky with only two hands, it has to be raised with
its top ends connected, more weight on top to fight. The neighbor loaned me
his 2" pipe tripod but after setting it up once and straining my back I made
my own from lighter 2-3/8" OD x 8' fence tubing, which has served very well.
I think he set it up while standing on a truck bed or the front of the
vehicle whose engine he was swapping. Although EMT may be intentionally
soft enough to bend its elastic modulus is the same as any other steel and
that's what determines long column buckling resistance.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnson%27s_parabolic_formula

On asphalt or concrete the tripod needs ball joint baseplates which are tied
together to prevent spreading. Connecting the leg ends in a delta pattern
creates a tripping hazard, connecting the baseplates to lower the rope
requires ball sockets with enough depth to retain the balls at the leg
angle. For the gantry tripods where the load isn't between the legs a wye
rope pattern is less of a nuisance under foot and tightening one rope also
removes slack from the other two. When possible I guy the tripod top to
anchors because lateral pull or any foot slipping can bring it down.

So far a fence post acorn cap in a beveled hole has been close enough to a
ball joint. The point digs in and holds on dirt when a lighter load doesn't
require a baseplate. The only breakage was a puncture from a sharp rock in
the ground. The EMT ends are cast iron acorn caps too small to fit over the
tube, so I turned their OD down to fit snugly inside it. The water pipe
shear legs have hemi ball ends turned from a dumbbell.

I don't give load capacities to force you to calculate, measure and be
responsible for them yourself, as your construction or usage may vary from
mine.

[Bob La Londe]

Post by Jim Wilkins

Post by Jim Wilkins
A tripod of 2" x 10' water pipe is stronger but difficult to set up
because the center of gravity is so high.

Also the pipes alone weigh ~110 Lbs and connecting the 3 top ends on a
ladder is difficult and risky with only two hands, it has to be raised
with its top ends connected, more weight on top to fight. The neighbor
loaned me his 2" pipe tripod but after setting it up once and straining
my back I made my own from lighter 2-3/8" OD x 8' fence tubing, which
has served very well. I think he set it up while standing on a truck bed
or the front of the vehicle whose engine he was swapping.  Although EMT
may be intentionally soft enough to bend its elastic modulus is the same
as any other steel and that's what determines long column buckling
resistance.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnson%27s_parabolic_formula
On asphalt or concrete the tripod needs ball joint baseplates which are
tied together to prevent spreading. Connecting the leg ends in a delta
pattern creates a tripping hazard, connecting the baseplates to lower
the rope requires ball sockets with enough depth to retain the balls at
the leg angle. For the gantry tripods where the load isn't between the
legs a wye rope pattern is less of a nuisance under foot and tightening
one rope also removes slack from the other two. When possible I guy the
tripod top to anchors because lateral pull or any foot slipping can
bring it down.
So far a fence post acorn cap in a beveled hole has been close enough to
a ball joint. The point digs in and holds on dirt when a lighter load
doesn't require a baseplate. The only breakage was a puncture from a
sharp rock in the ground. The EMT ends are cast iron acorn caps too
small to fit over the tube, so I turned their OD down to fit snugly
inside it. The water pipe shear legs have hemi ball ends turned from a
dumbbell.
I don't give load capacities to force you to calculate, measure and be
responsible for them yourself, as your construction or usage may vary
from mine.

I just don't find much good salvage steel around here, although to be
honest I've pretty much quit looking.

[Jim Wilkins]

A tripod ...

I just don't find much good salvage steel around here, although to be
honest I've pretty much quit looking.

Bob La Londe
CNC Molds N Stuff

----------------------------

The channels etc for my gantry hoist were salvaged standard shapes, the
tripods are new material available from local hardware and big box stores,
at least for the 2000# capacity versions. Fence dealers may have stronger
posts with thicker walls. The upgrade chain and fittings came from a
specialty store beside a tractor dealership. The hoists are from Harbor
Freight, Northern Tool and a now-closed discount store similar to HF. I
don't usually describe things in detail unless they work well for me and
others can buy or duplicate them.

[Bob La Londe]

Post by Bob La Londe

A tripod ...

I just don't find much good salvage steel around here, although to be
honest I've pretty much quit looking.
Bob La Londe
CNC Molds N Stuff
----------------------------
The channels etc for my gantry hoist were salvaged standard shapes, the
tripods are new material available from local hardware and big box
stores, at least for the 2000# capacity versions. Fence dealers may have
stronger posts with thicker walls. The upgrade chain and fittings came
from a specialty store beside a tractor dealership. The hoists are from
Harbor Freight, Northern Tool and a now-closed discount store similar to
HF. I don't usually describe things in detail unless they work well for
me and others can buy or duplicate them.

I looked at Harbor Freight and they sell an "okay" 1 ton gantry crane.
With a maximum lift height of 148 inches and a product width of 128
inches it wouldn't be too bad for a shop crane except... well... its
only rated for 1 ton. They may have sold other options in the past, but
its the only one available today. Much like their machine tools that
have been paired down to just a few of their smallest selections
compared to the past.

I do actually have a gantry crane. Sorta. Its an twin a-frame with a
cross bar made out of what looks like old heavy well casing all welded
up. Its high enough to lift an engine out of the engine bay of a pickup
truck, and just barely wide enough to fit around the fenders of one.
Not much use for this application though. A fellow I know (not a good
human being) loaned it to my dad maybe 50 years ago. My dad told him he
could have it back when the guy paid him the money he owed him. I don't
think my dad ever got his money back because we still have it, and
amazingly that coyote never stole it out from behind the grocery store
where we kept it in an open yard most of those years. Of course all I
ever used it for was pulling and installing engines. Mostly (now that I
think about exclusively) V8s. 318, 360, 351, etc etc... No wheels.
Just steel pads under the four feet. I kinda liked it better than a
cherry picker for pulling an engine. I guess next time I run out to my
folks place I'll have to see if I can drag it up onto a trailer. (Its
freaking heavy.) I might need a gantry crane just to stand this one
back up.

You know... there is another cherry picker out there too... and another
engine stand...

[Jim Wilkins]

"Bob La Londe" wrote in message news:v9m19s$14brv$***@dont-email.me...

I do actually have a gantry crane. Sorta. Its an twin a-frame with a
cross bar made out of what looks like old heavy well casing all welded
up. Its high enough to lift an engine out of the engine bay of a pickup
truck, and just barely wide enough to fit around the fenders of one.
Not much use for this application though. A fellow I know (not a good
human being) loaned it to my dad maybe 50 years ago. My dad told him he
could have it back when the guy paid him the money he owed him. I don't
think my dad ever got his money back because we still have it, and
amazingly that coyote never stole it out from behind the grocery store
where we kept it in an open yard most of those years. Of course all I
ever used it for was pulling and installing engines. Mostly (now that I
think about exclusively) V8s. 318, 360, 351, etc etc... No wheels.
Just steel pads under the four feet. I kinda liked it better than a
cherry picker for pulling an engine. I guess next time I run out to my
folks place I'll have to see if I can drag it up onto a trailer. (Its
freaking heavy.) I might need a gantry crane just to stand this one
back up.

You know... there is another cherry picker out there too... and another
engine stand...
Bob La Londe
CNC Molds N Stuff
-------------------------------
The Net has several plans to build your own, which might help with the
engineering of swapping a long and strong enough beam for the well casing
and choosing suitable casters. Trailer tongue jacks could move it (unloaded)
and set it down for use.
https://www.castercity.com/building-a-diy-gantry-crane

My gantry hoist is meant to be set up by hand in the woods to lift and move
a log or boulder, and disassemble for compact storage. Though it works very
well on the sawmill it has too many compromises to be a good pattern for
general use indoors.
jsw

[Jim Wilkins]

"Jim Wilkins" wrote in message news:v9md7n$19n8k$***@dont-email.me...

My gantry hoist is meant to be set up by hand in the woods to lift and move
a log or boulder, and disassemble for compact storage. Though it works very
well on the sawmill it has too many compromises to be a good pattern for
general use indoors.
jsw
------------
A key difference between mine and standard gantry designs is the free
standing tripod legs, which allow the beam, trolley and chainfall to be
raised without other help, but to be light enough to set up by hand they
aren't stiff enough to withstand the cantilever loading of the standard
design. The beam hangs from chain and loads the legs in pure axial
compression.

At least I think it does, I can't mathematically or experimentally prove how
well the compound angular geometry distributes loads equally among all 6 leg
cross bolt ends. Three are pretty certain, the others not so much. They are
free to try.

There may be other ways to design a self-assembling gantry crane, perhaps
temporary or fold-out extra legs that make the end posts free standing until
the beam is bolted in place. Mine is set up such that I can lift the beam
and move the loaded trolley from outside the leg and beam areas.

The method I use to attach a temporary outdoor beam extension to the fixed
gantry in a storage shed is to put a folding W frame ladder at the center of
the beam position, place boards across the rungs nearest the beam height,
slide the two 3" channels that form the trolley track onto the boards, which
support them while I loosely attach the shed end, and then set up and
connect the braced post at the outer end. Removing the boards lets the
ladder be lifted off the beam. Although channels aren't ideal for the
trolley track each is light enough to lift above head height. When I bought
the 3" channels I didn't know that a few 4" ones with higher capacity were
behind the bushes on a separate pile.

[Jim Wilkins]

"Jim Wilkins" wrote in message news:v9njme$1eonm$***@dont-email.me...

There may be other ways to design a self-assembling gantry crane, perhaps
temporary or fold-out extra legs that make the end posts free standing until
the beam is bolted in place. Mine is set up such that I can lift the beam
and move the loaded trolley from outside the leg and beam areas.

---------------------------------
Here are some ideas that may not be too difficult to DIY. They appear to use
common structural shapes pinned or bolted together at flat plate fittings
small enough to make with hobby sized machine tools.
https://m.sevenindustry.com/portable-gantry-crane/aluminum-gantry-crane/aluminum-portable-gantry-crane-a.html

For at-home use I would trade the compact folding and rapid setup for more
bolted triangulated bracing to reduce bending stress on the legs and joints
and increase load capacity. I built my tool shed tall enough for 8' stock
and stepladders standing upright. This defines the sizes of what I build to
store in it, like the gantry components. Uncut 8' studs give a wall 8' 3"
high and aluminum Z strips keep water out of the joints in the siding
panels, which are somewhat sheltered by the eaves.

A track made from two channels can be attached to uprights and diagonals by
sandwiching them between the channel webs. For instance a two channel track
could be attached atop wood posts with angle iron trimmed to fit between
them and bolted to the posts. The diagonal brace could also be two angles
with their ends cut down to fit between the channels and bent flat against
the post, though mine are 3/8" bar welded into the slotted ends of pipe.
The outer post for my temporary track extension is a braced landscape timber
with the track hung on a 1-ton-rated turnbuckle to level it. I think a
gantry track made from channel iron makes sense if you need manageable
weight, compact storage and versatility for one-time setups more than high
capacity for frequent use.
jsw

[Bob La Londe]

Post by Jim Wilkins
There may be other ways to design a self-assembling gantry crane, perhaps
temporary or fold-out extra legs that make the end posts free standing until
the beam is bolted in place. Mine is set up such that I can lift the beam
and move the loaded trolley from outside the leg and beam areas.
---------------------------------
Here are some ideas that may not be too difficult to DIY. They appear to
use common structural shapes pinned or bolted together at flat plate
fittings small enough to make with hobby sized machine tools.
https://m.sevenindustry.com/portable-gantry-crane/aluminum-gantry-crane/aluminum-portable-gantry-crane-a.html
For at-home use I would trade the compact folding and rapid setup for
more bolted triangulated bracing to reduce bending stress on the legs
and joints and increase load capacity. I built my tool shed tall enough
for 8' stock and stepladders standing upright. This defines the sizes of
what I build to store in it, like the gantry components. Uncut 8' studs
give a wall 8' 3" high and aluminum Z strips keep water out of the
joints in the siding panels, which are somewhat sheltered by the eaves.
A track made from two channels can be attached to uprights and diagonals
by sandwiching them between the channel webs. For instance a two channel
track could be attached atop wood posts with angle iron trimmed to fit
between them and bolted to the posts. The diagonal brace could also be
two angles with their ends cut down to fit between the channels and bent
flat against the post, though mine are 3/8"  bar welded into the slotted
ends of pipe. The outer post for my temporary track extension is a
braced landscape timber with the track hung on a 1-ton-rated turnbuckle
to level it. I think a gantry track made from channel iron makes sense
if you need manageable weight, compact storage and versatility for
one-time setups more than high capacity for frequent use.
jsw

I have to admit I don't always read your posts from end to end when I
first see them. I skim them, and then come back later and read them
more thoroughly if there was something that caught my attention. My bad
really. Often I review them on Narkive from my phone later when I am
winding down for the day. I just saw the comment about c-channel. I
actually have a few pieces I bought as salvage from a buddy to repair an
over stressed hydraulic press. I've since got another hydraulic press
the same size from my dad's shop so I no longer need to fix my old one.
I'll have to walk out back and see how much c-channel I have. Heck, I
have a couple pieces of 1x6 4140 12 feet long too. I bought extra for a
press die job a few years ago. On edge that stuff could probably 8-10
or more tons if it could be kept from twisting. Welding it might not be
a good idea though. I have no practical way to anneal or heat treat
anything that big, and it came in HT hardness for the dies. I'd have
to make a bolt up assembly with it.

I fall into a bad habit of not wanting to use my "good stock" unless I
am getting paid a lot for it. The thing is all that "good stock" was
paid for a long time ago.

I still have 9 out of 10 sheets of 1/4 inch plate I bought a while back
because the price was right too. I saw a guy make a welded 30 ton press
out of that same type of stock a while back.

I guess I should just stop bleating and make something.

[Jim Wilkins]

"Jim Wilkins" wrote ...
There may be other ways to design a self-assembling gantry crane, ...

I have to admit I don't always read your posts from end to end when I first
see them. I skim them, and then come back later and read them more
thoroughly if there was something that caught my attention.

That's fine, I click Send when I'm bored with proofreading and editing them
myself. I try for completeness so they might serve as an unfragmented
reference if someone has a relevant problem to solve. Mostly I post for
practice in technical writing which I flunked several times, and they are
tests for senility when I read them back later.

I found another way to set up a gantry without a separate hoist, by making
the supporting posts pivot on horizontal bolts at the ends of the beam. If
the beam is raised a short distance as on sawhorses the chainfall, pinned to
the track, can pull against the base of a support to fold it further inward.
The reference mentioned ratchet strap pullers to help as well. I tested a 2"
ratchet cargo strap for vehicle recovery and it reached 1000 Lbs tension
while pulling my truck through a snowbank.
jsw

[Jim Wilkins]

"Jim Wilkins" wrote in message news:v9ra5h$22un6$***@dont-email.me...

Many ideas here, if I got this right:
https://tinyurl.com/24tn3rsx