Shop Crane Revisited

[Bob La Londe]

I figure I need at a minimum a 2 ton shop crane. Probably a gantry
crane would be the most useful. At over a dollar a pound (minimum) for
a commercially made crane and must are just wrong for what I consider
ideal I've had a hard time opening my wallet. I've been more mouth than
billfold on this subject I guess.

Ideally I want one that will just barely fit through a 10x10 ft doorway
AND fit around an 8'6" trailer. A little taller and only being able to
bring it in through the 10x12 ft door might do more work, even if it
might be slightly less convenient. Telescoping might be an option
(vertically).

Nobody seems to make one exactly like that. They meet some specs, but
not others etc.

So anyway, since my dad passed I've been managing my parents properties.
One is a commercial property (4 good sized lots together) that's had a
renter in it since about three years ago when I arranged it while my dad
was recovering from having a brain tumor removed. Looking at their
finances It looks like the rental on that was making the difference
between living and just surviving for them. Anyway, since my dad passed
I've been managing it again. The renter called me on Monday and said
they were completely out, and let me know where I could pick up all the
keys. Good renters. I had to remind them rent was past due a few
times, but no worse than some renters from when I had rental houses.
Anyway I headed out a few days ago to pickup the keys and give the place
a once over to see what I want to do with everything.

There are trucks (one left behind by the renter (with permission)) and a
couple of my dad's stored in the back. There is that 42 Willy's Jeep
I've mentioned. A pretty nice fifth wheel trailer "abandoned" by a
previous renter and various assortment of junk, tools, and equipment.

The renter was a solar installer working on one of the big solar
projects out in the desert, and they were mostly using the property to
park a fifth wheel for their crew, using one of the buildings to receive
shipments, and storing construction equipment inside and outside in the
large fenced yard. It worked out really well, because they got what
they needed in a rural area, and my dad didn't have to remove/move all
his junk. He left that for me. LOL.

Anyway, out by the back fence I found several fairly large I-beams
setting up off the ground on wood beams. I think I just found my gantry
crane. Now if only I can stumble across some big steel casters out
there somewhere I'll be set. Maybe they are under the old gas pumps
over by the south fence. ;^)

[Bob La Londe]

I figure I need at a minimum a 2 ton shop crane.  Probably a gantry
crane would be the most useful.  At over a dollar a pound (minimum) for
a commercially made crane and must are just wrong for what I consider
ideal I've had a hard time opening my wallet.  I've been more mouth than
billfold on this subject I guess.
Ideally I want one that will just barely fit through a 10x10 ft doorway
AND fit around an 8'6" trailer.  A little taller and only being able to
bring it in through the 10x12 ft door might do more work, even if it
might be slightly less convenient.  Telescoping might be an option
(vertically).
Nobody seems to make one exactly like that. They meet some specs, but
not others etc.
So anyway, since my dad passed I've been managing my parents properties.
 One is a commercial property (4 good sized lots together) that's had a
renter in it since about three years ago when I arranged it while my dad
was recovering from having a brain tumor removed.  Looking at their
finances It looks like the rental on that was making the difference
between living and just surviving for them.  Anyway, since my dad passed
I've been managing it again.  The renter called me on Monday and said
they were completely out, and let me know where I could pick up all the
keys.  Good renters.  I had to remind them rent was past due a few
times, but no worse than some renters from when I had rental houses.
Anyway I headed out a few days ago to pickup the keys and give the place
a once over to see what I want to do with everything.
There are trucks (one left behind by the renter (with permission)) and a
couple of my dad's stored in the back.  There is that 42 Willy's Jeep
I've mentioned.  A pretty nice fifth wheel trailer "abandoned" by a
previous renter and various assortment of junk, tools, and equipment.
The renter was a solar installer working on one of the big solar
projects out in the desert, and they were mostly using the property to
park a fifth wheel for their crew, using one of the buildings to receive
shipments, and storing construction equipment inside and outside in the
large fenced yard.   It worked out really well, because they got what
they needed in a rural area, and my dad didn't have to remove/move all
his junk.  He left that for me.  LOL.
Anyway, out by the back fence I found several fairly large I-beams
setting up off the ground on wood beams.  I think I just found my gantry
crane.  Now if only I can stumble across some big steel casters out
there somewhere I'll be set.  Maybe they are under the old gas pumps
over by the south fence.  ;^)

Hmmmm.... I wonder if I 'll get lucky and stumble across a big piece of
thick wall steel tube I can use to make a jib crane over by the mills
and lathe in the back of the shop.

[Snag]

I figure I need at a minimum a 2 ton shop crane.  Probably a gantry
crane would be the most useful.  At over a dollar a pound (minimum)
for a commercially made crane and must are just wrong for what I
consider ideal I've had a hard time opening my wallet.  I've been more
mouth than billfold on this subject I guess.
Ideally I want one that will just barely fit through a 10x10 ft
doorway AND fit around an 8'6" trailer.  A little taller and only
being able to bring it in through the 10x12 ft door might do more
work, even if it might be slightly less convenient.  Telescoping might
be an option (vertically).
Nobody seems to make one exactly like that. They meet some specs, but
not others etc.
So anyway, since my dad passed I've been managing my parents
properties.   One is a commercial property (4 good sized lots
together) that's had a renter in it since about three years ago when I
arranged it while my dad was recovering from having a brain tumor
removed.  Looking at their finances It looks like the rental on that
was making the difference between living and just surviving for them.
Anyway, since my dad passed I've been managing it again.  The renter
called me on Monday and said they were completely out, and let me know
where I could pick up all the keys.  Good renters.  I had to remind
them rent was past due a few times, but no worse than some renters
from when I had rental houses. Anyway I headed out a few days ago to
pickup the keys and give the place a once over to see what I want to
do with everything.
There are trucks (one left behind by the renter (with permission)) and
a couple of my dad's stored in the back.  There is that 42 Willy's
Jeep I've mentioned.  A pretty nice fifth wheel trailer "abandoned" by
a previous renter and various assortment of junk, tools, and equipment.
The renter was a solar installer working on one of the big solar
projects out in the desert, and they were mostly using the property to
park a fifth wheel for their crew, using one of the buildings to
receive shipments, and storing construction equipment inside and
outside in the large fenced yard.   It worked out really well, because
they got what they needed in a rural area, and my dad didn't have to
remove/move all his junk.  He left that for me.  LOL.
Anyway, out by the back fence I found several fairly large I-beams
setting up off the ground on wood beams.  I think I just found my
gantry crane.  Now if only I can stumble across some big steel casters
out there somewhere I'll be set.  Maybe they are under the old gas
pumps over by the south fence.  ;^)

Hmmmm....  I wonder if I 'll get lucky and stumble across a big piece of
thick wall steel tube I can use to make a jib crane over by the mills
and lathe in the back of the shop.

Depending on the load capacity needed ... I built 2 swiveling jib
cranes with a portable base* for handling firewood . My first out of 2x2
thin wall square tube and I've handled up to about 400 lbs with it using
a hand crank . Then I got some thick wall and built another with a 2500
Lb electric winch mounted on it . *I also built a pivot mount in the
front corner of my 5z8 utility trailer . The light unit with the hand
crank stays on the portable base , been useful for tasks like hanging a
truck door out of my way while I replace hinge pins . The other stays on
the trailer for handling firewood rounds and dragging logs out of a
tangle .

[Jim Wilkins]

Post by Bob La Londe
Hmmmm.... I wonder if I 'll get lucky and stumble across a big piece of
thick wall steel tube I can use to make a jib crane over by the mills and
lathe in the back of the shop.

Depending on the load capacity needed ... I built 2 swiveling jib
cranes with a portable base* for handling firewood . My first out of 2x2
thin wall square tube and I've handled up to about 400 lbs with it using
a hand crank . Then I got some thick wall and built another with a 2500
Lb electric winch mounted on it . *I also built a pivot mount in the
front corner of my 5z8 utility trailer . The light unit with the hand
crank stays on the portable base , been useful for tasks like hanging a
truck door out of my way while I replace hinge pins . The other stays on
the trailer for handling firewood rounds and dragging logs out of a
tangle .
--
Snag

-------------------------------------
These are easy to modify for other uses:
https://www.harborfreight.com/12-ton-capacity-pickup-truck-bed-crane-60732.html?

I made a pipe extension to temporarily raise it for tall loads and added a
boat trailer winch on top and a built-in pulley on the end for its cable.

My trailer is too light when empty to support a load off the side, I can
flip it over to change a tire. A pulley on a tripod and my tractor winch can
pull a log out of a tangle with its end raised to not drag, close enough to
the trailer to saw it to lengths. The jib crane on the truck, like your rig,
was better when I could drive the truck to the logging site. After cutting
the dead trees near dirt roads I had to continue with the narrower garden
tractor and 3' x 8' trailer. The Native American property owner let me cut
only dead or blown-down trees, and I worked inward from the back to leave
them the closer and easier ones. .

[Bob La Londe]

Hmmmm....  I wonder if I 'll get lucky and stumble across a big piece
of thick wall steel tube I can use to make a jib crane over by the
mills and lathe in the back of the shop.

  Depending on the load capacity needed ... I built 2 swiveling jib
cranes with a portable base* for handling firewood . My first out of 2x2
thin wall square tube and I've handled up to about 400 lbs with it using
a hand crank . Then I got some thick wall and built another with a 2500
Lb electric winch mounted on it . *I also built a pivot mount in the
front corner of my 5z8 utility trailer . The light unit with the hand
crank stays on the portable base , been useful for tasks like hanging a
truck door out of my way while I replace hinge pins . The other stays on
the trailer for handling firewood rounds and dragging logs out of a
tangle .

For a jib crane I am thinking something a little more substantial.
although bolting part of an engine hoist or truck bed crane on to the
roof of my office did occur to me. I'd like something for triple duty.
I don;t often swing heavy parts onto the lathe or mill in the back, but
I do from time to time. Heavier than the hundred pound vise I take off
and put on the mill table. I'd like to have a jig with a trolley so I
can set things on the mill table, into the chuck jaws, and lift things
up to the roof of my office. Standard height 8' ceiling office inside a
metal building with a 16' eve height. Roof of office was built with
2x12s on 16" centers, and hen ineter laced with two layers of 3/4
plywood glued and screwed to the beam/joists and glued and screwed
together, Both layers are half lapped. Theoretically two corners could
be slightly weaker, but each is supported by two walls at the corner.
Not enough difference to make a difference. I intended storage up there
when I built it. I don't like carrying stuff up and down the to steep
stairs (that's how much room there was at them time), or throwing things
up there.

I'm thinking if I could find a twenty foot piece of 6inch well casing or
similar I could build both ends onto roller bearings and easily swing
1000-1500 pounds on a relatively short jib of 6-8 feet and meet all
three purposes. I'd probably get the Harbor Freight trolley and the
1300 pound electric winch they sell.

A jib crane is really secondary. Primary is a gantry crane to meet most
of my needs without buying a forklift. Yes I have bucket forks, but
they will only lift about 1500 (and it complains about it) pounds, the
tractor doesn't have room in the shop, and it doesn't reach high enough.

[Jim Wilkins]

"Bob La Londe" wrote in message news:vk9ghm$mv2t$***@dont-email.me...

For a jib crane I am thinking something a little more substantial.
although bolting part of an engine hoist or truck bed crane on to the
roof of my office did occur to me. I'd like something for triple duty.
I don;t often swing heavy parts onto the lathe or mill in the back, but
I do from time to time. Heavier than the hundred pound vise I take off
and put on the mill table. I'd like to have a jig with a trolley so I
can set things on the mill table, into the chuck jaws, and lift things
up to the roof of my office. ...

I'm thinking if I could find a twenty foot piece of 6inch well casing or
similar I could build both ends onto roller bearings and easily swing
1000-1500 pounds on a relatively short jib of 6-8 feet and meet all
three purposes. I'd probably get the Harbor Freight trolley and the
1300 pound electric winch they sell.

A jib crane is really secondary. Primary is a gantry crane to meet most
of my needs without buying a forklift. Yes I have bucket forks, but
they will only lift about 1500 (and it complains about it) pounds, the
tractor doesn't have room in the shop, and it doesn't reach high enough.
--
Bob La Londe
-----------------------------------------------
https://alaskahomesteadadventures.com/blog/2017/10/24/cabin-5-gin-pole

The guy lines on my TV antenna attach to a loose fitting ring suspended by
cords attached further up, which allows the mast to rotate without bearings.

The bottom ends of my 2" pipe shear legs are 1/2+ balls turned from both
ends of a dumbbell, with a step on the handle end that supports the pipe.
The socket is layers of plywood reinforced with welded angle iron. They have
lifted and shifted ~3000 Lbs without noticeable damage. Like the tripods the
column loading is all straight down the center, no cantilevered bending as
with a jib crane.

[Jim Wilkins]

"Bob La Londe" wrote in message news:vk9ghm$mv2t$***@dont-email.me...
...
A jib crane is really secondary. Primary is a gantry crane to meet most
of my needs without buying a forklift. Yes I have bucket forks, but
they will only lift about 1500 (and it complains about it) pounds, the
tractor doesn't have room in the shop, and it doesn't reach high enough.
--
Bob La Londe

--------------------------
This past summer I had to move a 20' log that was hanging from the gantry
sideways to swing the ends past its supports. I set up two tripods with
lever hoists in more or less a triangle with the gantry hoist and was able
to move the log in any direction after a 3-D learning curve. Three 1-ton
chainfalls hung from your roof (if strong enough or braced) could let you
position a load anywhere within their triangle.

[Jim Wilkins]

"Bob La Londe" wrote in message news:vk7mtd$9buc$***@dont-email.me...

...
Anyway, out by the back fence I found several fairly large I-beams
setting up off the ground on wood beams. I think I just found my gantry
crane. Now if only I can stumble across some big steel casters out
there somewhere I'll be set. Maybe they are under the old gas pumps
over by the south fence. ;^)
Bob La Londe
------------------------------------------
If you don't need to roll a loaded gantry you can use trailer tongue jacks
for retractable casters. Position them so you can crank both at one end up
and down simultaneously. You can still travel with a load above their rating
in steps, moving the load and gantry alternately.

Adding outrigger wheels to the casters lets them roll better on dirt but
then they don't swivel well. They can be linked and controlled with steering
knuckles made from strap steel, drilled to go on the axle, with a pull
handle.

Custom axles are a use for a lathe.

I've seen boat trailer winches on commercial gantries to raise and lower the
unloaded beam. I use them on my tripod supports, attached to a leg with
muffler clamps. I would want a lowest beam height that allows hooking on the
chainfall without a ladder, they are heavy and awkward. I modified my
trolleys with connecting rod sleeves that the chainfall hook fits over
(endwise), increasing the working height and allowing the nuts to be
tightened without restricting the hook. I put the chainfall on a table and
lower the beam to match so I have both hands free to assemble the trolley to
them.

Unbreakable rubber farm buckets are good for storing and carrying a
chainfall, and in use they can keep the hand chain out of the dirt/mud.

The sleeves were a lathe job, water pipe bored to fit over the trolley rod.
Much of what I make could be done on a small inexpensive hobby lathe, the
shafts and bushings, but not the gears and pulleys. My small lathe turns
much faster than my larger one, which is handy to drill deep grease holes in
axles. I use the little one for grinding, sanding and polishing to keep grit
off the ways of the good one.

The tripods stand upright without the beam, which makes one-man assembly
easy. Published specs suggest that some sizes of water pipe, EMT and chain
link fence post may telescope together, I haven't tried with the 2" sizes
appropriate for a tripod gantry support. You can check their column
strengths with on-line calculators, I know what loading my rigging gear has
proof tested to but can't guarantee it for someone else's likely different
construction. Single post uprights with free rolling bases would need to be
much stronger. The conventional rolling design makes sense on level
pavement, mine is for uneven ground outdoors and disassembles for storage.
https://www.amazon.com/Klau-Industrial-Hanging-Display-Factory/dp/B0CFFCSFJW/ref=asc_df_B0CFFCSFJW?

On-line calculators can give you the load capacity of a simply supported
standard structural beam with a single centered load, the worst case. The
first number is the nominal height of the beam, the second the weight per
foot, determinable from the dimensions. I used 1/240 deflection as the
limit, the beam can handle more but the load may roll toward the center.

I didn't specifically include loading the truck in my gantry design because
the towable shop crane that moves in all directions is more convenient for
slung loads, the platform lift for others. Plus I can mount the bed crane to
lift on or off anywhere.

For the heaviest log loads (>3000#) I moved and secured the trolley with two
blocks-and-tackle, operated from outside the danger area. They gave fine
control to center a maximum sized log within 1/2" on the sawmill and should
help to position a heavy lathe chuck or workpiece.

jsw

[Bob La Londe]

Post by Bob La Londe
...
Anyway, out by the back fence I found several fairly large I-beams
setting up off the ground on wood beams.  I think I just found my gantry
crane.  Now if only I can stumble across some big steel casters out
there somewhere I'll be set.  Maybe they are under the old gas pumps
over by the south fence.  ;^)
Bob La Londe
------------------------------------------
If you don't need to roll a loaded gantry you can use trailer tongue
jacks for retractable casters. Position them so you can crank both at
one end up and down simultaneously. You can still travel with a load
above their rating in steps, moving the load and gantry alternately.

Actually their individual load times four. Just like any other caster.
Trailer jacks is not a bad idea, and I have seen this sort of thing done
on other equipment. They are also available (at a substantial cost) at
much higher ratings. Having seen a few failures generally the
limitation of most lighter ones is the plastic wheel. I've seen them
break.

Post by Bob La Londe
Adding outrigger wheels to the casters lets them roll better on dirt but
then they don't swivel well. They can be linked and controlled with
steering knuckles made from strap steel, drilled to go on the axle, with
a pull handle.
Custom axles are a use for a lathe.
I've seen boat trailer winches on commercial gantries to raise and lower
the unloaded beam. I use them on my tripod supports, attached to a leg
with muffler clamps. I would want a lowest beam height that allows
hooking on the chainfall without a ladder, they are heavy and awkward. I
modified my trolleys with connecting rod sleeves that the chainfall hook
fits over (endwise), increasing the working height and allowing the nuts
to be tightened without restricting the hook. I put the chainfall on a
table and lower the beam to match so I have both hands free to assemble
the trolley to them.
Unbreakable rubber farm buckets are good for storing and carrying a
chainfall, and in use they can keep the hand chain out of the dirt/mud.
The sleeves were a lathe job, water pipe bored to fit over the trolley
rod. Much of what I make could be done on a small inexpensive hobby
lathe, the shafts and bushings, but not the gears and pulleys. My small
lathe turns much faster than my larger one, which is handy to drill deep
grease holes in axles. I use the little one for grinding, sanding and
polishing to keep grit off the ways of the good one.
The tripods stand upright without the beam, which makes one-man assembly
easy. Published specs suggest that some sizes of water pipe, EMT and
chain link fence post may telescope together, I haven't tried with the
2" sizes appropriate for a tripod gantry support. You can check their
column strengths with on-line calculators, I know what loading my
rigging gear has proof tested to but can't guarantee it for someone
else's likely different construction. Single post uprights with free
rolling bases would need to be much stronger. The conventional rolling
design makes sense on level pavement, mine is for uneven ground outdoors
and disassembles for storage.
https://www.amazon.com/Klau-Industrial-Hanging-Display-Factory/dp/
B0CFFCSFJW/ref=asc_df_B0CFFCSFJW?
On-line calculators can give you the load capacity of a simply supported
standard structural beam with a single centered load, the worst case.
The first number is the nominal height of the beam, the second the
weight per foot, determinable from the dimensions. I used 1/240
deflection as the limit, the beam can handle more but the load may roll
toward the center.
I didn't specifically include loading the truck in my gantry design
because the towable shop crane that moves in all directions is more
convenient for slung loads, the platform lift for others. Plus I can
mount the bed crane to lift on or off anywhere.
For the heaviest log loads (>3000#) I moved and secured the trolley with
two blocks-and-tackle, operated from outside the danger area. They gave
fine control to center a maximum sized log within 1/2" on the sawmill
and should help to position a heavy lathe chuck or workpiece.
jsw

[Jim Wilkins]

"Bob La Londe" wrote in message news:vk9gnn$mv2t$***@dont-email.me...

Actually their individual load times four. Just like any other caster.
Trailer jacks is not a bad idea, and I have seen this sort of thing done
on other equipment. They are also available (at a substantial cost) at
much higher ratings. Having seen a few failures generally the
limitation of most lighter ones is the plastic wheel. I've seen them
break.

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

I found tongue jack replacement wheels in a discount store to add on with a
longer axle.

Steel wheels aren't that hard to make. I welded crossed plates for spokes
into a slice of 6" stainless pipe, bored the center a snug fit for pipe and
welded it, then bored the pipe to accept needle bearings cut from stainless
welding rod. These are the oversized all-terrain replacement wheels for my
platform lift which is stored on sometimes wet ground.

The HF 1300 Lb electric winch starts with a considerable jolt and is meant
to mount on horizontal pipe with the included straps. The cable would bunch
up at an end instead of winding evenly if the winch was somehow hooked to a
trolley hoist and could tilt.

I scratch-built a trolley with a flat bottom the winch bolts to. That was
the project behind my posting of a few years ago about boring a recess to
press in a bearing. Mostly I use this trolley with a chain or lever hoist
hung from a central eye bolt because the electric winch is too hard to
control precisely. When positioning a log or partly cut cant on the sawmill
I lift it only enough that it can be slid into position and will stay there.

The electric winch was good for stacking logs because I could stand clear in
case the pile shifted. Stacking cut timbers with it was a nuisance because
it wouldn't partially support them while I aligned the stack.

[Bob La Londe]

Actually their individual load times four.  Just like any other caster.
Trailer jacks is not a bad idea, and I have seen this sort of thing done
on other equipment.  They are also available (at a substantial cost) at
much higher ratings.  Having seen a few failures generally the
limitation of most lighter ones is the plastic wheel.  I've seen them
break.
--------------------------------
I found tongue jack replacement wheels in a discount store to add on
with a longer axle.
Steel wheels aren't that hard to make. I welded crossed plates for
spokes into a slice of 6" stainless pipe, bored the center a snug fit
for pipe and welded it, then bored the pipe to accept needle bearings
cut from stainless welding rod. These are the oversized all-terrain
replacement wheels for my platform lift which is stored on sometimes wet
ground.
The HF 1300 Lb electric winch starts with a considerable jolt

That could be an issue...

and is

meant to mount on horizontal pipe with the included straps. The cable
would bunch up at an end instead of winding evenly if the winch was
somehow hooked to a trolley hoist and could tilt.

I am sure the winch could be hooked to a trolley even if mounts had to
be fabricated. As to the cable, I've seen it done with a series of mini
rolling hangers. It would/could bunch up, but it would roll out and
roll back just fine. Te real expense if it were used often would be
replacing the cords with high flex cord.

I scratch-built a trolley with a flat bottom the winch bolts to. That
was the project behind my posting of a few years ago about boring a
recess to press in a bearing. Mostly I use this trolley with a chain or
lever hoist hung from a central eye bolt because the electric winch is
too hard to control precisely. When positioning a log or partly cut cant
on the sawmill I lift it only enough that it can be slid into position
and will stay there.
The electric winch was good for stacking logs because I could stand
clear in case the pile shifted. Stacking cut timbers with it was a
nuisance because it wouldn't partially support them while I aligned the
stack.

[Clare Snyder]

Post by Bob La Londe

Actually their individual load times four.  Just like any other caster.
Trailer jacks is not a bad idea, and I have seen this sort of thing done
on other equipment.  They are also available (at a substantial cost) at
much higher ratings.  Having seen a few failures generally the
limitation of most lighter ones is the plastic wheel.  I've seen them
break.
--------------------------------
I found tongue jack replacement wheels in a discount store to add on
with a longer axle.
Steel wheels aren't that hard to make. I welded crossed plates for
spokes into a slice of 6" stainless pipe, bored the center a snug fit
for pipe and welded it, then bored the pipe to accept needle bearings
cut from stainless welding rod. These are the oversized all-terrain
replacement wheels for my platform lift which is stored on sometimes wet
ground.
The HF 1300 Lb electric winch starts with a considerable jolt

That could be an issue...
and is

meant to mount on horizontal pipe with the included straps. The cable
would bunch up at an end instead of winding evenly if the winch was
somehow hooked to a trolley hoist and could tilt.

I am sure the winch could be hooked to a trolley even if mounts had to
be fabricated. As to the cable, I've seen it done with a series of mini
rolling hangers. It would/could bunch up, but it would roll out and
roll back just fine. Te real expense if it were used often would be
replacing the cords with high flex cord.

I scratch-built a trolley with a flat bottom the winch bolts to. That
was the project behind my posting of a few years ago about boring a
recess to press in a bearing. Mostly I use this trolley with a chain or
lever hoist hung from a central eye bolt because the electric winch is
too hard to control precisely. When positioning a log or partly cut cant
on the sawmill I lift it only enough that it can be slid into position
and will stay there.
The electric winch was good for stacking logs because I could stand
clear in case the pile shifted. Stacking cut timbers with it was a
nuisance because it wouldn't partially support them while I aligned the
stack.

--
Bob La Londe
CNC Molds N St

Use a DC winch with a speed control or "soft start" or get all fancy
schmantzy with a hydraulic winch - - - - -

[Jim Wilkins]

"Clare Snyder" wrote in message news:***@4ax.com...
...
Use a DC winch with a speed control or "soft start" or get all fancy
schmantzy with a hydraulic winch - - - - -

---------------------------------
I was happy with the hoisting speed and positioning control of a 1 ton
manual chainfall. It lifted the track and sawmill components for assembly,
positioned and rotated the logs, and moved all the lumber I cut. When not in
use the hand chain was stored in the farm bucket, hung from the hook. The 2T
chainfall lifted the heaviest logs but got little use otherwise because it
is so slow.

I suppose a jogging or inching mode for an AC electric hoist could be added
with a variable time delay and SSR relays, as I did for my spotwelder.

[Jim Wilkins]

"Bob La Londe" wrote in message news:vkc84r$1aeas$***@dont-email.me...

I am sure the winch could be hooked to a trolley even if mounts had to
be fabricated. As to the cable, I've seen it done with a series of mini
rolling hangers. It would/could bunch up, but it would roll out and
roll back just fine. Te real expense if it were used often would be
replacing the cords with high flex cord.

-------------------------
Angle iron could connect the winch to the side plates of a purchased
trolley. I made a low profile trolley to maximize lifting height and log
capacity in a nearly full low roofed storage shed. The tapped mounting holes
in the winch are under the trolley side plates and wheels, so installing and
tightening the bolts is tedious, more so than if the vertical legs could be
bolted to the trolley sides afterwards; mine is one compact unit. With the
winch level the hoisting cable winds neatly. I've been replacing steel winch
cables with synthetic which is safer to handle.

The hanging line cord wasn't a problem on 8' of track. The search term for
supporting long electrical cables is 'festoon'.

[Jim Wilkins]

"Bob La Londe" wrote in message news:vk9gnn$mv2t$***@dont-email.me...


Actually their individual load times four. Just like any other caster.
Trailer jacks is not a bad idea, and I have seen this sort of thing done
on other equipment. They are also available (at a substantial cost) at
much higher ratings. Having seen a few failures generally the
limitation of most lighter ones is the plastic wheel. I've seen them
break.

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

I've seen advice to select casters rated for 1/3 of the load instead of 1/4,
floors aren't always flat and level. 1/4 should apply to a gantry that isn't
torsionally rigid as long as the load is secured in the center, 1/2 if it
can roll to an end while moving. Unlike square tubing, H, I and C section
beams are made from the least metal that will be strong in one direction.
They are relatively easy to bend sideways or twist, as I found from
straightening salvaged ones.

My source of strong steel wheels and casters is second-hand, obviously
removed from machinery from the tread nicks and grit on them. Thus I can't
give a reference to buy them. I've picked them over and already bought most
of the good ones. I'll know the capacity if I break one.

When I had a new section of driveway paved I asked them to level it as best
they could, as the old section has a considerable slope and I jack up and
work under vehicles on it. The new part looks level but when I set up and
leveled the sawmill track on it I found a drop of 9" in 16'.

A vehicle on downhill end ramps on the sloped section will be nearly level.
I push the ramps against the low end tires and chocks against the upper end
ones, measure from the center of the ramp top depression to the wheel
center, and advance the chocks that far to stop the vehicle when in place on
the ramps.

I looked into the size and weight of a one piece end supported gantry track
for my sawmill but I couldn't lift or store it. The compromise is a track in
shorter manageable sections supported at the splice for heavier loads. This
is a rough guide to the size of a one piece beam for load weights and span
lengths.
http://www.cousesteel.com/AndysPlace/SteelChart.html
The quick estimate can be refined for other spans, loads and the weight per
foot of the beam.