Unloading steel trucks?

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So this may seem like a silly question but how do the smaller shops (ones without overhead cranes or lifts) handle the unloading of steel supply trucks?  At my welding school there was always 30 people on hand so it wasn't an issue.  But what if you ordered a full length piece of 8" channel or a full size 1" thick piece of plate and you are the only guy in the shop?You miss 100% of the shots you never take - the great one
Reply:Having never done it before, I'd tie one end off to a tree or something, and have the truck pull out from under it, so itd land on some grass or dirt or something...[Account Abandoned 8/8/16 Please Do Not Attempt Contact Or Expect A Reply]. See you on YouTube! -ChuckE2009
Reply:Originally Posted by brunodog17So this may seem like a silly question but how do the smaller shops (ones without overhead cranes or lifts) handle the unloading of steel supply trucks?  At my welding school there was always 30 people on hand so it wasn't an issue.  But what if you ordered a full length piece of 8" channel or a full size 1" thick piece of plate and you are the only guy in the shop?
Reply:Originally Posted by Broccoli1How you gonna lift it once it is off the truck anyway?Getting it off the truck is easy, gravity, but now what?
Reply:if you own a business you have to have all the needed tools for it, including forklift, crane or whatever is needed to handle heavy steel.                                                        mikeOl' Stonebreaker  "Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes"Hobart G-213 portableMiller 175 migMiller thunderbolt ac/dc stick Victor O/A setupMakita chop saw
Reply:These will get it on the ground. From there you can use wire rope, snatch blocks, few shackles, and your tricycle for power.  Attached ImagesDon’t pay any attention to meI’m just a hobbyist!CarlDynasty 300V350-Pro w/pulseSG Spool gun1937 IdealArc-300PowerArc 200ST3 SA-200sVantage 400
Reply:Originally Posted by LanseHaving never done it before, I'd tie one end off to a tree or something, and have the truck pull out from under it, so itd land on some grass or dirt or something...
Reply:Most fabrication work is done with 20' lengths of steel that one person can easily carry.If you want to increase your shop's capability, you get your own lift table, crane, forklift or truck.Jack OlsenMy garage website
Reply:The NICE thing to do it let your steel guy know it'll be a manual push off or manual unload so YOUR stuff isn't buried under a mound of other peoples steel that needs a forklift!I move such things often and being cheap, have a system for doing it without help.Comealongs (the Wyeth-Scott variety are my favorites as dirt doesn't bother them), chain with GRAB hooks, small pieces of chain, bolts, wood blocks, scrap metal, and timbers, shackles, etc are necessities. 18-wheeler landing gear with the sand foot welded in place make very nice mechanical jacks. If I have a large I-beam to move, lift the end with my Hi-Lift jack and throw a hunk of pipe under it, then winch it to where it must go. Tacking a dog or torching a shackle hole is my preference, but if I had to leave the beam unmolested I'd make a bolted clamp and pull from that.Unloading big pipe or beams can be as easy as pushing them off the back of the truck, then letting them hit the dirt. Been there, done that. Have a tire handy if you want more cushion.Large pipe can be manipulated with a pipe wrench. Adjust the jaws to about twice the wall thickness of the pipe, then slide them over the END of the pipe loosely. When you push in either direction they grip the pipe for rotation and other motion. (Awkward to describe but easy to do.) This also works for rotating pipe for torch cutting if you don't like  bending over to cut the bottom.Big plate can be dragged or lifted by tacking a hunk of scrap with a suitable chain hole to it.I don't have pics of my shop floor, but when I poured it I actually potted a Reese socket horizontally at the back so I can put whatever I like (most often a snatch block) in it and pull vehicles into the bay with my wrecker winch from outside the shop. This works for large metal too.It's all about doing little, cheap, efficient things and playing until you can do it slick.You can move all sorts of stuff:I just moved a loaded 40-foot High Cube ISO container by hand with very little hassle.Picked it up using bottle jacks and dunnage. Winched I-beams under it, jacked the ends up and into the "tabs" I tacked to the "foundation" beam, then winched it up next to its mate. A bit more prep and I'll winch them together for joining. I have a bad back, but I refuse to strain doing any of this stuff.  The whole point of being a mechanic is to let the gear do the heavy work. The long chain is for my wrecker, with a J-hook on one end and grab and T-hooks on the other. These are WONDERFUL even if you don't have a tow truck, and I got them well before getting a wrecker. If you need to elevate something, consider taking small bites and doing one end at a time.Position everything so if it falls it will not go far. When I lifted the ISO I always had shims and dunnage under it so a "fall" wouldn't exceed an inch.Didn't even spill my buckets of carb cleaner inside.(Note for others wanting to use beams or rails to move "stuff': The removable "shoe" on the corner of the container has a horizontal pin to hold it to the ISO corner fitting so the ISO will not slide off the rail. Using rails without such a locator is dangerous, so play safe. ) Attached ImagesLast edited by farmall; 02-24-2011 at 03:53 PM.
Reply:farmall I use to have a couple of those come-a-longs, but somebody needed them more than I.They are great come-a-longs, except for the cheap aluminum tube handles that come with them. Looks like you didn't care from them as well!  Either one of the items I posted above make good handles.You need to acquire one of these, works great vertical, or horizontal. Attached ImagesDon’t pay any attention to meI’m just a hobbyist!CarlDynasty 300V350-Pro w/pulseSG Spool gun1937 IdealArc-300PowerArc 200ST3 SA-200sVantage 400
Reply:now we're getting into rigging,,,,,coolest thing i ever saw was two guys with 4 20 ton bottle jacks and five thousand pieces of 4x4  3feet long lower  some chillers that weighed 60,000 pounds about twenty feet..they built 4 towers, one  at each corner of the chiller  out  of the 4x's, places beams across them, rolled the chillers onto the beams through a window, and corner by corner lowered each tower one 4x at a time..like building cathedrals 700 years ago...
Reply:Here's how I moved a 8,000lb Generator I had to hold back on it because of the hillVery tight fit under the building...exhaust flapper and lifting eye had to come off.
Reply:Vince that's some innovative thinking to move that generator! I've moved a lot of machinery with these Hillsman rollers. Attached ImagesDon’t pay any attention to meI’m just a hobbyist!CarlDynasty 300V350-Pro w/pulseSG Spool gun1937 IdealArc-300PowerArc 200ST3 SA-200sVantage 400
Reply:Seems everyone I run into at auctions lusts after plate clamps and machinery rollers so the prices are nuts!  Very slick wooden "railroad" for the generator. This thread is becoming quite interesting.Last edited by farmall; 02-24-2011 at 05:14 PM.
Reply:You don't want to buy those rollers new! They rent for just a few dollars a day.Don’t pay any attention to meI’m just a hobbyist!CarlDynasty 300V350-Pro w/pulseSG Spool gun1937 IdealArc-300PowerArc 200ST3 SA-200sVantage 400
Reply:My latest unloading trick was a 900-lb hydraulic lift table.  I had to work fast, because I'd rented a truck from Home Depot to go pick it up.  The angle of my driveway meant I had to pull it up first, then let it perch on top, then slowly slide down.  I used a come-along to pull and a rope looped a couple of times around the headache rack to control its travel speed.  Those are 2"x4"x1/8" steel sections it's slowly moving down over.Jack OlsenMy garage website
Reply:Nice lift table, and whatever it cost is cheaper than back surgery!
Reply:Originally Posted by IamVinceHere's how I moved a 8,000lb Generator I had to hold back on it because of the hillVery tight fit under the building...exhaust flapper and lifting eye had to come off.
Reply:In the Virgin Islands, storms are a greater hazard and it is well-sheltered as-is.
Reply:Originally Posted by farmallNice lift table, and whatever it cost is cheaper than back surgery!
Reply:The steel could cost more than that now. Even scrap is high.Off-topic:For example, my friend just scrapped a 1500 Chevy for 375 bucks! A lot of fixer-uppers are gonna get flattened instead at those prices, and salvage yards will be calling in the crusher.
Reply:1st off, small shops are not going to be moving around something like that. If you get a big job and need to move a bunch, I would say include a lift rental in your bid. Other than that its all arms and prybars...You have to learn the rules of the game. And then you have to play better than anyone else. Albert Einstein
Reply:I work for a for lift company and I deliver a good many fork fits to fab shops. Most have a small one but on occasion they need bigger ones so they rent them.And the pic is just another reason to show off my new to me bull dog. Attached Images
Reply:Originally Posted by farmallIn the Virgin Islands, storms are a greater hazard and it is well-sheltered as-is.
Reply:A different solution is to let the supplier cut the steel into the final shape.   I had no way of handling a sheet of 1/4 inch plate, so I had the supplier cut it into the desired dimensions.  The individual pieces were pretty easy to move.  I did have a good part of the sheet "left over", that was harder to move, but I could pick up one end, and I moved it with a two wheel dolly.Another solution is to rent a low bed trailer with a ramp, and pick up the material at the supplier.   Then you can slide the material down the ramp.   I used that when I was picking up a large compressor, as I could not imagine moving the compressor up 3 feet to the bed of my truck, and then back down again.  This way I could use a two wheel dolly, which was still a little dicey with something that top heavy.Yet another solution I used for a 200 pound sculpture is described at this link.   Basically, a custom cart, a custom pallet, and ramps to go from the truck bed to the ground.  I have a long list of improvements that I will implement if I use this again.  Did you know that waxed wood is twice as slippery as unwaxed wood?http://fergusonsculpture.com/show.an...pod_cart_ramp/Lots of ways to slice this.  Renting equipment or a crane for the project is another option.RichardSculptures in copper and other metalshttp://www.fergusonsculpture.comSyncrowave 200 Millermatic 211Readywelder spoolgunHypertherm 600 plasma cutterThermal Arc GMS300 Victor OA torchHomemade Blacksmith propane forgeForklift, cranes, bobcats, slave shop labor, spud bars, and some times an extra $20 to the driver and he will unload it for ya!  lolI perfer the forklift.Lincoln 300 Vantage 2008300 Commander 1999SA250 1999SA200 1968Miller Syncrowave 200XMT350MPA/S-52E/xr-15Xtreme 12vs Millermatic 251 w/30A  Millermatic 251 Dialarc 250 Hypertherm 1250 GEKA & Bantom Ironwokers
Reply:Rolling Gantry's work real well... we used those for years, until we bought a forklift...
Reply:I'm basically a one man show so sometimes I have to get creative when moving heavy objects, that was until i built my tow truck. I have built several attachments to help in making my life easier. Here are a few pictures of her helping to make my life easier, things I wouldn't have been able to do with out her. Attached ImagesI am what I am, Deal with it!If necessity is the Mother of Invention, I must be the Father of Desperation!
Reply:Dave..Thats ...zap!I am not completely insane..Some parts are missing Professional Driver on a closed course....Do not attempt.Just because I'm a  dumbass don't mean that you can be too.So DON'T try any of this **** l do at home.
Reply:Originally Posted by LanseHaving never done it before, I'd tie one end off to a tree or something, and have the truck pull out from under it, so itd land on some grass or dirt or something...
Reply:Wow thanks for all the replies! Some pretty cool methods in here .  Thankfully most of my supplies would be easier stuff to handle like 1x1 angle and flat bar.  The full sheets id be getting would rarely exceed 1/4".  From what I've read and after thinking about it I think renting a lift would be the best option for me for those times when I'm getting something bigger.You miss 100% of the shots you never take - the great one