Anyone built a shop crane?

admin

I posted this on the Metal Meet forum also but thought some of you may have built a crane for your shops.I find myself having to lift heavy objects on and off my work table or having to stand up heavy projects that are laying on the floor and this old body is starting to protest. I just completed my benchtop helve hammer (more to come on this soon) and I have to take it apart to get it off the bench. I thought I would build a jib crane that would help to safely do a lot of the things that I have always used the armstrong method to accomplish in the past. I have a 16' 4x6 post holding up the center of a 4x12 ridge beam in my shop. This also ties in securely to a 9' high mezanine floor I have over part of the shop as well as the concrete floor. I was thinking of adding an additional 4x6 and attaching it securely to the existing 4x6 and also bolting it to the slab and the ridge beam. For the crane itself I plan to have a 12' arm made out of 2x4x.125" rectangular box oriented vertically with barn door rails welded to each side. The door rails and the trolleys that go with them are good for 400# each which should give 800# capacity but I don't plan on lifting anything over about 400#. All the sliding door hardware is available from McMaster (page 2826 of their catalog if you want to see it) for about $120. Tractor Supply also has the same thing. 12' gives me coverage of most of the working area of my shop floor and I won't have to work around support posts that I would need for a gantry style crane. A gantry crane would also need a lot more steel (I-beams and such) and drive the cost up considerably. I bought a HF electric winch that has a single line capacity of 650# (1300# double line) on sale for $79 and then used a 15% discount coupon. As luck would have it, the mounting bolt pattern on the winch is exactly the right width to put the trolley right under the groove of the rails. If I get the steel from the scrap yard, I should be able to build the whole thing for less than $250 including the winch.I plan on using 1" rod for the pivots with needle bearings and needle thrust washers underneath (McMaster pages 1091 and 1093). The pivots will be separated by about 3 1/2' vertically. The tension rod from the upper pivot will be 1"x 1/8" wall round tube with 3/4" threaded ends welded in to brace the arm and fine tune for level. Has anyone done something like this in their shop? My Kentucky windage engineering sense tells me it should be safe with a 400# lifting limit but maybe some of you with actual engineering expertise could chime in and let me know if I am way off base in my thinking.JimCut an MGB and widened 11" C4 Corvette suspension and LT1 Chevrolet power & 6 spd. Pictures here:Part 1http://forum.britishv8.org/read.php?13,7581Part 2http://forum.britishv8.org/read.php?13,22422
Reply:I would be leery of using hte existing structure to support a jib without a full analysis. The side loading a jib puts on is pretty extensive, as is the bending load. A while back, there was a guy that built a rotating job with the outboard end (non-pivot) supporter by a curved rail. This eliminats the side loading and bending of the verticle supports and, as long as the verts and structure are good for the max load, is a good plan.I wouldn't use garage door track. It is good for 400# of distributed weight, but the lift will point load it, and likely bend the track. I would suggest an S4X9.5 or S5X10 over a 12 foot length supported at both ends for a max load of 800#.With single end support, the S4X9.5, which is stiffer than your box tube, will deflect about 4" at the end under an 800# load, and will be stressed to about 35KSI, nearly yeild for A36 steel. The S5X10 will do a bit better (a bit over half the deflection, and  bit les than half the max stress), but either is much better spported at both ends. Benefits to the I-beam supported both ends: a standard trolley fits it, the point loading won't hurt it, stiffer than the box (unless you go to heavier box), woun't side load the structure, won't try to bend the structure, and has that cool industrial look.
Reply:What He said! hehe   That's good adviceI'm a Lover, Fighter, Wild horse Rider, and a pretty good welding man......
Reply:I submit this for informational purposes only. No recommendations. This has worked for a good many years and has picked over a ton.(I did it so I know for sure)Maybe you can get some ideas from it,maybe not. Attached Images
Reply:Originally Posted by TEKI submit this for informational purposes only. No recommendations. This has worked for a good many years and has picked over a ton.(I did it so I know for sure)Maybe you can get some ideas from it,maybe not.
Reply:Originally Posted by Jim StabeWhat size is the beam and how far from the pivot was the ton when you picked it up?
Reply:Originally Posted by enlpckI wouldn't use garage door track. It is good for 400# of distributed weight, but the lift will point load it, and likely bend the track. I would suggest an S4X9.5 or S5X10 over a 12 foot length supported at both ends for a max load of 800#.
Reply:another thing you might try would be an A frame hoist instead of lifting from your shop beam
Reply:Originally Posted by allengradinganother thing you might try would be an A frame hoist instead of lifting from your shop beam
Reply:i worked for a man one time that buried a trailer axle in the ground and left it stick up about two foot. he left the hub and brakes and everything hooked up. he welded I beam to the plate and made a boom from about 12 in I beam. he had an electric hoist and this thing was great.he even left the slack adjusters on and had a valve to lock the air brakes to hold it where you wanted it.
Reply:i made a realy simplified version for picking up small loads to put on the bench or to lift my quad/riding lawn mower for repairs. i used a HF electric hoist and some old fence posts with a larger pipe to go over for sliding back and forth. after the first lift i found out i needed a cable over the top to help stop the sag at full out lifting .i'll take a better pic tomarow. Attached Images summer is here, plant a tree for mother earth. if you dont have time or space, sponcer some one else to plant one for you.feel free to shoot me a PM or e-mail me at [email][email protected] i got lots of time.
Reply:This is a crane I built for next to nothing. It's got a $30.00 Harbor Freight 440 lb. single line pull winch, 880 double. I built it to get my 530 lb. Bobcat out my 27" wide, 82" high door and onto the back of my truck. It's got a shelf that holds an old ambulance battery to power it. It's got eight wheels to negotiate the gravel drive, the front four connected to a steering yoke and forks of a bicycle. The boom manually extends once it's out the door and locks in place by means of a pin that fits into two different sockets. It's capable of folding up when not in use but I usually leave it as you see here. It's tippier than I would like being so narrow and I plan to address that with some kind of outriggers. I had to cut off a lot of winch cable because the line tended to slice deep into the spool and jam. I also caught the winch mounting bolts backing off and recommend nylon lock nuts or tack welding the nuts. It might not be perfect but I got the welder on the truck about fifty times so far no problem. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...t/100_3033.jpgLast edited by 12,000 Doors; 04-22-2007 at 06:07 AM.
Reply:Originally Posted by Jim StabeWhat is S4x9.5 or S5x10?Jim
Reply:12000 thats prity nice, you just role it to where its needed then lift and set it and role away right.verry cool design, ui realy like the fact you can set it on the platform and roll it to where you need to lift, kinda like a dolly and a lift all in one. good idea as you only have to have it in the air for short perieods when its where you need to do the lifting.verry well thought out. i might just have to steel a few idea's from it. summer is here, plant a tree for mother earth. if you dont have time or space, sponcer some one else to plant one for you.feel free to shoot me a PM or e-mail me at [email][email protected] i got lots of time.
Reply:Thanks F4N, If you use that design be carefull of the tipping. Actually it doesn't have a platform. The base of the frame is "U" shaped so I can manuver it around my welder and pick it up off the ground. I move the welder when it's lifted an inch or two off the ground because that's where it's most stable. You should make the column verticle with a gusseted horizontal boom on top instead of the angle mine has because as it is the welding machine hits when it's high up so I have to spin it 90 degrees and when I'm lowering it to the ground with the boom extended I have to shove the welder back to get it to drop into the frame. You could build it to avoid the unwanted horizontal offset when it's extended.