Looking for the track to make an overhead rail/crane system for my shop like a curved i beam. Does not have to be huge just enough to lift a motor. I've found a good deal on a 3 phase 2 ton hoist so my mind is conjugating the possibilities. Anybody got any ideas? <!-- / message -->
I see more of them in butcher shops than in engine shops. Same stuff I believe. Some of them even have cool little switches, like a railroad. Now I'm getting kinda weird and wrapped up in this stuff, aren't I? Time to move on.
I was using my engine hoist to move some one ton rear axles around outside my shop...that would be hard to do with a track hoist.
Well it all depends on track size and the support system in place. I`ve got a plan figured out in my head that should work i just have to find the track the rest is easyish.
Unless you have 3 phase hooked up in your shop, I would look for a single phase. That's just my two cents worth. You would need a converter/transformer otherwise. They are kind of expensive. http://compare.ebay.com/like/150661640227?var=lv<yp=AllFixedPriceItemTypes&var=sbar&_lwgsi=y&cbt=y I would look here. http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/category_material-handling+trollies They have good stuff and it's fairly reasonable. I don't know how big of a shop you have, but they also have roll around tracks. -Philroy
Yep i will have 3 phase in about 2 weeks and i`ve got all the trolly/hoist bits sorted just need the track.
maybe you can make a seat for the trolley and ride around the shop. Kind of like a poor mans monorail.
I don't know how you feel about Harbor Freight but they sell this. Click on the link http://www.harborfreight.com/automo...nes/1-ton-telescoping-gantry-crane-41188.html
Have you thought of using a heavy wall pipe rail.Fab up a Y shaped bracket that bolts together and fit 4 heavy roller brgs to it,attach hoist to the base of this once bolted together. The brgs would run on the pipe at 1 O/clock and 11 O/clock positions and you could curve it off to one side of your working space. Pipe and brgs wouldn't need to be that big to handle a engine lift,just your mounting to the ceiling. Hope you can visualise all this.
They're pretty cool, but frankly I can't think of any reason I'd want one of those for a home setup, especially if you're using it to pull engines. Our machine shop and cleaning room at school both have beautiful overhead hoist setups for obvious reasons, but we still use a regular cherry picker to pull engines, because it's so much more versatile.
A useful overhead system has two tracks with a transverse trolley.It moves front to rear and side to side.Machine shops often have these.Generally,a single track is used for situations of moving from point A to point B only like a butcher shop or dry cleaners.
Without re-inventing the wheel; a single I-beam and a roller trolley to attach the hoist to, has worked for 100's of years. Easy, cheap, simple.
My over head system. I love it because it's always ready with no set up time and it takes up no space. I use it to unload heavy stuff from my truck bed as well as pull engines etc. It's especially nice when I think about the minimal investment. It was just a few dollars more than the the the 3 piece wood beam called for in the original plans. No system is perfect but I really like it.
The trolley will determine the beam type (W or S) and size. A steel fab shop can have a beam rolled for you. You will need something above the rolled section to support it and ideally some kind of wire guide so you don't tangle up the cord.
Are there any old heavy manufacturing plants in your area that are being dismantled? If you could get a section of 3"-4" monorail beam with a suitable curve plus about 4 monorail conveyor trolleys you'd be in business.
The sheet rock is a wall between the workshop and the garage space. There are 3 vertical 2X4s nailed together to form a post for it to sit on.
Yep we had one in the shop that I taught in that ran from one end of the shop to the other and out the double barn door that was made for it to the wash rack. You could pull an engine with the chain hoist, lift it overhead and move it outside to the wash rack to be steam cleaned without ever having to unhook it from the chain hoist. It was a heavy I beam that was supported by brackets that bolted to the beams in the ceiling of the shop. I'm not sure if I have any photos of it tucked away anywhere. The Beam that Tommy showed on his is the right size for most of us but I don't offhand know where you would get the curved pieces. You might check Grainger or McMaster Carr in the material handling sections for that. The setups are handy, along with pulling engines we used it to lift the body off my 51 Merc's frame by hooking the chain hoist to the firewall with a short chain hooked to each side and through the holes that the body mount bolts went through at the back of the trunk. With a cherry picker on the back an the chain hoist on the front it was easy to lift the body and move it over and set it down on four jack stands and roll the ch***is out of the way. I found bridge cranes that take two I beams and the trollies to go on the I beams in the Grainger catalog but no runway beam http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/DAYTON-Bridge-Crane-Kit-4ZV96?Pid=search For the beam I think you will have to talk to your local steel yard or steel fab shop that does steel fab work for buildings. You can Google runway beam to get some ideas too. You can poke around on this sight and figure out what size of beam you need. http://www.efunda.com/math/areas/IbeamIndex.cfm
Finally someone recognizes the issue with a curved track; you will need multiple supports to keep the track from collapsing. A straight section like Tommy's only requires supports at the ends. You need to befriend an engineer...... .
Look into agricultural suppliers. Have done work on a farm that used a round tube track as was posted earlier. It curved around the whole barn and was used to unroll/feed the large(1500 lb.) bales of hay or silage. Used a come-along to lift the bale into position, then it was locked in with a pin. Kids were using it to give rides when cows were out, it was funny to watch.
Pipe and brgs wouldn't need to be that big to handle a engine lift,just your mounting to the ceiling. Hope you can visualise all this.[/QUOTE]
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