I'm picking up a Yale 1 ton electric cable hoist, complete with trolley, and I-beam this week. I need to fabricate the legs and will have to buy materials to do so. I plan on making a 12 foot span on the I-beam, with A-frame ends that angle inwards; which will likely be 14' tall +/- when done. I'm also putting it on heavy-duty casters. Can anyone offer suggestions on the most economical, yet strong way to construct the legs? Is there a minumum size pipe, wall thickness, etc, that I should stay above? I'm also playing with the idea of making it modular so I can break it down for storage/transport. Adjustable height may also be nice. Thanks in advance.
4" square by 1/4" wall tubbing would be sufficent. 4" x 6" hard wood timbers well joined would also work for a one ton hoist.
14' tall "A" frames are going to be heavy. rigging such a large heavy members isn't going to be too user friendly.
Hmmm... yeah, I guess that would have some weight to it. It doesn't have to be portable, but I would like it to be. I don't envision it being broken down often, but I could also see it being a PITA if it can't be taken apart if desired. I could use aluminum, but there goes the economical part...
^ Something like this... Looks like a little bit of plate, long pieces of angle, and some small diameter tube/pipe to reinforce the lower part of the legs...1TON rated, even... Cool ad from 1947. Of course, this isn't adjustable or modular, and appears to maybe be 8' tall or so... 115 bucks? I'll take 3 of 'em. Heheheh...
Good topic and since it was brought up I have a question. I have a 2 ton chain hoist with trolly my Dad gave me when he retired. I want to mount it on an I-Beam 12 feet long and 14 feet above the floor. Having built smaller gantry's in the past for aircraft engines I can handle the legs but my question is "What size I-Beam do I need for 2 tons x 12 spread?" I have an antique Chattanooga #72 sugar cane press (1897) I found while riding some back roads in NW Arkansas. It is in excellent condition and weighs 1,972 pounds. I talked the owner into selling it and I hauled it home and now need to unload it in my shop to start the restoration process and paint it back to the original factory colors. Also picked up an antique Fairbanks-Morse 8 hp Z-C engine (about 1920) to run the mill. Cane syrup and molasses on the way boys with hot biscuits and creamery butter
^ Awesome! Yeah, there has to be a chart somewhere online of span lengths and load ratings per size of beam. I'm sure someone in here has gone down the same road and may have the info on top of their heads without even thinking.
A friend of mine built one out of 3" oil field pipe. Plenty stong and at the time cheap at the salvage yard. His could be unbolted for transport. He layed it on its side to put together and then stood it up which was no small feat. Finaly figured out it that it made it a lot easier stand it up if he bolted the wheels on after it was upright. if you go for that option give yourself a spot to jack it up with a floor jack so you can install the wheels, the three friends helping you will greatly appriciate it. DAMHIKT
Excellent info - thank you. A friend here at work was just telling me he built one with 3 1/2" schedule 40 lower legs on a C-channel base. The upper leg was 3" schedule 40 and it slid into the lower leg and was drilled out for setting a pin for various height adjustments. Then we were brainstorming about incorporating a jack of some sort to make those height adjustments easy to do... I may have to slip by the local salvage yard and see what they have on hand. I've also been meaning to pay a large local welding shop a visit and now would be a great time. They may have some material they'd be willing to sell me, plus they could probably teach me a thing or two about welding/fab, and I'm all ears.
I have some 3" drill stem with 3/8" wall. It is kind of flexible but might work. The trolly is set up for 5" flange I-Beam and that is what Dad used when he was working. All he kept was the actual hoist and sold the I-Beam when he closed the shop. I remember the gantry but don't remember the actual I-Beam other than the 5" flanges. I believe it was either 1/4" or 3/8" thick but can't remember the height of the beam. Looked on the net and saw a lot of formulas. Talked to the steel company in town and they were not too helpful about recommending something. Liability issues probably. Thanks for the input guys.
cant help with the engineering , but i would love to see the pics of the resto project, and if you need any help I would be happy to come and hold a camera, or paint, or sand, or whatever. that sounds like a very cool project!
Thanks for the offer Mouth, I will PM you when I get started on the project. Probably late this coming spring.
Thanks Grease Monkey for the link. I also found two other sites just now: http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/beam-stress http://www.submarineboat.com/gantry Just doing the math I think a W8x22 beam will work for me with about 3 1/2 tons of capacity for a little over 50% safety margin. My actual unsupported beam length will be about 10 feet with the remaining 2 feet for the leg attachment plate and brace. (12" each side)
I was going to suggest exactly this. Though there is no such thing as 3 1/2" sch 40 pipe. 2 1/2" is going to be 3" OD and 3" is going to be 3 1/2" OD. I'm sure that is what your friend meant. If you were to build the legs like this you can get away without the jack. Look at the outside of the outer tube. There is a tab welded on. You can use a come along from that tab to the bottom of the inner tube to take the weight when raising or lowering.
Excellent info, thank you very much. I think I saw a video on YT of this very crane last night. I liked the come-along idea for raising the beam. This is exactly how I'm going to build it. Which would be less expensive to buy - 2 1/2" and 3" schedule 40, or similar size square tube? I think I already know the answer - schedule 40. And I'm also guessing this isn't a common carry item @ Lowe's? This is going to be a good project!
I'm guessing the pipe will be cheaper. You won't find those sizes at any of the big box stores. If there are any construction sites around stop in and talk to the pipefitter foreman about taking scrap. I have thrown hundreds of feet in the dumpster over the years. If you were closer I have a bunch at the house you could have. Or call around to mechanical contractors in your area, many places have overstock that sits for years. You could probably work out a deal. Good luck
Ahem...umm...yeah..... Portability is not going to be the strong suit of this gantry crane! Today's haul when I should be in bed after just coming off night shift... HEAVY duty, 1TON, single phase, 120V, Yale with 15' reach. The type font on the nameplate looks like something from the 40's. There goes the portability angle. Eff it. It's hard to pass up a nice tool. I'll start the hunt for materials after the holidays are behind us. I'll post up progress shots if anyone is interested in seeing.
