[TheForge] RE: cranes

[Bob Ehrenberger]

Mike,

Yes, the barn rail is used to lift hay into the loft using a mechanical 
fork.  When working for neighbors putting up hay we always perfered the 
barns with rails over the ones that used elivators because the rail would 
take the hay deep into the barn and the elivator would just drop it by the 
door and we had to carry it into the barn.  Of course the barn that I have 
now has neither and we had to throw it up by hand until I changed which 
neighbor makes our hay.  The current guy brings over his elivator which 
really helps.

My friend that repaired sickle bars used the rail out of a barn but a much 
simpler  trolley.

Robert Ehrenberger
Shelbyville, Mo.
eforge at centurytel.net

----Original message----
Date: Tue, 30 Oct 2007 01:28:13 -0300
From: mspencer at tallships.ca (Mike Spencer)
Subject: [TheForge] RE: cranes

Robert Ehrenberger wrote:

> ...repair and sharpen sickle bars. For this they had a section of
> barn rail with a trolley to support the free end...

What's "barn rail"?  Would that be the kind that's put along the
ridgepole to lift loose hay from the thresing floor or outside and
trolly it into an upper loft?  I have the trolly unit from one of
those but was unable to get the rails.

I've entertained the notion of putting some rails along the ceiling of
the shop for it but haven't had anything to justify the effort.

Recently I picked up a second-hand, roll-around type engine hoist that
does several little jobs that would otherwise threaten my againg back,
making a fancy crane or track-way even less compelling.

- Mike

-- 
Michael Spencer                  Nova Scotia, Canada