[TheForge] shed/shop design and other mumblings from an old man

[terry l. ridder]

hello;

well, today is going to get to 63 deg fahrenheit so my friend charlie
will be coming over to layout the new shed/shop. the new shop will be 28
feet wide and 32 ft long. gambrel barn style. the walls are going to be
2x8 instead of 2x4 to allow for insulation of the exterior walls to keep
the shop warm in the winter months and hopefully cool in the hot months.

over the weekend with the help of my son and using the front end loader
on the tractor i put together the 25 ton horizontal/vertical log
splitter. there are several things i would like to change now that it is
together. i should have gone with an electric start briggs & stratton
10.5 hp gasoline engine. i should have gone with the 21 gpm hydraulic
pump instead of the 16 gpm hydraulic pump. there are some other design
features which will change in the next couple months. it seems to be a
waste to have the hydraulic unit dedicated to that one machine when it
would be able to power several other hydraulic machines at other times. 
the log splitter is built on a tow hitch frame. i am able to tow it
around with the tractor. i could see building a press that would use the
hydraulic unit for power. i could see building a billet rolling press
that a friend could use to roll his billets on.

the subject of a shop crane has come up for discussion several times. i
am in favor of using a portable gantry crane instead of a fixed gantry
crane. my friend charlie knows of a business that is closing in chicago 
that has a gantry crane that they are willing to sell. the crane was
originally rated for 50 tons. that was probably 60 years ago. i think
that this is overkill for what i would ever consider doing. charlie and
i have visited several businesses that are closing and looked at the
shop areas for used equipment and design ideas. i can see why charlie is
pushing for a gantry crane. i would like to hear suggestions, comments,
hints, etc concerning cranes and lifting devices.

i have seen in one shop a mono-rail trolley unit. several small trolley
units ride on an i-beam rail system. each trolley unit has a lifting eye
on the underside. from this lifting eye a chain-fall hangs. material is
lifted using the chain fall and rolled around the shop floor area on the
monorail.

-- 
terry l. ridder ><>