[TheForge] Cranes

Mon Mar 16 12:06:01 EDT 2009

Terry, also look at surplus air powered hoists.
Chuck
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "ries" <ries at riesniemi.com>
To: "terry l. ridder" <terrylr at blauedonau.com>; "Blacksmithing List 
Sponsored by ABANA" <theforge at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Monday, March 16, 2009 10:55 AM
Subject: Re: [TheForge] Cranes


> Terry- I have used a variety of cranes.
> In my mind, the BEST is a bridge crane.
> This is a beam, that rides on rails that are set on each long wall,
> high up.
> A trolley goes across the beam, carrying your lifting device-
> chainfall, or whatever.
> This gives you 100% coverage of your entire shop, x and y.
> Again, the best is remote control, with a pendant, of an electric
> chainfall or wire rope lift.
> 50 tons is WAY overkill- 5 would be too, for that matter.
> I think, for most of what you do, 2 tons would be fine.
> I once built a small one, entirely hand operated, about 1 ton
> capacity, but much better is motors on the beam to move it back and
> forth.
>
> Used bridge cranes are pretty common- but usually not the exact size
> you need. 5 tonners are all over the place, check www.machinetools.com
> or www.locatoronline.com
>
> Your building will not support the weight, though- you will need steel
> posts to hold the rails.
>
> Next down, in terms of desirability, is a swinging jib crane. This is
> a single post, which is bolted to a footing, and then attached to the
> building at the top. It has a swinging arm, which will cover a
> circular area with a radius the length of the arm. Again, you use a
> chainfall or wire rope hoist. I have had a couple of these in
> different shops, and they are simple and very handy.
>
> What I think you are calling a "gantry crane" is what I would call a
> rolling A frame- and I have one of those, too. Built it myself, back
> in about 1992, 1 ton capacity. Mine is on huge, 8" casters, which
> lock, and is adjustable for height. I copied a Wallace gantry-
> http://www.wallacecranes.com/prods.htm
> These are cheap and easily moved- but the big problem is that they
> need to touch the ground in 4 places- and there is usually something
> in the way. If you have a big, open shop floor, they work best. But if
> your shop, like mine, is full of tables, machines, power hammers, and
> the like, its tough to get them to where you want them half the time,
> as there is an intricate dance of moving the A frame around big tools.
> I use mine a lot as a jig, these days, I have sockets set in the ends,
> and I put big rotating jigs in it, so I can weld or work on all sides
> of a piece simply by rolling it in space.
>
> The monorail crane is the least desirable, in my book. I have had them
> in a couple of shops, and find that whatever I want to lift is usually
> NOT under the monorail. Pretty restrictive.
>
> For any of these, I would pickup a good used american made electric
> wire rope hoist, knowing your physical state. You dont wanna be
> yerking on a chain all day long. Coffing, CM, Yale- skip the Harbor
> Freight and Northern Tool stuff- you dont need another accident.
>
> One thing to consider, which I have found to be the MOST handy, is a
> plain old forklift. I have a nice used Mitsubishi forklift, 4500lb
> capacity. It is easier, quicker, and more flexible than any of my
> various cranes. Unlike a crane, it worked 5 minutes after it was
> delivered, and I could sell it for about what I paid for it in a day.
> A crane is built in, usually, and not worth much more than the scrap
> value.
> A Forklift can unload trucks, lift stuff, be used as a manlift with a
> proper bucket, can hold work while you are welding it, is an assembly
> jig, and much more.
>
> We use the forklift all the time, and its incredibly handy. With a few
> straps and chains, it will do most of what a crane will, but do it
> anywhere.
>
> Ries
>
>
> On Mar 16, 2009, at 6:18 AM, terry l. ridder wrote:
>
> 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 ><>
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> Ries Niemi
> Industrial Artist
> http://www.riesniemi.com/
>
>
>
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