"Bob La Londe" wrote in message news:skscie$avg$1...@gioia.aioe.org...
On 10/21/2021 4:25 AM, Jim Wilkins wrote:
.....
I do have a standard cherry picker / engine hoist. Its not really
convenient for placing a vise on a mill table or a chuck on a lathe
spindle. I do plan to make a heavy tool cart for the new (new earlier
this year anyway) South Bend Mill in the back. I expected it will be
plenty heavy enough when loaded up with tools to allow a small crane arm
to swing a 100lb vise out over a table, and when not in use the arm can
swing back over the cart to not be in the way. In fact I wish I had
already set it up. I want to move one of my 8 inch vises from the Hurco
to the South Bend, but haven't done it because I am not looking forward
to lifting it with my arms extended over the machine. (I have in the
past. These vises were originaly on the Charter Oak piece of trash bed
mill.
For other not excessively heavy things a chain off the bucket of the
front loader works too. Its rated for 750 lbs, works fine to about
1200, and has lifted upto 2000 but maxes out with just a few inches of
lift at that weight. I also rebuilt one of the hydraulics recently...
My shop is pretty crowded though. Bringing the loader inside to do any
real work optimistically takes a half day of moving things to clear a
wide enough path.
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This inspired me to build a similar portable hoist:
https://www.liftingsafety.co.uk/product/tripod-gantry-crane-3102.html
Mine has a tripod at both ends and optionally shear legs supporting the
center splice, for big loads such as the 2100 Lb oak log. Boat trailer
winches attached to the tripod legs by muffler clamps raised and lowered the
16' long, 200 Lb track. On a more conventional previous version I found that
trailer tongue jacks make good cheap retractable casters.
My mill and lathe are small enough that the vise and chucks are manageable
by hand, but that wasn't the case at work. My personal favorite
tight-quarters heavy lifter is a platform stacker. Its base is too small to
support a cantilevered load so the feet have to run under the destination,
for example a mill table cranked out to the side. A sling around the
platform converts it for a load with lifting eyes at the top, ie the engine
of my tractor. For the lathe you might need a wooden cradle that holds the
chuck at (slightly below) spindle height and a well supported ramp to the
platform.
I added a table to my engine hoist that lists the maximum load at each boom
extension position based on tipping forward. They aren't the same as the
limits based on boom strength. Since it has been converted into a towable
trailer if the load exceeds the table I chain the mast top down to the
tractor.