Small Shop Cranes

   / Small Shop Cranes #33  
To hold up a shop crane and be adjustable, weld on some brackets and use a tractor top link. If one bracket had a row of holes, larger adjustments could be made faster without having to turn the top link.

Bruce
 
   / Small Shop Cranes #34  
My Northern Tool crane is a inexpensive import copy of a Vestil crane of about 3x the cost. The latter even having a galvanized option to use around salt water. Far from a daily user but have not experienced hydraulic cylinder leak down. Same cylinder used on engine pullers and available separately.

Only mechanical problem was the bearings used in the winch cable pulleys required shims (washers) to hold them in the pulley bores on the shafts.

Did weld the bolts on mast base to make disassembly and reassembly easier and less parts to loose. Wrench welded to turning lever is the only tool needed.

The crane is made to have the base bolted down. I needed it to be mobile and multi-station use. Using jack(s) to support the base and the plumb the mast important in rotating loads easily.

Correction, the heaviest piece to move is 68# when disassembled.
 
   / Small Shop Cranes #35  
The HF hoist I've had for years works well. I mounted a 120v winch attached to ceiling 2x12 joists for lifting mowers to sharpen blades. Tractor has a boom for 3pt hitch and forks for the bucket. I have a hydraulic lift cart that's also handy.
2023_01_05_11.55.12.jpg
 
   / Small Shop Cranes #36  
Fuddyduddy1952 said:
The HF hoist I've had for years works well. I mounted a 120v winch attached to ceiling 2x12 joists for lifting mowers to sharpen blades. Tractor has a boom for 3pt hitch and forks for the bucket. I have a hydraulic lift cart that's also handy.View attachment 777867
Click to expand...
i used a 12volt and some jumper cables to hook to the ZTM battery. works nice and is out of the way when not in use.
 
   / Small Shop Cranes
  • Thread Starter
#38  
OP here - And I never thought that there would be so many different types of lifting devices .... or that so many TBNers already had one in their shop.

Not sure what our final solution here will be, but I now know a lot more about what is available. My machine/fab shop is small but high ceilings. Vehicle work is done outside where the backhoe can lift anything. However, anything in the shop needs to fold up and store away.

Needing something today, it was off to HF yesterday to purchase their heavier two ton shop crane. I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of the one they had on display. Same size as their 1 ton. It comes disassembled in boxes - so hope this one is as nice. $320.

The plan is for the folding crane to buy time to design an overhead trolley system.

rScotty
 
   / Small Shop Cranes #39  
Once saw a bunch of straight and curved I-beams for hoists at the scrapyard. Common in older shops. Later bought a manual Yale hoist made for the curves. Probably never see beams like that again.

A nice overhead I-beam “J” or extended leg “U” would work well in the shop. Don’t have the height or $$$ payback for a bridge crane.
 
   / Small Shop Cranes #40  
I've had the harbor freight 1.5 ton folding hoist for like 20 years, it's still going strong, I think it was $125 way back then, not perfect and I don't think it leaks down much, it folds up pretty small, I've used it for all sorts of silly things over the years...

20220130_120128.jpg


In the shop I have an A frame, it now has two trolleys one with that chain hoist and the other has a come along, eventually I'll get another chain hoist for it...

20210430_192550.jpg


In my defense on the above picture, it was raining like heck outside, that's why I lifted it out instead of getting the ramp out...
 
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