"_" wrote in message
. ..
One of the projects involves both re-doing the garage and lifting a ford
4-cyl motor out of a car. There's a fellow selling an I-beam locally, 13
feet long, 8 inches deep, 4 inches wide (no web thickness specified).
This
would span the garage nicely - could I rely on it to not bend if I hook up
a hoist to the centre and lift that motor? Supported on the ends only...

Without knowing the exact flange width, thickness at the edge and web
thickness it's going to be a guess, but as someone else mentioned, on a 13'
span you are probably real safe.

I can affirm by experience that a 6" standard I-beam, 16' between concrete
walls, will support a 1300 pound welding machine in the center.