"Grant Erwin" wrote in message
...
I use an engine hoist in my shop to move machines around. I originally
rented
them as I needed them for about $35/day but that got old. Then I got a
2-ton
old-school import engine hoist. It worked OK but took up a ton of room in
my shop. Next I moved to a 2-ton folding model, which I have now. It works
OK but there is less room between the legs than the non-folding model, and
really, there isn't enough room between the legs. Also, it's built very
lightly and so to lift 2 tons you have to retract the boom fully, and I
need the capability to lift 2 tons with a boom as long as mine is fully
extended. The answer is to fabricate one, which I can certainly do. I'm
wondering if other guys have "been there done that" and can give me any
pointers. I have a bit of steel in my scrap rack at present that I'd like
to use up, and this would be a useful way to do it.

GWE

I saw a hinged I-beam on a column at an auction. It was a beam with a
trolley on it but one end was hinged and the other was free. Sort of like a
swinging gantry crane. I'm probably not describing it clearly enough,
essentially it gave you freedom to pick up, move and lower objects anywhere
within a semicircle of about ten foot radius. IIRC it was at least one ton
capacity, maybe two. It looked like the ideal solution to me if you could
set up a strong enough column. A simpler way would be a rolling gantry
crane, if you have the room in the shop, or an I-beam that extends the
length of the shop and outside to a point where you can unload treasures.