I've finished building a 21'x36' wood framed room within my shop. I've
designed the ceiling joists and beams to have a flush top and accept a 40
lb/sq. ft. loading for storage. Not wanting to carry things up a ladder,
nor wanting a stairway, I was thinking about some sort of hoist/elevator
setup.
I own two H.F. 880 lb. capacity electric hoists (often on sale for $74, and
they worked wonderfully for unloading things from the back of the moving
vans to the shop floor).
Preferably, I would like to hoist up a loading platform upon which I could
also stand and get a free ride. Now, if I simply use a single cable, the
platform is going to rotate and sway. Is there a way to rig cable so I can
lift by all four corners and therefore eliminate the sway etc. I was
thinking something along the way the old drafting table parallels were
wired. I suppose a four post car lift is also wired (cabled) off of one
power source with the cables running all over the place.

Any ideas? Should I simply build a vertical shaft and use rollers against
the sides? Some of you must have already solved this or have some thinking
that goes beyond my imagination.

All thoughts welcome and appreciated.

Ivan Vegvary

I spent my 20s in the shipyards, where I would often watch riggers ply
their fascinating trade. Those guys could rig *anything* to be lifted
by a single hook. The way they'd do something that couldn't tip is to
secure it to a pallet, then they'd lower down two pipes on long slings
such that the pipes were independent of each other and parallel to the
ground (and to each other). When the pipes got down to ground level,
the rigger would pull the slings (actually wire ropes) apart and slip
the pipes into the open ends of the pallets themselves. Then they'd lift
straight up. The pallets always rode very stably. If they had a tall
load which was intolerant of slings angling above it they'd use spreaders
above so the slings would be vertical for as long as they needed to be.

I welded up a small steel pallet and did the same thing on a smaller
scale to lift out top-heavy items from my old shop which was only
accessible down an external stairwell. An example was an Atlas shaper
on its original Atlas stand - a *very* topheavy and unstable setup to
move around. Worked perfectly.

I have a spare 1/4 ton electric chain hoist, 20' travel, Lodestar
brand, if you need another one. I ran into an air hoist which has
continuously variable lift rate which I find more usable, so the electric
one (which brand are breathtakingly expensive new) is surplus to my needs.

Grant Erwin

Ivan Vegvary wrote:

I've finished building a 21'x36' wood framed room within my shop. I've
designed the ceiling joists and beams to have a flush top and accept a 40
lb/sq. ft. loading for storage. Not wanting to carry things up a ladder,
nor wanting a stairway, I was thinking about some sort of hoist/elevator
setup.
I own two H.F. 880 lb. capacity electric hoists (often on sale for $74, and
they worked wonderfully for unloading things from the back of the moving
vans to the shop floor).
Preferably, I would like to hoist up a loading platform upon which I could
also stand and get a free ride. Now, if I simply use a single cable, the
platform is going to rotate and sway. Is there a way to rig cable so I can
lift by all four corners and therefore eliminate the sway etc. I was
thinking something along the way the old drafting table parallels were
wired. I suppose a four post car lift is also wired (cabled) off of one
power source with the cables running all over the place.

Any ideas? Should I simply build a vertical shaft and use rollers against
the sides? Some of you must have already solved this or have some thinking
that goes beyond my imagination.

All thoughts welcome and appreciated.

Ivan Vegvary

On Sat, 19 Jun 2004 05:34:34 GMT, "Ivan Vegvary"
wrote:

Preferably, I would like to hoist up a loading platform upon which I could
also stand and get a free ride.

If you are seriously thinking about riding on this contraption
regularly, you should consider starting with a Columbus McKinnon (CM)
chain hoist - from my friend who is a Union Stagehand, they are the
only ones who make man-rated lifts, or allow people under equipment or
lighting trusses hung off a hoist. When doing the stage rigging, they
always way over-rate the hoists to avoid trouble - no more than 1 ton
load on a 2 ton hoist.

I have a older customer who built his own "Elevator" in the inner
courtyard of a small apartment building. His isn't a CM, but another
american made lift - don't ask me who. The frame is two 6" I-beams up
and across for the hoist, and the car body is welded square tube with
lawnmower wheels as guide rollers riding in the beam webs. The wheel
system could have been designed better, it still has a lot of slop to
shift around in it's shaft...

Good for hauling heavy stuff like appliances upstairs and down, but
you won't catch me riding on it.

-- Bruce --
--
Bruce L. Bergman, Woodland Hills (Los Angeles) CA - Desktop
Electrician for Westend Electric - CA726700
5737 Kanan Rd. #359, Agoura CA 91301 (818) 889-9545
Spamtrapped address: Remove the python and the invalid, and use a net.

"Ivan Vegvary" wrote in message ...
I've finished building a 21'x36' wood framed room within my shop. I've
designed the ceiling joists and beams to have a flush top and accept a 40
lb/sq. ft. loading for storage. Not wanting to carry things up a ladder,
nor wanting a stairway, I was thinking about some sort of hoist/elevator
setup.
I own two H.F. 880 lb. capacity electric hoists (often on sale for $74, and
they worked wonderfully for unloading things from the back of the moving
vans to the shop floor).
Preferably, I would like to hoist up a loading platform upon which I could
also stand and get a free ride. Now, if I simply use a single cable, the
platform is going to rotate and sway. Is there a way to rig cable so I can
lift by all four corners and therefore eliminate the sway etc. I was
thinking something along the way the old drafting table parallels were
wired. I suppose a four post car lift is also wired (cabled) off of one
power source with the cables running all over the place.

Any ideas? Should I simply build a vertical shaft and use rollers against
the sides? Some of you must have already solved this or have some thinking
that goes beyond my imagination.

All thoughts welcome and appreciated.

Ivan Vegvary

What about something like a roofers power ladder with an electric motor?
Al

Aside from a dockworker's rigging, doing 4 wires onto a single layer windup
will work fine. A long drum with the 4 wires at steps along the length
which will allow the wire to wrap around in the single layer without hitting
each other is the way to go.
You also need to do some kind of automatic brake in case the wire breaks or
gets loose that you have control of the release of (normally braked and you
have to pull to allow the elevator to go down) should be done to keep things
safe.

--
Bob May
Losing weight is easy! If you ever want to lose weight, eat and drink less.
Works every time it is tried!