Building a model railway baseboard for no.1 son.

Board will be 8x4 or slightly larger 50mm celotex suspended from ceiling by some sort of winch system to lower and raise out of way.

Looked at bike hoists - cheapies say Max 20kgs so if I have 2 sets (4 cords 1 per corner) that gives 40kgs. Mechanical advantage of bike hoists should halve that so lifting pull should be doable by no.1 son but fears of uncontrolled descents are troubling me!!

Any better ideas? Thoughts? Experiences?!

TIA

Jim K

On 29/10/2014 22:20, JimK wrote:
Building a model railway baseboard for no.1 son.

Board will be 8x4 or slightly larger 50mm celotex suspended from
ceiling by some sort of winch system to lower and raise out of way.

Looked at bike hoists - cheapies say Max 20kgs so if I have 2 sets (4
cords 1 per corner) that gives 40kgs. Mechanical advantage of bike
hoists should halve that so lifting pull should be doable by no.1 son
but fears of uncontrolled descents are troubling me!!

Any better ideas? Thoughts? Experiences?!

TIA

Jim K


Do a 6x3 in N gauge and hang it on a door when not in use.

/Do a 6x3 in N gauge and hang it on a door when not in use./q

Mmm 00 is the scale - controls, track, engines & rolling stock already owned :-)

Jim K

On 29/10/2014 22:20, JimK wrote:
Building a model railway baseboard for no.1 son.

Board will be 8x4 or slightly larger 50mm celotex suspended from ceiling by some sort of winch system to lower and raise out of way.

Looked at bike hoists - cheapies say Max 20kgs so if I have 2 sets (4 cords 1 per corner) that gives 40kgs. Mechanical advantage of bike hoists should halve that so lifting pull should be doable by no.1 son but fears of uncontrolled descents are troubling me!!

Any better ideas? Thoughts? Experiences?!


Use a hand winch for under 20 quid? Overkill, yes, but it'll guarantee
no uncontrolled descents.


--
Tciao for Now!

John.

I used one of those for an aerial mast for years. It had dire warnings all
over it that it was not for man lifting purposes, which always made me
smile.
Brian

--
From the Sofa of Brian Gaff Reply address is active
"John Williamson" wrote in message
...
On 29/10/2014 22:20, JimK wrote:
Building a model railway baseboard for no.1 son.

Board will be 8x4 or slightly larger 50mm celotex suspended from ceiling
by some sort of winch system to lower and raise out of way.

Looked at bike hoists - cheapies say Max 20kgs so if I have 2 sets (4
cords 1 per corner) that gives 40kgs. Mechanical advantage of bike hoists
should halve that so lifting pull should be doable by no.1 son but fears
of uncontrolled descents are troubling me!!

Any better ideas? Thoughts? Experiences?!


Use a hand winch for under 20 quid? Overkill, yes, but it'll guarantee no
uncontrolled descents.


--
Tciao for Now!

John.

On Wednesday, 29 October 2014 23:34:36 UTC, John Williamson wrote:
On 29/10/2014 22:20, JimK wrote:
Building a model railway baseboard for no.1 son.

Board will be 8x4 or slightly larger 50mm celotex suspended from ceiling by some sort of winch system to lower and raise out of way.

Looked at bike hoists - cheapies say Max 20kgs so if I have 2 sets (4 cords 1 per corner) that gives 40kgs. Mechanical advantage of bike hoists should halve that so lifting pull should be doable by no.1 son but fears of uncontrolled descents are troubling me!!

Any better ideas? Thoughts? Experiences?!


Use a hand winch for under 20 quid? Overkill, yes, but it'll guarantee
no uncontrolled descents.

yes looked at a few on ebay etc - when mounted on a wall (say) it seems the handle would foul IYSWIM ?

is there a better search term for ones that wouldn't?

"JimK" wrote in message
...
On Wednesday, 29 October 2014 23:34:36 UTC, John Williamson wrote:
On 29/10/2014 22:20, JimK wrote:
Building a model railway baseboard for no.1 son.

Board will be 8x4 or slightly larger 50mm celotex suspended from
ceiling by some sort of winch system to lower and raise out of way.

Looked at bike hoists - cheapies say Max 20kgs so if I have 2 sets (4
cords 1 per corner) that gives 40kgs. Mechanical advantage of bike
hoists should halve that so lifting pull should be doable by no.1 son
but fears of uncontrolled descents are troubling me!!

Any better ideas? Thoughts? Experiences?!


Use a hand winch for under 20 quid? Overkill, yes, but it'll guarantee
no uncontrolled descents.

yes looked at a few on ebay etc - when mounted on a wall (say) it seems
the handle would foul IYSWIM ?

Not if you mount it so the plane the handle
rotates in is parallel to the wall, trivial to do that.

is there a better search term for ones that wouldn't?

The other obvious search term is boat winch, but they
are mostly the same physically because that's the
easiest way to make them and isnt a big problem
for wall mounting once you realise how to mount
them on the wall. I'd just bolt a decent sized piece
of say 4x2 to the wall and bolt the winch to that
so the plane the handle rotates in is parallel to the wall.

Too radical by far...

JimK wrote

Building a model railway baseboard for no.1 son.

Board will be 8x4 or slightly larger 50mm celotex suspended from
ceiling by some sort of winch system to lower and raise out of way.

Looked at bike hoists - cheapies say Max 20kgs so if I have 2 sets
(4 cords 1 per corner) that gives 40kgs. Mechanical advantage of
bike hoists should halve that so lifting pull should be doable by
no.1 son but fears of uncontrolled descents are troubling me!!

Any better ideas?

I used a boat winch on some shearlegs to get the ****ing
great 5x3x0.5" RHS steels that run the entire 100' length
of the N and S wall tops. They have a lot more carrying
capacity, are fine for even kids with your weights and
not risk of uncontrolled descents.

Thoughts?

I gave up on those, they make my head hurt.

Experiences?!

See above.

The RHS is that thick because there was a shortage
of steel at the time and that was all I could get in
5x3" which it had to be for mechanical reasons.
****ing heavy with the longest ones.

In article ,
says...

Building a model railway baseboard for no.1 son.

Board will be 8x4 or slightly larger 50mm celotex suspended from ceiling by some sort of winch system to lower and raise out of way.

Looked at bike hoists - cheapies say Max 20kgs so if I have 2 sets (4 cords 1 per corner) that gives 40kgs. Mechanical advantage of bike hoists should halve that so lifting pull should be doable by no.1 son but fears of uncontrolled descents are troubling me!!

Any better ideas? Thoughts? Experiences?!

TIA

Jim K

Where are the light fittings?

Bit of a budgerigar if the room's lighting is blocked out when board is
hoisted up.

If the rails etc. are fixed in place, could it be placed on-end against
a wall (with stand-offs to protect it from damage)?


--
Sam

Sam Plusnet wrote:
Bit of a budgerigar if the room's lighting is blocked out when board is
hoisted up.

If the rails etc. are fixed in place, could it be placed on-end against
a wall (with stand-offs to protect it from damage)?

The question is: what are you going to do with the trains?

Any hoist that isn't perfectly level will have them running to one end of
the layout. If they have enough runup they'll derail and fall off, or
plough a hole in the scenery. I suspect getting a hoist to be perfectly
level is going to be tricky.

You could just pick them up each time, but that's annoying particularly with
lots of wagons etc. An alternative is to all run them into a separate
'yard' section that isn't hoisted - then you'd need to work out a way to
connect that. Maybe turn it into a little carrycase or something?

Theo

Theo Markettos wrote:

Any hoist that isn't perfectly level will have them running to one end of
the layout.

They are braked when not powered, aren't they, by the motor?

I would think that if the board was hoisted by four cables, one at each
corner, these being linked to a crossbar up above, or alternatively
wound onto pulleys on the same axle, the board wouldn't tilt.

Bill

Bill Wright wrote:
Theo Markettos wrote:

Any hoist that isn't perfectly level will have them running to one end of
the layout.

They are braked when not powered, aren't they, by the motor?

The motorised ones are. But there's likely to be coaches or wagons about that aren't
connected to a loco - those left in sidings ready to be 'shunted', or the
spare stock that you don't want to put out today.

I would think that if the board was hoisted by four cables, one at each
corner, these being linked to a crossbar up above, or alternatively
wound onto pulleys on the same axle, the board wouldn't tilt.

That might do it, as long as it doesn't swing as it goes up.

Theo

On 30/10/2014 11:39, Theo Markettos wrote:
Bill Wright wrote:
Theo Markettos wrote:

Any hoist that isn't perfectly level will have them running to one end of
the layout.

They are braked when not powered, aren't they, by the motor?

The motorised ones are. But there's likely to be coaches or wagons about that aren't
connected to a loco - those left in sidings ready to be 'shunted', or the
spare stock that you don't want to put out today.

I would think that if the board was hoisted by four cables, one at each
corner, these being linked to a crossbar up above, or alternatively
wound onto pulleys on the same axle, the board wouldn't tilt.

That might do it, as long as it doesn't swing as it goes up.

Theo

Just because it can be hoisted doesn't mean it can't have legs for
stability, strength, etc.

--
Rod

/ Where are the light fittings?/q

Right where the hole in the board will be :-)

/If the rails etc. are fixed in place, could it be placed on-end against a wall (with stand-offs to protect it from damage)?/q

T1tting about taking all trains etc on & off every time will kill the fun BTDTGTTS!

Jim K

JimK wrote:

Board will be 8x4 or slightly larger 50mm celotex

Celotex may be light, but it isn't exactly strong, what's wrong with
some ply or osb?

/ Celotex may be light, but it isn't exactly strong, what's wrong with some ply or osb?/q

Weight once braced.
You tried snapping 50mm celotex? They do 75mm too...

Jim K

Governors r ratchets for descent control?
Brian

--
From the Sofa of Brian Gaff Reply address is active
"JimK" wrote in message
...
Building a model railway baseboard for no.1 son.

Board will be 8x4 or slightly larger 50mm celotex suspended from ceiling by
some sort of winch system to lower and raise out of way.

Looked at bike hoists - cheapies say Max 20kgs so if I have 2 sets (4 cords
1 per corner) that gives 40kgs. Mechanical advantage of bike hoists should
halve that so lifting pull should be doable by no.1 son but fears of
uncontrolled descents are troubling me!!

Any better ideas? Thoughts? Experiences?!

TIA

Jim K

On 29/10/2014 22:20, JimK wrote:
Building a model railway baseboard for no.1 son.

Board will be 8x4 or slightly larger 50mm celotex suspended from
ceiling by some sort of winch system to lower and raise out of way.

Looked at bike hoists - cheapies say Max 20kgs so if I have 2 sets (4
cords 1 per corner) that gives 40kgs. Mechanical advantage of bike
hoists should halve that so lifting pull should be doable by no.1 son
but fears of uncontrolled descents are troubling me!!

Any better ideas? Thoughts? Experiences?!

TIA

Jim K


Celotex is pretty fragile ... may not have longevity ... be better
making something akin to honeycomb construction using oiled hardboard.

/Celotex is pretty fragile ... may not have longevity ... be better
making something akin to honeycomb construction using oiled hardboard. /q

Mmm we're not entering competitions :-)

Just playing trains....

Jim K

On Friday, October 31, 2014 2:53:07 PM UTC, JimK wrote:
/Celotex is pretty fragile ... may not have longevity ... be better
making something akin to honeycomb construction using oiled hardboard. /q

Mmm we're not entering competitions :-)

Just playing trains....

Jim K

Tends to bow a bit when remove the foil facings, light timber frame wouldnt do any harm.

Trad Dad would use Sundeala on a 2X1 frame

Kayak hoist might be worth looking at as well

On 03/11/2014 00:45, Adam Aglionby wrote:
Trad Dad would use Sundeala on a 2X1 frame

aol

I bought some when the local proper HW shop closed. In the end my
brother used it.

Andy

On Wed, 29 Oct 2014 15:20:33 -0700 (PDT), JimK
wrote:

Building a model railway baseboard for no.1 son.

Board will be 8x4 or slightly larger 50mm celotex suspended from ceiling by some sort of winch system to lower and raise out of way.

Looked at bike hoists - cheapies say Max 20kgs so if I have 2 sets (4 cords 1 per corner) that gives 40kgs. Mechanical advantage of bike hoists should halve that so lifting pull should be doable by no.1 son but fears of uncontrolled descents are troubling me!!

Any better ideas? Thoughts? Experiences?!

TIA

Jim K

You can get car roof box hoists which may be easier to adapt to a
board situation than a cycle hoist.

G.Harman

/You can get car roof box hoists which may be easier to adapt to a
board situation than a cycle hoist. /q

Had a goggle, these seem to start at 60 quid?

Quite fancy 2 bike hoists and some bodging for 15 quid ;-)

Jim K