Shop hoist

[Larry Fisher]

I know, I know, this thread died a while ago, but I'm just now getting to a
massive pile of "read it later" mail.

A lot of you mentioned various different types of hoists but I don't recall
seeing anyone list a boat winch.  This is a crank operated winch found on
many boat trailers, dry docks, and the like.  Various load capabilities were
available when I got mine, and I outfitted my shop with this setup to take
the load off my back, which is sometimes not very strong.

Total cost I believe was around $70 for everything.  Weakest load rating for
any piece of the setup is 1200 pounds.  I have the winch attached to a piece
of 4x4 that spans about 6 trusses.  Through the 4x4 I have a 3/8" diameter
stock eye bolt and a large fender washer ( and a nut of course) to keep the
eye bolt from pulling through the beam.  The beam distributes the load over
enough trusses that it doesn't stress the roof line too bad.  I stand on a
small stool about 1 foot off the floor and operate the winch with one hand
and guide the plate with the other.  The usage of dowels to guide the plate
up and down sounds like a great idea.  I've used duct tape and masking tape
depending which one was closer to reach, to protect those areas that were
prone to have the plate touch.  (don't leave the tape on there overnight, it
is a mess to remove)

The winch is purchased with out cable.  The cable I chose was conservatively
rated at 1500 lbs and so about 3/16" in diameter or so.  The length was
determined by how far I wanted to reach.  This can vary depending on the
mechanical advantage you want.  From the winch, the cable goes out to a
pulley and hook assembly.  This hook is hooked on to the eye bolt described
above.  The cable then goes through another pulley and hook assembly that is
used to attach to the moving strap I've passed through the plate in three
locations.  The cable then goes back up to the eye bolt where at the end of
the cable I've got a forged hook attached.  I've got numerous eye bolts
located around the shop to facilitate whatever anchor point I need.  I've
also got an extra pulley and hook assembly in the cable line to enable any
additional routing of the cable or any additional mechanical advantage.

This set up has served me well from lifting plates in and out gently and
very carefully, to moving crated pianos into position for uncrating.  I've
lifted a 9' Baldwin grand on a skid to put a dolly under it, and I've lifted
numerous pianos for attatching the third leg.  I've used it to lift and hold
one end of a player piano (upright) while I worked on the spacing blocks
that hold the back casters.  All this while my wife watches and is glad that
I'm not going to be walking around with my body slightly bent at the waist
and unable to put on my socks the next day.  This device, with it's low
price, has been a very welcomed addition to my shop.  Plus it makes my wife
think I'm really smart, which is sometimes a major accomplishment
considering what I'm working with in the first place.  Then when fellow
technicians, sales people, piano movers, and the neighbors come to visit me
and see this contraption, PLUS they find out that I designed it and built
it, they put me right up there next to Einstein, Sir Isaac Newton, Magellan,
Christofori, Popeye, Mr. Bill, Tarzan, PeeWee Herman, Mr. Clean, Bach,
Tchaikovsky, Beethoven and Bill Spurlock.

The addition to my shop has vaulted ceilings and so putting a 4x4 beam in
the attic is not part of the world of reality.  So I put eye screws into the
2x10's where ever I needed them.  I know these things hold really well
because I took the curl out of one of the rings (7/16" steel) used to keep a
pulley assembly attached to an eye screw.  I was using the winch improperly
and I found the weakest point of the whole system that day.  Luckily I saw
the load wasn't moving but the winch was turning and found this ring before
any damage occured to the load.

Back to my unread pile of mail.

Lar




                           Larry Fisher RPT, Metro Portland, Oregon's
                  Factory Preferred Installer for MSR/PianoDisc Products
                       phone 360-256-2999 or email larryf@pacifier.com
                            http://pacifier.com/~larryf/homepage.html
                         Beau Dahnker pianos work best under water