Getting the plate out (safely)

[Thomas Cole]

I used a chain hoist for many years and there is something about having 
that tactile feedback to judge whether the plate is coming up freely or 
not. The downside is having to deal with that loop of chain - which side 
to pull on and what to do with that bunch of chain that hangs down on 
your newly refinished soundboard or plate.

So a while back I bought one of the Harbor Freight hoists which I bolted 
securely to the ridge beam and two cross ties. The hook moved too fast 
to be useful for plate R&R so I slowed it down with a couple of blocks 
(pulleys) from the local yachting supply. The blocks cost more than the 
hoist but did the trick. I got a double pulley for the hook end and a 
single to fasten to the frame of the hoist and now it runs at about 2 
inches per second. Slower would have been better and if you can do the 
math, you can figure out how many sheaves will get the speed you want.

Even though the current setup is a little fast, the control box starts 
and stops the hoist instantly so I can give it little jerks up or down 
and it's quite manageable.

The hoist stays put, so after the plate comes out, I roll the piano 
aside and roll in a heavy duty cart to catch the plate when I lower it down.

Tom Cole

Robin Stevens wrote:

> Phil I've got one of these hoists and they work well...but...be 
> prepared once you pull the trigger it will lift everything including 
> the piano if the plate isn't completely ready to lift!!
> The best thing to use is a one ton chain hoist which gives you a 
> chance to test if the frame is ready to lift. The same for lowering, 
> once the down button is pushed it moves very quickly compared to the 
> chain hoist.
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> Robin Stevens 
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