Questions on hoist set up

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 Erw> I've finished building a 21'x36' wood framed room within my shop. I've

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.

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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!