Aids for Lifting Heavy Items
- Thread starter Thegundog
- Start date
NC Fabricator25
Well-known member
- Joined
- May 28, 2010
- Messages
- 193
OP, you didn’t really specify your needs, other than the generator as an example, so you need to consider how heavy and how high you might need to lift. And how much space you have and investment you’re willing to make.
On the more affordable end either a engine hoist or a die lift cart would be good options for lifting things heavier than what you can pick up manually, and to a height of a few/several feet. For the die lift carts look at Genie, Wesco, Vestil….they have a lot of options. You can get forks or a shelf, all manual or electric powered, various lifting heights, even 2 and 3 stage masts to lift to greater heights. New they aren’t cheap, but used at auctions they come down to the $200-ish range in my region.
For higher or heavier, you might be in forklift territory, which might sound outlandish for a home shop, but their usefulness can’t be overstated. My little Mitsubishi 3,000lb propane lift only gets fired up once a month, but it makes lift so much easier.
On the more affordable end either a engine hoist or a die lift cart would be good options for lifting things heavier than what you can pick up manually, and to a height of a few/several feet. For the die lift carts look at Genie, Wesco, Vestil….they have a lot of options. You can get forks or a shelf, all manual or electric powered, various lifting heights, even 2 and 3 stage masts to lift to greater heights. New they aren’t cheap, but used at auctions they come down to the $200-ish range in my region.
For higher or heavier, you might be in forklift territory, which might sound outlandish for a home shop, but their usefulness can’t be overstated. My little Mitsubishi 3,000lb propane lift only gets fired up once a month, but it makes lift so much easier.
firebirdparts
Well-known member
I have a crown walkie stacker, but finding one for what you’d actually pay is a challenge. Paid $50 for it.
Snip
Well-known member
I also have a "walkie stacker". An older one made by Barrett, 3k capacity, 130" lift. I didn't do as well as you though, IIRC I gave about 300 for it from a chocolate candy company that upgraded, On a hot day it will still leave a drop or two of chocolate on the floor. Worth its weight in gold though. Great thing to have around. I added it to the arsenal of lifting tools, Folding cherry picker, pallet jack,
2t Vestal gantry. Keeping an eye out for a good used hydraulic table to round it all out.
When we poured the floor I recessed a pit to hold the bike lift table. It works great for many things. Loved it when replacing the evaporator in the freezer section of my shop fridge, bottom location
Weird thing is although having these items at my disposal I still find myself lifting heavier things then I properly should in my 60's. Very slow learner I guess
2t Vestal gantry. Keeping an eye out for a good used hydraulic table to round it all out.
When we poured the floor I recessed a pit to hold the bike lift table. It works great for many things. Loved it when replacing the evaporator in the freezer section of my shop fridge, bottom location
Weird thing is although having these items at my disposal I still find myself lifting heavier things then I properly should in my 60's. Very slow learner I guess
Mine is made by Vermette Lifts. Its not telescoping but you can add or subtract sections. Just happened to work out that it is the perfect height (12') for my shop. Best $100 I spent. It gets used on a regular basis and have loaned it to a few different family and friends. Going to see if I can use it to pull the engine out of my expldr soon.
Also thinking about using it for my metal roof project I have a post about. Thinking I could gently push up on the roof from the inside to allow me to slide the new section under.
Also thinking about using it for my metal roof project I have a post about. Thinking I could gently push up on the roof from the inside to allow me to slide the new section under.
kaymccampbell
Well-known member
I've got the Dingo, a mid-rise scissor lift, a chain fall on an I beam, and a cart to land things on to drag them around.
kaymccampbell
Well-known member
Best trick I've seen for inserting steel roofing sheets under the edge of another, is to use a couple lengths of really cheesy coil stock, slipped under the top sheet. Then you just slide your new sheet between the coil, and under the existing sheet. Then pull the coil. You do have to remove a couple rows of screws to do this, but it made things so much easier than trying to lift the sheets and fight the ridges.
FredWanaker
Well-known member
Have to get creative like with an engine lift or a chain lift on a trolley hanging from the ceiling, or have a good handyman who'll drop by for that type stuff. In my early 30's I could lift a stripped 454 4-main block and set it up onto a big table, or into the Sunnen CK machine. Today a lawnmower engine is a challenge - and usually my back is in pain for days.
sgf13
Well-known member
Of course it depends on the specifics of what lifting you need to do but I agree with Jagmandave and others who recommend a hydraulic lift table. I have this one https://www.harborfreight.com/1000-lb-capacity-hydraulic-table-cart-60438.html and it's great. I have many lifting options but I really like the lift table. The downside of it is that it is only mobile on a flat surface like concrete.-The upside is that it is also a great work-table. I tilted my old Coleman generator up on one side and slid the other end up on the table. Still some heavy lifting but not too bad.
I have been an empty nester for quite some time. I will share the dark secret for all of the younger guys with kids. You teach them about tools, help with their first car and the mini-bikes etc. that proceed it. There comes a point where they are skilled enough and strong enough and wiling to be a genuine help. That is the exact time when they move away. The up-side is they make a good life on their own. The downside is you have to research lifting options!
Something like roll flashing? Or heavier than that?
Crabman
Well-known member
The OP disappeared and it was not clear what his objectives were.
But I have enjoyed the back and forth. As some of you have noted and it has been said elsewhere "50 pounds, the new 100 pounds". Age, declining strength, arthritis, etc. require many of us to seek solutions to "weighty" problems.
Hang in there guys!
But I have enjoyed the back and forth. As some of you have noted and it has been said elsewhere "50 pounds, the new 100 pounds". Age, declining strength, arthritis, etc. require many of us to seek solutions to "weighty" problems.
Hang in there guys!
Mainiac Mat
Well-known member
New Holland tractor with fork attachment is what I use most. I also have hooks welded to the loader bucket for use with chains.
kaymccampbell
Well-known member
That'd probably work, so long as it's at least a foot wide. Give it a try. If it works you're golden, if not it's the coil stock.
555
Well-known member
I have the 500 pound lifting table from Harbor Freight. My three "heavy lifters" also moved away.
Jagmandave
Well-known member
Wow, the price really went up on that lift table! I bought mine a year ago (on sale I admit) for $200
I bought a Bx, not specifically for lifting, but it certainly comes in handy for that. Especially with a set of clamp on pallet forks it does remarkably well.
sgf13
Well-known member
I thought the same thing when I opened the link. I think I got mine for Father's Day and it was closer to what you paid.
tool_scrounge
Well-known member
For lifting stuff, I used the heck out of a manual Hoyer patient lift. 400 lb capacity, light weight, leg spacing is lever adjustable, and very easy to maneuver. Can be cheap on the used market. Electric versions are also available but they weigh/cost more. I sold my engine hoist after getting the Hoyer lift. The Hoyer took up a lost less space and was high enough to lift stuff out of a truck bed.
High Lift Pallet jacks are also useful. Usually they raise up to ~32" off the ground. Look at Interthor Thorklifts and Bishamon Skidlift. Both are available as manual or electric. With these you can slide stuff out of the truck bed.
High Lift Pallet jacks are also useful. Usually they raise up to ~32" off the ground. Look at Interthor Thorklifts and Bishamon Skidlift. Both are available as manual or electric. With these you can slide stuff out of the truck bed.
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Like the original poster my human lifter is no longer available, with a family and his new job I have to make an appointment 2 weeks ahead of time just to get 3 minutes of his help. Fortunately I am well versed in working alone and am pretty good I at creating lifting/moving solutions. If working outside my primary helper is my Oliver OC46 rated for lifting 3K lbs.
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jmarkwolf
Well-known member
Over the years I've collected all manner of lifting devices:
1. Floor jack
2. Pallet jack
3. HF Gantry
4. Two SkyHook cranes, one mounted to a cart, the other mounts to a lathe tool post
5. Comealong
6. Small Block and tackle
7. Toe jack
8. HF hydraulic lift cart
9. The obligatory 2-ton engine hoist
10. New, but old-style bumper jack. They call them farmer's jacks nowadays.
11. HF motorcycle lift table
...and make use of them all depending on the application.
Ruined my lower back when I was in my 20's, when I was immortal and bullet proof. Have to be careful nowadays.
When the weather warms up, I'll likely be adding an I-beam, hoist and trolley combination above the staircase to the 2nd floor of my shop to aid in getting things "upstairs".
My next project could use one of those scissors style pallet jacks for getting an ancient repulsion/induction motor (approaching 100lbs) out from under the bed of an equally ancient (75 year old) Delta Rockwell wood lathe. But this is in the basement of the house and all my lifting devices are out in my detached garage shop. Will also need to hoist the motor back into place after some service. Come to think of it, I should probably just hire Two Men and a Truck to move the damn thing up the basement stairs and out to the shop where all my lifting devices are!
Another task I need to complete is getting my new 40gallon Puma air compressor off the piano dolly it's currently sitting on, deep in the "closet" formed under the staircase going to the 2nd floor of my shop. It's tight quarters in there, only 36in wide, with a sloped ceiling. It's too heavy to muscle it off the dolly myself (approx 300lbs) and two guys would be seriously space constrained in there. The closet is insulated and drywalled so no easy access to the stud walls. Will probably fabricate a temporary 2x6 gantry above it or something. Maybe wheel it out for more headroom, get it off the dolly, then walk it back into place.
1. Floor jack
2. Pallet jack
3. HF Gantry
4. Two SkyHook cranes, one mounted to a cart, the other mounts to a lathe tool post
5. Comealong
6. Small Block and tackle
7. Toe jack
8. HF hydraulic lift cart
9. The obligatory 2-ton engine hoist
10. New, but old-style bumper jack. They call them farmer's jacks nowadays.
11. HF motorcycle lift table
...and make use of them all depending on the application.
Ruined my lower back when I was in my 20's, when I was immortal and bullet proof. Have to be careful nowadays.
When the weather warms up, I'll likely be adding an I-beam, hoist and trolley combination above the staircase to the 2nd floor of my shop to aid in getting things "upstairs".
My next project could use one of those scissors style pallet jacks for getting an ancient repulsion/induction motor (approaching 100lbs) out from under the bed of an equally ancient (75 year old) Delta Rockwell wood lathe. But this is in the basement of the house and all my lifting devices are out in my detached garage shop. Will also need to hoist the motor back into place after some service. Come to think of it, I should probably just hire Two Men and a Truck to move the damn thing up the basement stairs and out to the shop where all my lifting devices are!
Another task I need to complete is getting my new 40gallon Puma air compressor off the piano dolly it's currently sitting on, deep in the "closet" formed under the staircase going to the 2nd floor of my shop. It's tight quarters in there, only 36in wide, with a sloped ceiling. It's too heavy to muscle it off the dolly myself (approx 300lbs) and two guys would be seriously space constrained in there. The closet is insulated and drywalled so no easy access to the stud walls. Will probably fabricate a temporary 2x6 gantry above it or something. Maybe wheel it out for more headroom, get it off the dolly, then walk it back into place.
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A short parallel story-
My mom was kind of pissed when my dad bought himself a forklift for his shop at home after he retired. I was maybe 30 or so, still single, live about 30min away, and hadn't built my shop yet so I would be over there to use his shop for things or help him out. I pointed out to my mom that he was 60+ and probably shouldn't be lifting moving things like he always had. In the ~15-20 years since it has probably been the best thing he has done to prevent injury since there is no convincing him that he can't do what he used to do when he was even well into his 50's.
In my shop I have 2 prime lifting tools-
Forklift
Jib Crane
I had the Jib long before a forklift, it was great to get things in and out of the truck but location didn't reach to put things up on a workbench. It also had an air hoist that sucked so much air that even my 80gallon tank meant I got about one up down cycle before I had to wait for air to catch up. I recently pulled the air hoist off and just went back to an old school chainfall that I got when we cleaned out my grandpa's shop. I have found myself using it much more since I don't have to even turn on the air and I think ultimately have better precision with it than I had with the Air Hoist. When I built I was a huge proponent of Air. Battery tools have gotten so good since then I have grown to hate air more than corded tools and unless I am spraying or finish sanding something I don't even like turning it on.
Forklift is way better as far as versatility but it also is a bit harder to do rigging to flip something over while working alone.... especially something big and heavy and CG change tips the forklift (highly not recommended - would not do again) Probably the biggest benefit is putting/getting things from up on the Mezz and being able to have a wall of pallet racking to store stuff, but I have used the forks as a workbench more than a few times as well.
My mom was kind of pissed when my dad bought himself a forklift for his shop at home after he retired. I was maybe 30 or so, still single, live about 30min away, and hadn't built my shop yet so I would be over there to use his shop for things or help him out. I pointed out to my mom that he was 60+ and probably shouldn't be lifting moving things like he always had. In the ~15-20 years since it has probably been the best thing he has done to prevent injury since there is no convincing him that he can't do what he used to do when he was even well into his 50's.
In my shop I have 2 prime lifting tools-
Forklift
Jib Crane
I had the Jib long before a forklift, it was great to get things in and out of the truck but location didn't reach to put things up on a workbench. It also had an air hoist that sucked so much air that even my 80gallon tank meant I got about one up down cycle before I had to wait for air to catch up. I recently pulled the air hoist off and just went back to an old school chainfall that I got when we cleaned out my grandpa's shop. I have found myself using it much more since I don't have to even turn on the air and I think ultimately have better precision with it than I had with the Air Hoist. When I built I was a huge proponent of Air. Battery tools have gotten so good since then I have grown to hate air more than corded tools and unless I am spraying or finish sanding something I don't even like turning it on.
Forklift is way better as far as versatility but it also is a bit harder to do rigging to flip something over while working alone.... especially something big and heavy and CG change tips the forklift (highly not recommended - would not do again) Probably the biggest benefit is putting/getting things from up on the Mezz and being able to have a wall of pallet racking to store stuff, but I have used the forks as a workbench more than a few times as well.
David99
Well-known member
or we're getting smarter/more cautious.
CN Spots
Well-known member
Yeah but you have to have a class 2 rating.
You say the word and ill have them build you one
Lets see who gets that...
paulsomlo
Well-known member
I just went through this with an arbor press that I built a stand for. I stripped it down to just the frame, dragged it across the shop floor, thought about using a floor jack to raise it part way. In the end, I just picked it up and manhandled it, summoning all the strength my 142 pound frame could muster. Yes, it would be nice to have some lifting assistance every now and then.
Pull the plug in the end of the tank and light it?
i did that before fixing the weld leak
I have become so spoiled working in bigger shops with overhead cranes I have to build small ones in my home shop and storage shelters. You can lift a few hundred pounds over a 14' span with S6 (12.5) runways and bridge. I make flanged wheels to run on the inside of the I beam, top ties to keep the runways dead parallel are angle or channel, keep the bridge just a half inch below the top of the runways, make a trolley using a little RV winch on one side and a battery on the other both riding beside the bridge with a 2 part rig to a single pulley block with hook below. That means it is only about 14" from roof to hook. Of course, runways stand on columns (I use 4 x 4 x 3/16". For bigger lifts and/or span I use S8 18.4 beams running on same S6 12.5 runways and in one I have runways incorporated with truss beneath (for 25 foot spans). Have 3 DIY now but will be using factory built brand name stuff for new shop (already have 2 x 5 ton trolleys on 2 x 47' bridges)
Forklifts and engine lifts are great if you have the room and gantries also take up a lot of floor space. Going overhead uses space that is usually gone to waste and allows you to reach almost 100% of the floor.
Forklifts and engine lifts are great if you have the room and gantries also take up a lot of floor space. Going overhead uses space that is usually gone to waste and allows you to reach almost 100% of the floor.
GilbertoS374
Member
- Joined
- Jan 25, 2022
- Messages
- 10
I usually use moving straps that can be adjusted for various lengths of objects as well as movers of various sizes.
tool_scrounge
Well-known member
There are two general types of scissor type skid lifts. Those that lock in place on the ground like the Interthor Thorklift. Then there are ones like the Bishamon which can be moved around in the elevated position. I have used both. The Thorklift is great for unloading a pickup since it locks in place. The Bishamon is great for maneuvering something that needs to be assembled. The Bishamon has a floor lock, but I found it not nearly as effective as the self locking mechanism of the Thorklift. Both have their place. Neither has much ground clearance though.
Sweetcorn
Well-known member
I sure do, but I imagine that's partly because I don't call them up and ask them to come over and lift heavy things.
laser3kw
Well-known member
AH! I forgot my pallet jack. I also put my cabinets, work benches, and such on risers so I can move them with the pallet jack at any time.
What's a toe jack? picture?
see vvvvvvv
True.
Also, you can only ask friends so many times before they say "no" continually. Then, when you need them most.......
Jagmandave
Well-known member
Most of my friends still have jobs......they're a lot younger than me, but they're willing to help when they can. I'm not adverse to asking the 30 something next door neighbor to come help me pick something up on occasion.
I also have the smaller HF engine hoist that folds up - it's only the work of a few minutes to fold/unfold it to use and it doesn't take up much space when stored BUT, with the legs extended it does require some room to maneuver it around.
The hydraulic table works for me - did the OP ever reply?
I also have the smaller HF engine hoist that folds up - it's only the work of a few minutes to fold/unfold it to use and it doesn't take up much space when stored BUT, with the legs extended it does require some room to maneuver it around.
The hydraulic table works for me - did the OP ever reply?
RoninB4
Well-known member
I too made a wooden gantry on casters when I had to move my machine shop. Used 4x4 verticals, doubled 2x6 horizontals, and doubled 2x4's for all else. Plate steel on top with a chain fall. Lifted a Bridgeport, Weiler lathe, cutter grinder, and 850 lb. granite surface plate. Cost $150-$200 for materials. Still use it now and then and am wanting to design/fab a carrier for front hubs on a 4x4 Kubota tractor. Seems like some sort of holder/fixture for assembly that adjusts for height/angle that's on casters would help Olde Pharts that still do mechanical repairs (like me...) would be most beneficial to my diminishing physical abilities.
PelicanPines
ALLIANCE MEMBER
I use my wife... she's German
Forgottonia
Well-known member
I usually tack a couple of 2x6s together into a ramp, and wrestle whatever I'm lifting up the ramp into my pickup, or bench, or deck, etc.
Then again, I throw my back out every year or so too. So there's that.
Then again, I throw my back out every year or so too. So there's that.