Home built garage crane

[wildchev67]

Just finished building/fabricating my shop crane, figured I would share some pics.

Made out of 6w-20 I-beams, the moveable beam rides on pallet jack rollers and has a 1000 pound chain hoist.

My primary reason for building the crane was due to frustrations working around a cherry picker lift when pulling engines.

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[sparky7]

nice setup

 

[Tribalvision]

looks really well made and it's a good design.. I love the 67. It brings back many memories of my 67 Big Block days. the engine doesnt look too old, why are you pulling it or are you putting it in??

 

[wildchev67]

pulled that motor because it made some bad noises. found parts of #7 piston in the oil pan. the chevelle now has a stock 77 truck 454.

 

[metaleltr]

What is the span of the main and side beams? Did you do any calculations on the max capacity of these beams/span?

 

[akdiesel]

That's a great build. Nice work.

 

[wildchev67]

length between supports is 15' bridge beam is 11'

 

[metaleltr]

Any idea the max capacity of these beams in these spans?

 

[wildchev67]

I am confident that they will support more than the 1000 pound chain hoist can lift, but if someone can provide a real number, that would be great.

 

[Steevo]

I like it. Nice design.

 

[AZ Pete]

well done!

 

[KPSquared]

Really love that! I've been trying to figure out how to put one in my shop and still have room for my hoist.

 

[sublimate]

I am confident that they will support more than the 1000 pound chain hoist can lift, but if someone can provide a real number, that would be great.

According to the CMAA table, a W6x12 beam is fine for 1000lbs @ 14', but a W8x15 is required for a span of 16'.
I'm sure your W6x20 is fine for 1000lbs @ 15'.

Of course my advice is worth what you paid for it.

How easy does it roll when loaded?

 

[langss]

Nice Chevelle. I have a 66

 

[superdutymike27]

nice setup

X 2

Great job!

My father restores old wooden boats. This would work great.

 

[Torque1st]

Very nice work indeed.

 

[Krokodil]

Great job!

 

[Hephaestus29]

Sweet. My next garage will have one!

 

[luvit]

that's awesome!
does it glide well under load?

.

 

[5lima30]

Very well done!

 

[bad_idea]

Pallet jack wheels. Interesting. I am also curious how well that rolls under load. It looks good. I have an I beam spanning the width of my garage about 8' from the back wall, it is very convenient for unloading the truck. Would love to have the bridge crane, very convenient. Ball park on total investment?

 

[wildchev67]

The crane rolls smoothly, with an all cast iron 454 and th400 bolted to it, I could still move it around with one hand.
Total investment for everything was around $1500. I found all the steel on craigslist, hoist from ebay and harbor freight 2-ton trolley. I found the pallet jack rollers on http://www.fastliftparts.com, think they were $18 each and the smaller conveyor belt ball bearing rollers on ebay for $3.99 each. The only other expense that comes to mind is the bolts for the pallet jack rollers, 24mm high strength bolts.

 

[AndyL]

My main question is... how are you supporting those beams? Love the idea, and been pondering similar, but I can't see a way to structure it properly...

 

[bazzateer]

That's a great bit of kit.

 

[Toomanytools?]

My main question is... how are you supporting those beams? Love the idea, and been pondering similar, but I can't see a way to structure it properly...

One photo has a metal Lally Colum (Post).
Great idea tucked up out of the way too so not much headroom lost.

 

[lilscorpion]

Very clean build, great work! Using those casters is a very interesting idea. I've been considering a bridge crane for some time now but never thought about doing it like that. Seems like the only issue with casters like that is that the surface of the beam needs to be semi-clean in order for it to roll easily. I extra dusty shops (like shops that also deal in wood), the fallout would build up and begin to inhibit motion. One quick blow with compressed air would easily resolve that. Hmmm..

 

[henrysgarage]

Thanks wild, will copy the design for my buddy's garage. Nice Chevelle for sure. I ran a 67 Chevelle wagon with 327 in NHAR stock, I/SA.

 

[eelevy]

very nice job!!!

what did you use for the brownish horizontal roller in the 1st photo?

thanks.

 

[Stuart in MN]

very nice job!!!

what did you use for the brownish horizontal roller in the 1st photo?

thanks.

He provided a link in his responses:

The crane rolls smoothly, with an all cast iron 454 and th400 bolted to it, I could still move it around with one hand.
Total investment for everything was around $1500. I found all the steel on craigslist, hoist from ebay and harbor freight 2-ton trolley. I found the pallet jack rollers on http://www.fastliftparts.com, think they were $18 each and the smaller conveyor belt ball bearing rollers on ebay for $3.99 each. The only other expense that comes to mind is the bolts for the pallet jack rollers, 24mm high strength bolts.

 

[Shootinok]

Wow
Really nice job !

 

[eelevy]

thanks!!!

 

[MOTORHEAD383]

very nice setup!!!

i need this for engine swaps!!!!

nice chevelle, are those firebird gta wheels? looks good.

 

[padroo]

What is the rating of the trolley your hoist is mounted to?

When I worked as a millwright we used a lot of small beam mounted cranes . One crew lifted a three ton motor with a ton and a half trolley and the motor fell when the trolley let go.

 

[Pathfinders]

Looks great. I have no need for one, but I want one.

 

[tdcisco1]

Very clean build, great work! Using those casters is a very interesting idea. I've been considering a bridge crane for some time now but never thought about doing it like that. Seems like the only issue with casters like that is that the surface of the beam needs to be semi-clean in order for it to roll easily. I extra dusty shops (like shops that also deal in wood), the fallout would build up and begin to inhibit motion. One quick blow with compressed air would easily resolve that. Hmmm..

perhaps a rubber strip placed ahead of the rollers to sweep the rails would do the trick for you ? I fabbed up a similar setup at my former work place.

 

[DCarr2]

that set up is bad ***

 

[oldmxracer]

Damn nice ! Well done !

 

[ChevyEFI]

I now have two threads save with trolley build info,

 

[Badasssapper67]

If you still have pictures of the trolly build can you post them? the one with the pallet jack wheels is what Im talking about.
I'd love to see some layouts if you have them

 

[rburke65]

That's a really nice job the wildchev67. Nicely thought out.