I agree on that one. John Formsma has seen what I generously call my
shop. Some places have bigger freezers. The problem with putting in an
overhead gantry is, besides ceiling height, cost. I bought a 1 ton Yale
hoist for $25, and a 2 ton Jet for $30 from garage sales about five
years apart. The 2 ton is overkill and geared way too low, but the price
was right. I bought two 10'-12' lengths of I beam and three trollies for
$40 total from a Craigslist listing about ten years ago and put the
whole mess together into what has been a system I wish I'd have had all
along. It would have cost me well over ten times that much new. A lot of
people are using engine hoists like Mark suggested and are quite happy
with them. I never have, so I can't say one way or the other about them.
I am sure impressed with being able to hoist a plate and trolly it over
to the other side of the shop though, without moving the piano.
You can also throw a 10' dead man across the ceiling joists and hang a
chain hoist from a loop of chain around that. With that setup, you move
the piano out from under, which is easier without a plate adding weight.
So that's the cheapest and quickest way to go. I did that for a while
after I bought my first hoist.
Lots of options. I do recommend shopping around for a chain hoist
though, while you're deciding between that and the hydraulic engine
hoist. Even for the same price, I'd way rather have a 75 year old
Wright, Yale, Jet, Budgit, Peerless, or lots of other possibilities,
over a new Chinese made hoist of 1/5 the weight and the same (overly
optimistic) load rating. The new lightly built cheap stuff scares me.
One ton is adequate even for a Baldwin SD-10 or Julius Bauer, and you
won't have to pull a mile of chain to lift your plate a foot like you
will with a 2 ton. That's the geared hoists with a loop chain and a
bigger lift chain. Some techs are using the old differential hoists to
good effect. They work great, and are as simple as hoists get, but there
is more chain to keep track of as you use them. Takes a bit more muscle
too. One ton rating here too.
I also have an old Yale 1 ton differential, so you're welcome to drop by
and lift my saw or something with each of the three hoists to see what
you think.
So whatever you decide, do some prospecting first and play what if to
try to narrow down what you'll live with most comfortably. And let us
know how it's going.
Ron N
Original Message------
But for about the same money, you do not have it taking up any floor space. Around here, that's at a premium.
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Regards,
Jon Page
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