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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Nov 2017
    Location
    Geelong, Australia
    Age
    57
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    2,651

    Default Adjustable height gantry

    I don't think I've posted this previously, but apologies if I have.
    A couple of years back I built a gantry for the shed. I wanted as much height as I could get - shed wall height is 3.6m and in the center close to 4m. It's easy to lose 500mm once you combine a girder trolley, chain block and chains etc and the deck on my ute is over 1m high so you quickly run out of height.

    I still wanted to be able to get it outside through the door - approx 3.1m high.
    The only practical solution was a gantry that could be raised and lowered.

    The gantry is a common I-beam design with a supporting structure at either end. I made mine from SHS, and the upper section slides inside the lower to allow it to extend.

    I looked at a lot of different designs for getting it raised and lowered. Some with cable winches, some with hydraulic jacks - but in the end decided on a simple lever system.





    The lifting handle pivots on a couple of small brackets, and to raise you remove the top pin, put the hooks of the lever arm under the bottom pin and pull down on the lever.
    Once the next pin hole comes into the slot you poke the free pin into it and leer slightly until it takes the weight fully.
    Rinse and repeat alternating to each side of the gantry to keep it even.

    To lower, put the lifting hooks under the top pin and pull down slightly to take the weight.
    Remove the bottom pin, ease up on the lever and let the gantry lower until the pin hits the bottom of the slot and takes the weight.

    Today I had to lift my ancient Thiel bandsaw off the ute. Shed is full with other projects so I lowered the gantry, moved it outside the raised it again as I needed the height.
    Got the bandsaw off the ute, lowered onto the gravel drive and then moved one end of the gantry back up onto the concrete floor of the shed.



    Lifted the bandsaw up again and gently rolled it along the gantry beam into the shed. Easy to move with the pallet trolley now!!

    Steve

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    Melbourne
    Age
    54
    Posts
    825

    Default

    Great design Steve.
    I'd love to see some photos of your Thiel bandsaw if you get a chance.
    Cheers,
    Greg.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Sep 2012
    Location
    York, North Yorkshire UK
    Posts
    6,438

    Default

    Real ingenuity Steve ! I like that. No risk of it slipping down on its own either as you put the weight on to it.
    Best Regards:
    Baron J.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Nov 2017
    Location
    Geelong, Australia
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    57
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    Default

    Thanks guys. I can't claim the idea as my own - it came off the internet somewhere.

    Greg - I think I posted a couple of photos when I first bought it last year. It's been sitting in the workshop at work since then gathering (more) dust and has just made the trip home.
    Will definitely post more.
    It's a Thiel 17

    Steve

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    Melbourne
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    54
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    825

    Default

    Thanks Steve, looking forward to some more photos of the restoration.
    Give me a yell if you decide to convert the motor to delta and need a hand, it would be a shame to swap out the original if it's a goer.
    Cheers,
    Greg.

  6. #6
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    Nov 2017
    Location
    Geelong, Australia
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    Default

    Thanks Greg - I appreciate the offer.

    I agree, and these old machines with their rounded lines and huge motor frames have a certain charm that is missing on modern ones.
    In saying that, they are also at least twice as big and heavy for the same function. Good for longevity but not so good for handling and housing them.

    Steve

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Nov 2018
    Location
    Tasmania
    Posts
    97

    Default

    Cool idea
    I have been considering making one with hand operated hydraulics to raise and lower, but this is so simple and would be faster

  8. #8
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    Nov 2017
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    Geelong, Australia
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    If you are looking at making one and want dimensions etc as a starting point let me know.

    I only made one lifting handle. I'm typically by myself in the workshop and you can only use one at a time!
    The handle is OK for me but at times it's borderline for having enough leverage. I'm about 95kg so if you're a lightweight maybe make the handle longer.

    Other than that I'm really happy with how it functions. A geared trolley that you can lock in position or crank along the beam would be nice, and I'm planning on getting one of those cheap electric wire rope hoists. Mate of mine has one and hardly ever uses his chain block now - only for heavy stuff above the 500kg or whatever the electric hoist is.

    Steve

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Apr 2019
    Location
    Adelaide
    Posts
    589

    Default

    Steve,

    I am shortly going to be making a similar gantry crane. I want mine to be able to park straddeling one of my machines so that it takes up little additional room. I have a motor and pump from a 2-post car hoist spare so I thought my lifting mechanism might be hydraulic.

    How did you go about determining the size I beam to use in order to get the required lifting capacity?

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Nov 2017
    Location
    Geelong, Australia
    Age
    57
    Posts
    2,651

    Default Adjustable height gantry

    There are heaps of online beam deflection calculators, and somewhere I found a figure for a recommended max deflection. It was a percentage of span from memory.

    My beam actually came from the scrap at work so it was more a case of confirming it was ok to use than the design driving the beam selection.

    Edit: you’re thinking about hydraulics for the actual lifting or just the height adjustment?

    Steve

  11. #11
    Join Date
    May 2011
    Location
    Murray Bridge S Aust.
    Age
    71
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    5,942

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Mk1_Oz View Post
    How did you go about determining the size I beam to use in order to get the required lifting capacity?
    At the bottom of the Forum opening page is a sub heading OTHER STUFF, in there is CONVERSIONS & CALCULATIONS which is where you'll find;
    https://metalworkforums.com/f218/t20...ess-calculator

    Should you use this information, you do so at your own risk, it is in there as a guide.

    You'll also find a whole heap of interesting subjects, such as drill diameters for threading etc.
    Kryn
    To grow old is mandatory, growing up is optional.

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Apr 2019
    Location
    Adelaide
    Posts
    589

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by OxxAndBert View Post
    Edit: you’re thinking about hydraulics for the actual lifting or just the height adjustment?
    Possibly. I have the pump/motor/tank assembly so all I would need is a pair a cylinders with a suitable stroke. Ultimately I would use pins to lock the height rather than have all the weight on the hydraulics. It's just a thought at this stage.

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Nov 2017
    Location
    Geelong, Australia
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    Default

    Personally I wouldn’t use hydraulics. Problems I can see are increased complexity including balance/interconnect.
    The adjustment method on mine is so simple and easy to use.
    Definitely use one of the cheap electric hoists if what you are lifting is within their capacity. I think mine will end up with one soon - chain blocks are so slow!!

    For me if I had a spare power pack I’d be building a decent hydraulic press. Pumping the usual press jacks by hand gets old really quick

    Steve

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Aug 2011
    Location
    Perth, Western Australia
    Age
    67
    Posts
    362

    Default

    As I am a lazy basted hate pumping levers up and down I have built or converted several things to run either pneumatic or electrical over hydraulics.
    Engine crane, sheet metal rollers, press and body roller. Sheet metal press is pneumatic.

    With a gantry it depends on whether its going to be load lifting or height adjusting with a separate method of lifting the load. The easier you want the system to operate the more complex it becomes.

    Tony

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Apr 2019
    Location
    Adelaide
    Posts
    589

    Default

    If I used hydraulics on the gantry it would only be for height adjustment without a load. The load would be lifted by a chain hoist.

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