Thread: Getting heavy stuff off the ground - best option?

I need to be able to lift some heavy things off the ground or a pallet and onto stands.

The first job will be moving a surface plate - 900x600x200mm, weighing in at ~297kg. In future I'm expecting to need to lift a mill column weighing 250-500kg onto a base.

I currently don't have any lifting equipment. I got my ~200kg Hercus CNC lathe up on a stand by the old fashioned method of jacking one end a little and chocking, then the other. It worked but it was very borderline on safety.

I'm looking for experience and opinions on the options. My shed is a 2 car garage so space is limited and this is an important consideration. A useful square metre is worth a lot more than a few hundred dollars.

Engine Hoist
Pros

• easy to get
• fairly cheap - $200-300

Cons

• Space occupier when not in use - around 1x1m lost area I think. That's important in my limited space.
• Only useful for lifting

Gantry Crane
Pros

• Potential to DIY and size optimally for my space. My thinking would be to make it variable height to slip under the single car garage door, and a little wider so it sat as a portal near the door when not in use.
• Potentially more versatile than engine hoist

Cons

• Not cheap if buying
• Can consume a fair bit of space
• May be a good option for lifting, but less optimal for moving things

Scissor Lift Table
e.g. https://www.jialift.com.au/350kg-dou...-table-lifter/ or https://www.jialift.com.au/700kg-dou...-table-lifter/
Pros

• Useful as a variable height surface / workbench

Cons

• Have to slide things on and off
• Lowest height will require getting things off floor up to an intermediate height anyway: Table height range: 355mm – 1300mm

Manual Forklift
E.g. https://www.jialift.com.au/500kg-manual-stacker/ or https://www.jialift.com.au/manual-stacker/
Pros

• Low minimum height ~80kg
• Designed for moving and lifting
• Could put a table surface on forks to use as variable height work surface
• Not too bad on space consumption when not in use - could stack things on it etc.

Cons

• Cost

Would it be reasonable to sling something below the forks to stand it up? E.g. lifting a column from flat to standing on a base.

Thoughts appreciated

Originally Posted by pippin88

I need to be able to lift some heavy things off the ground or a pallet and onto stands.

The first job will be moving a surface plate - 900x600x200mm, weighing in at ~297kg. In future I'm expecting to need to lift a mill column weighing 250-500kg onto a base.

I currently don't have any lifting equipment. I got my ~200kg Hercus CNC lathe up on a stand by the old fashioned method of jacking one end a little and chocking, then the other. It worked but it was very borderline on safety.

I'm looking for experience and opinions on the options. My shed is a 2 car garage so space is limited and this is an important consideration. A useful square metre is worth a lot more than a few hundred dollars.

Engine Hoist
Pros

• easy to get
• fairly cheap - $200-300

Cons

• Space occupier when not in use - around 1x1m lost area I think. That's important in my limited space.
• Only useful for lifting

Gantry Crane
Pros

• Potential to DIY and size optimally for my space. My thinking would be to make it variable height to slip under the single car garage door, and a little wider so it sat as a portal near the door when not in use.
• Potentially more versatile than engine hoist

Cons

• Not cheap if buying
• Can consume a fair bit of space
• May be a good option for lifting, but less optimal for moving things

Scissor Lift Table
e.g. https://www.jialift.com.au/350kg-dou...-table-lifter/ or https://www.jialift.com.au/700kg-dou...-table-lifter/
Pros

• Useful as a variable height surface / workbench

Cons

• Have to slide things on and off
• Lowest height will require getting things off floor up to an intermediate height anyway: Table height range: 355mm – 1300mm

Manual Forklift
E.g. https://www.jialift.com.au/500kg-manual-stacker/ or https://www.jialift.com.au/manual-stacker/
Pros

• Low minimum height ~80kg
• Designed for moving and lifting
• Could put a table surface on forks to use as variable height work surface
• Not too bad on space consumption when not in use - could stack things on it etc.

Cons

• Cost

Would it be reasonable to sling something below the forks to stand it up? E.g. lifting a column from flat to standing on a base.

Thoughts appreciated

If you are only moving gear around a pallet jack may well suffice. If you need to lift to a height, such as with the mill column, an engine hoist may be enough, but remember that the rating at full extension of the boom is nowhere near that when it is fully retracted. Look carefully at the maximum height it can reach to see if it suits your requirements. Everything else is starting to become much more expensive unless you fabricate a crane yourself.

Regards
Paul

Do you have any hire shops near by,
They may have lifting gear, especially if you only need it a once or twice a year.

Cheers Matt.

I'd go a true 2 ton engine crane with fold up legs like mine. It's made of 4mm square tube, 2 ton close in, and 500kg at full extension.
It would fit in a space of 800x600 when folded, or take it apart and store it under benches etc.

I have a 500 kg electric hoist attached to a roof truss that I have used quite a bit but not much now.
A forklift, hardly ever used and in the way most of the time but when needed it justifies its use of floor space.
A scissor lift, this was used daily but now it is just another flat surface to pile cr@p on.
An engine crane, this is the most used lifting device i have and it gets used ALLL the time

How does stuff arrive at your place in the first instance.
If its on a trailer, then you need to consider whether the lifting gear can get to the center of the trailer or if you need to get the load to the side/back where you can get it from.
If its on a ute then you need to consider height. The tray on my ute is about 1m high, so an engine crane struggles unless its a very low/flat load.

I've got a few bits of lifting/moving gear, a pallet jack, a gantry and engine crane.

The variable height gantry that extends up to 3.6m off the ground, but drops down to around 2.4m. From memory I made it 2.5m span between the uprights so it would go outside a tandem car trailer. Probably cost me $800 to build, plus chain block etc. It was designed to lift 3T at a push so much more than you are talking about needing.
Its awesome - if you build one definitely make it variable height as you quickly run out of height by the time you add a carriage, chain block and shackle etc. It also means you can move it outside use the extra reach to get a load off a trailer etc, then re-rig to get it into the workshop.
I posted a thread a while ago on mine - variable height mechanism is dead simple and works well. No faffing with jacks or winches etc.
Potentially for the sort of weight you are looking at lifting, you could build/buy one that disassembles for storage/transport.

Pallet jack is great for moving heavy stuff around once on the ground. I've got a full length one, but really only need a short one. They park under a pallet when not in use so don't consume much space. No good for lifting to height though.

Engine crane - I hardly use it since building the gantry, but prior to that it was my only lifting device and did a lot of stuff. As DaveJ recommended get a 2T one. Mine is only a 1T version. Be aware that the load gets closer to the upright as you raise it - it doesn't raise vertically - so if lifting near full height you need to start with as much reach as possible as you end up with much less as you go up.

The hydraulic scissor trolleys are awesome for getting something up onto the bench, as long as you can somehow man-handle it onto the trolley one end at a time for a start. Guys at the service joint unloaded a 100kg generator off the back of my ute with one - it was sketchy though and I was glad I only had to wheel it on from the deck - their issue from there. I'd be really nervous with a couple of hundred kg on one at height. I'd love to have one in the workshop, but definitely not on my list of useful "lifting" gear.

Do you own the place you are in, what is the construction of the garage and how high is the ceiling?
Couple of other devices/methods to consider are putting a fixed beam in the ceiling, or installing a swing gantry (which would only consume its post footprint and a bit of wall space when swung away).

If you only need a few hundred kilos the cheap electric cable hoists are brilliant. Think they will do up to about 800kg with a double pull.

Steve

Engine crane every time for me, especially once I removed the ridiculous angled feet and swivel castors. I can now reach the middle of a box trailer from the side or rear which wasn't possible before. SAM_2190.jpg

Originally Posted by Bushmiller

If you are only moving gear around a pallet jack may well suffice. If you need to lift to a height, such as with the mill column, an engine hoist may be enough, but remember that the rating at full extension of the boom is nowhere near that when it is fully retracted. Look carefully at the maximum height it can reach to see if it suits your requirements. Everything else is starting to become much more expensive unless you fabricate a crane yourself.

Regards
Paul

I thought about a pallet jack, but lifting to height is important.

Originally Posted by Simplicity

Do you have any hire shops near by,
They may have lifting gear, especially if you only need it a once or twice a year.

Cheers Matt.

It's a good thought, however looking at prices - it costs about 1/8th to 1/5th of purchase price to hire most things. Then I have to get it to my place (I don't have a ute, truck or trailer). Worth it to me to buy the gear and not deal with the hassle each time.

Originally Posted by Dave J

I'd go a true 2 ton engine crane with fold up legs like mine. It's made of 4mm square tube, 2 ton close in, and 500kg at full extension.
It would fit in a space of 800x600 when folded, or take it apart and store it under benches etc.

That's smaller folded up than I thought they were. If anyone can recommend a specific model that is of the higher quality (I hear a lot are optimistically rated).

Originally Posted by shedhappens

I have a 500 kg electric hoist attached to a roof truss that I have used quite a bit but not much now.
A forklift, hardly ever used and in the way most of the time but when needed it justifies its use of floor space.
A scissor lift, this was used daily but now it is just another flat surface to pile cr@p on.
An engine crane, this is the most used lifting device i have and it gets used ALLL the time

Thanks.

Originally Posted by OxxAndBert

How does stuff arrive at your place in the first instance.
If its on a trailer, then you need to consider whether the lifting gear can get to the center of the trailer or if you need to get the load to the side/back where you can get it from.
If its on a ute then you need to consider height. The tray on my ute is about 1m high, so an engine crane struggles unless its a very low/flat load.

I've got a few bits of lifting/moving gear, a pallet jack, a gantry and engine crane.

The variable height gantry that extends up to 3.6m off the ground, but drops down to around 2.4m. From memory I made it 2.5m span between the uprights so it would go outside a tandem car trailer. Probably cost me $800 to build, plus chain block etc. It was designed to lift 3T at a push so much more than you are talking about needing.
Its awesome - if you build one definitely make it variable height as you quickly run out of height by the time you add a carriage, chain block and shackle etc. It also means you can move it outside use the extra reach to get a load off a trailer etc, then re-rig to get it into the workshop.
I posted a thread a while ago on mine - variable height mechanism is dead simple and works well. No faffing with jacks or winches etc.
Potentially for the sort of weight you are looking at lifting, you could build/buy one that disassembles for storage/transport.

Pallet jack is great for moving heavy stuff around once on the ground. I've got a full length one, but really only need a short one. They park under a pallet when not in use so don't consume much space. No good for lifting to height though.

Engine crane - I hardly use it since building the gantry, but prior to that it was my only lifting device and did a lot of stuff. As DaveJ recommended get a 2T one. Mine is only a 1T version. Be aware that the load gets closer to the upright as you raise it - it doesn't raise vertically - so if lifting near full height you need to start with as much reach as possible as you end up with much less as you go up.

The hydraulic scissor trolleys are awesome for getting something up onto the bench, as long as you can somehow man-handle it onto the trolley one end at a time for a start. Guys at the service joint unloaded a 100kg generator off the back of my ute with one - it was sketchy though and I was glad I only had to wheel it on from the deck - their issue from there. I'd be really nervous with a couple of hundred kg on one at height. I'd love to have one in the workshop, but definitely not on my list of useful "lifting" gear.

Do you own the place you are in, what is the construction of the garage and how high is the ceiling?
Couple of other devices/methods to consider are putting a fixed beam in the ceiling, or installing a swing gantry (which would only consume its post footprint and a bit of wall space when swung away).

If you only need a few hundred kilos the cheap electric cable hoists are brilliant. Think they will do up to about 800kg with a double pull.

Steve

How it gets to me is certainly a consideration. The answer is it will vary. I have a very narrow driveway, so any truck over about 3 ton has to dump things in the street really.

For a gantry crane, I would be happy for about 1T real capacity.
I think I read your gantry thread but can't find it now - can you point me in the direction?

My shed is of the folded metal engineered for minimum material cost sort. There is one big beam of sorts down the middle, but I'm not that keen on using it for lifting much weight. I suppose I can measure the beam and work out the safe load rating. The 'beam' is actually two folded C channels back to back. It is bolted to the uprights with brackets). There is a room above the shed.

Here's my gantry: https://metalworkforums.com/f303/t20...-height-gantry

With your existing "beam", there's always the option to build some removable struts to support an area while you lift from it. Potentially combined with some localised reinforcing - particularly if the C sections are back to back and therefore prone to the open sides collapsing under load.
I'm expect you'd probably be OK as-is for 150kg or so, and if the beam covers a useful area then one of the electric cable hoists on a simple fabricated carriage could be very useful. Use it as-is for lighter things, fit the struts if you need to lift something heavier. Store the struts in the rafters, stood up in the corner, or on a rack and the space consumption would be negligible.

A pallet jack makes a great companion for a fixed lifting location if you did end up going that way.
I also find the jack awesome for keeping heavy stuff semi-mobile. My power hacksaw is causing me a bit of head scratching at present. its at least a couple of hundred kilos but is long enough and high enough with the arm up that its a PITA to find a place for. It also really needs to be in a position where I can feed it a longer length. Its looking like it will end up on a slightly raised base to be able to get the pallet jack under, then stored under a bench and pulled out when in use.

Not disagreeing with those who swear by their engine cranes, just throwing ideas as there's no "one size fits all" solution.

Steve

Another possibility is something similar to what I have done:
I have attached 2 heavy duty rails/beams high up on the posts that support my storage floor. Along both long sides of my shop.
I have made a heavy beam with rollers on the ends that roll on the two fixed beams. And a roller on the moving beam where a chain hoist is attached. In this way I can lift up to 1000 kg almost everywhere in my shop. Combined with a pallet trolley this covers every lifting need I have had. I unload by backing a little in to the shop and lifting the load, then driving from underneath it.
No floor space needed.
The downside is you can't hang anything from the ceiling without it interfering with your "crane"
Of course this construction is not always possible or feasible depending on shed construction and height.

Peter

I have US made hydraulic tables picked up from the Boeing auction, these lift heaps high and have wheel locks. Also an I beam with runners, an old Abbey floor crane and a crown lifter. I squashed a few vertebrae years ago so now lift nothing manually.
I obviously have more room than you but I use acro props under the Oregon beams that support my I beam for very heavy lifts.
I’ve also used these to support beams in workshop doorways to load on and off my ute.
H.

Originally Posted by OxxAndBert

Here's my gantry: https://metalworkforums.com/f303/t20...-height-gantry

With your existing "beam", there's always the option to build some removable struts to support an area while you lift from it. Potentially combined with some localised reinforcing - particularly if the C sections are back to back and therefore prone to the open sides collapsing under load.
I'm expect you'd probably be OK as-is for 150kg or so, and if the beam covers a useful area then one of the electric cable hoists on a simple fabricated carriage could be very useful. Use it as-is for lighter things, fit the struts if you need to lift something heavier. Store the struts in the rafters, stood up in the corner, or on a rack and the space consumption would be negligible.

A pallet jack makes a great companion for a fixed lifting location if you did end up going that way.
I also find the jack awesome for keeping heavy stuff semi-mobile. My power hacksaw is causing me a bit of head scratching at present. its at least a couple of hundred kilos but is long enough and high enough with the arm up that its a PITA to find a place for. It also really needs to be in a position where I can feed it a longer length. Its looking like it will end up on a slightly raised base to be able to get the pallet jack under, then stored under a bench and pulled out when in use.

Not disagreeing with those who swear by their engine cranes, just throwing ideas as there's no "one size fits all" solution.

Steve

Thanks.

The idea of removable struts to put under the beam either side of the lifting area is great. Change an 6.5m long unsupported length to 1m for example.

The beam is two lipped C channels back to back. They are not bonded together except at the ends. Each channel measures ~205mm high, ~76mm deep, with 2.6mm steel thickness.

With a 10 kilonewton point load (1020kg) in the middle of a 2 metre span of a single C channel of this type, deflection is 1.36mm.

If I lifted in the middle of the full 6.5m span, with no added supports, deflection would be 46.6mm...

From floor to bottom of the beam is 2.1m.

Originally Posted by WoodBee2

Another possibility is something similar to what I have done:
I have attached 2 heavy duty rails/beams high up on the posts that support my storage floor. Along both long sides of my shop.
I have made a heavy beam with rollers on the ends that roll on the two fixed beams. And a roller on the moving beam where a chain hoist is attached. In this way I can lift up to 1000 kg almost everywhere in my shop. Combined with a pallet trolley this covers every lifting need I have had. I unload by backing a little in to the shop and lifting the load, then driving from underneath it.
No floor space needed.
The downside is you can't hang anything from the ceiling without it interfering with your "crane"
Of course this construction is not always possible or feasible depending on shed construction and height.

Peter

Unfortunately the construction is not robust enough to support this type of crane.

Originally Posted by clear out

I have US made hydraulic tables picked up from the Boeing auction, these lift heaps high and have wheel locks. Also an I beam with runners, an old Abbey floor crane and a crown lifter. I squashed a few vertebrae years ago so now lift nothing manually.
I obviously have more room than you but I use acro props under the Oregon beams that support my I beam for very heavy lifts.
I’ve also used these to support beams in workshop doorways to load on and off my ute.
H.

Thanks for the reference to Acrow props. I couldn't find the right search term. I was using 'screw jacks' which seems a common term in the US but not used in Aus.