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What do you use for a hoist or boom?

J

Jonathan Spool

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Oct 8, 2008
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I plan to start turning really big pieces this winter. In order to save my back, I am thinking of installing a hoist above the lathe or perhaps a boom of some sort. Rather than re inventing the wheel, I would appreciate hearing from those of you who mount blanks in excess of 50 - 150 lbs, as to how you go about it. Gorillas need not apply! Thanks in advance.
Oh, I only have 7' or so ceilings in my shop.
Jonathan
 
A 7' ceiling is an extremely limiting condition. The design I first had in mind wouldn't work in that space. I'm left with the impression that an engine hoist or similar lift is about all the choice you have. But they're not expensive and most of the modern models fold up so you can store them against a wall.
 
I have a folding engine hoist (with a hydraulic boom), but it is usually too much trouble to clear a path to the lathe to be able to wheel it over to use it. That leaves me using the grunt and heave approach with you don't want to do.


One of the members of my club mounted an electric hoist on a garage door track he bolted to the studs above his lathe. The hoist slides over to the side out of the way after doing it's thing. This should work with the clearance you have. He never has to clear a path to use it which is great.

Ed
 
I have been using a come along to lift heavy blanks onto my big lathe. I ran a chain over a ceiling beam that was conveniently positioned directly over the lathe spindle line, and hooked the come along to that. I use the seat from my kids no longer used swing set as a strap to set the blank into. The chains attached to the seat fit onto the bottom hook on the come along and make it easy to fasten the blank for lifting. The set up works reasonably well, though it is a bit difficult to maneuver a heavy suspended blank over the lathe bed.

Jan
 
One of the best methods I've seen was at the Indy Fest. They had a wooden frame that rolled. One side was an A frame and the other was just a pole with a beam above connecting the two. They attached an electric winch to this. They could easily position this over the log, lift it and then roll it over the lathe and attach it. I hope that was clear enough. I don't have a photo.
 
I mounted a HF 440lb hoist on a 6' barn door track screwed to my overheads. Thus far it's put a 24" section of Sycamore right in line and my back didn't hurt one little bit! Hoist rolls back out of the way.
 

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As for the lump end, I've heard of folk using auto snow chains as well as climbing harnesses.

...

I have the same problem: the ceiling is not low but also not strong so a track up there might be asking for trouble.

A fold-up engine hoist sounds like a better option, but of course the floor would have to be swept before using it 🙁
 
Thanks for the input

Thanks for some great input. My ceiling height is going to prevent me from using anything that eats up much lifting space (like an electric hoist on a track). However, I could bount a pully above the lathe, and have a small winch locate behind the lathe. Another option is that I have a 6x6 wood support post adjacent to the left side of the lathe. Perhaps I can mount a boom similar to an engine hoist boom, without the legs, mounted on the post so it, and its support, can swivel. I had somethoing like this once upon a time in the bed of my pickup for loading heavy objects. Even when raised to full height I will probably only loose 6-8" in lift range from the ceiling. If I can swing it out of the way when its not in use it might do the trick.

If I build it I will post pictures. Right now, I just took delivery of my Stubby
S1000, and set it up. I may have to go to the emergency room to get this stupid grin surgically removed from my face!

Jonathan
 
I use a Harbor Freight hydraulic cart. It lowers to about 10 inches and can be raised to almost waist height. It solves two problem -- getting the wood into the shop and then getting it on the lathe whereas a hoist on the ceiling only solves half of the problem. A small ramp can be made to get the wood onto the cart. I used to lift stuff over 200 pounds even though I knew that I shouldn't. Back surgery a couple years ago has convinced me that is not the way to do things. Stupid is as stupid does.
 
Phase Two

With a basement shop, my biggest issue has always been getting stock to the lathe. SWMBO nixed the idea of cutting a tray door in the living room, so the hand truck and the football player next door get an occasional workout.
 
shop crane

Dear Jonathan:


My lathe can handle pieces up to 36" in diameter, I can't. So I purchased a 1 ton shop crane from Harbor Freight. It works wonderfully. I use a nylon racheting strap, roll it right up to the lathe and secure the log. The cost on sale was about $100.
 
I also bought the Harbor Freight hydraulic cart in the 1000 pound version.
Works great, I originally bought it to move my Powermatic 3520B around the shop, and it does a really good job of it.

I find it useful for alot of other lifting as well as logs.
 
john lucas said:
One of the best methods I've seen was at the Indy Fest. They had a wooden frame that rolled. One side was an A frame and the other was just a pole with a beam above connecting the two. They attached an electric winch to this. They could easily position this over the log, lift it and then roll it over the lathe and attach it. I hope that was clear enough. I don't have a photo.
Click to expand...

John, I designed and built the hoist you saw at Indy Fest. It will (if I ever take it home to my shop) swing the electric hoist mounted rail 360 degrees around the main support post and everything will clear the the overhead door tracks in my shop which are 7'4" from the floor. The post which is the pivot support bolts to the leg of the lathe behind the headstock. I added a pully to the lifting cable to make it a three strand support instead of a double strand. This desensitizes the unit and allows the operator to bump the up and down buttons to adjust the height by a very tiny amount if necesssary. There is a 4" diameter lazy susan bearing on the top of the support post so the 8' long track which the hoist travels along will pivot easily. I own an engine hoist and can tell everyone that even though they collapse for storage they are quite cumbersome in use and would have to be steared between the legs of the lathe and require a sizeable area to manuver. With a shortened crane arm length the front wheels are a goodly distance beyond the centerline of the lifting hook. Al Crandall
 
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