Anti gravity device needed

[RoatanBill]

A few times a year, I would really appreciate an anti gravity device to help me lift heavy, cumbersome or heavy and cumbersome objects.

Today, I installed a rack on a wall by myself and when SWMBO discovered what I had done, instead of being pleased she was furious. I'll spare the reader her rationale, suffice to say what I did was very dangerous and I knew it.

This rack weighs about 200lbs, is roughly 8' x 3' x 1.5'. I put one end on a dolly and lifted the other end to position it on the floor. Then the stupidity started. I used empty plastic beer and soda crates from the local beer distributor to incrementally lift each end 4 inches at a time to hoist it 6' off the floor. We have loads of these cases as part of a business on the island. This got more shaky, dangerous and admittedly stupid with every incremental lift. But I had to get the rack mounted. Today. I know every male on this site has been there.

The reason for the post is to ask if anyone has any DIY lifts or suggestions. I have no room for a real forklift and there are none to rent on the island. I'm ordering a near 600lb top heavy air compressor on a pallet and will need to lift it about 18" and 20' away once it's dropped onto the grass and gravel. The pickup truck delivering it won't have a hydraulic lift and I may be asked to figure out how to get it off the truck. That's just the way it is around here. I also wish I had a gantry crane.

[davec]

How about a typical cheapo engine hoist/lift but modify it with larger softer rubber tires for all terrain use? You will lose absolute lift capacity with softer tires but perhaps still enough for your needs. there are other styles of lifts such as hand operated pallet jacks or hi lift devices. Generally you are going to want a nice concrete surface for many of these things.

[MinnesotaDave]

A portable jib crane would serve you well I believe.

Just make it as tall and wide as you need in what ever shape you need.

Maybe make the boom in two or three expandable pieces or swap out short ones for a long one when needed.



To go taller, you have to be able to increase the angle of the hinged area to keep the load in the same relative position.

Some of these also include counter weights.

[tanglediver]

Yep, this calls for an off-road, cherry picker.

[Virgil5]

Or just a simple gin pole as was used for erection for thousands of years before everybody went to college and got dumb.

[RoatanBill]

DaveC: I don't think an engine hoist is going to reach the top of a 5' compressor sitting in the bed of a pickup truck. Besides - I need something I can disassemble and store as components to reassemble only when needed.

MinnesotaDave: I had never heard of a Jib Crane before, but the picture looks somewhat like the thing I imagined. A gadget with a base of adjustable and replaceable sections and I was thinking of 2 verticals like a fork lift and adjustable forks. Your gadget is simpler with the added advantage of having the load below the lift point as opposed to the forks that are below the load. The top heavy compressor was giving me pause on the forks idea.

I had also considered a simple A frame but couldn't see getting it positioned properly to be able to grab the compressor top and it would be near useless indoors for the example I used to start this thread. I was trying to think of one gadget to do multiple lifts.

TangleDiver: The only cherry picker like devices are owned by the power company and typically they just lift a man. I don't know what load limit they have and I couldn't get them involved anyway. The port where the ship comes in has real cranes, forklifts, etc but they stay at the dock.

Virgil5: I never heard of a gin pole, so I'll look that up.

Thanks everyone.

[Denis G]

I'd have put up a temporary wood frame. 2x4s are relatively inexpensive.

[TJS]

Sounds like you are looking for some sort of hydraulic lifting table cart. I need one of these too.

https://hartford.craigslist.org/tls/...657448730.html

[Willie B]

Rent, or borrow pipe staging with wheels. Errect around said weights. Lift with rigging equipment. Pulleys, cheap come alongs and chain will be used hundreds of times in a lifetime.

Vertical only lifts are done with electrical strut. Four uprights are erected. I usually attach the upper end to ceiling, or 2x4s from the wall. I use 5/8 X 1-1/4" stock with ends ground to fit the oval holes. Two crossbars are placed like ladder rungs in adjacent holes. A 2x4 is used as a lever to lift. In my application, usually a horizontal carrying timber lifted to ceiling height. Lift two inches, move the upper cross bar.

[VPT]

Cherry picker is my go to for heavy lifting! I could fill this page with pics of lifting stuff with my cherry picker. From drywall to mills to cars. It is the handiest thing to have around the shop.

[Willie B]

Rent, or borrow pipe staging with wheels. Errect around said weights. Lift with rigging equipment. Pulleys, cheap come alongs and chain will be used hundreds of times in a lifetime.

Vertical only lifts are done with electrical strut. Four uprights are erected. I usually attach the upper end to ceiling, or 2x4s from the wall. I use 5/8 X 1-1/4" stock with ends ground to fit the oval holes. Two crossbars are placed like ladder rungs in adjacent holes. A 2x4 is used as a lever to lift. In my application, usually a horizontal carrying timber lifted to ceiling height. Lift two inches, move the upper cross bar.

Sorry, the pictures were all right side up when uploaded, I can't figure out how to turn them.

[smithdoor]

I have past use electric hoist and if no where to put Hoist I used a 8" wide flange beam

Dave

A few times a year, I would really appreciate an anti gravity device to help me lift heavy, cumbersome or heavy and cumbersome objects.

Today, I installed a rack on a wall by myself and when SWMBO discovered what I had done, instead of being pleased she was furious. I'll spare the reader her rationale, suffice to say what I did was very dangerous and I knew it.

This rack weighs about 200lbs, is roughly 8' x 3' x 1.5'. I put one end on a dolly and lifted the other end to position it on the floor. Then the stupidity started. I used empty plastic beer and soda crates from the local beer distributor to incrementally lift each end 4 inches at a time to hoist it 6' off the floor. We have loads of these cases as part of a business on the island. This got more shaky, dangerous and admittedly stupid with every incremental lift. But I had to get the rack mounted. Today. I know every male on this site has been there.

The reason for the post is to ask if anyone has any DIY lifts or suggestions. I have no room for a real forklift and there are none to rent on the island. I'm ordering a near 600lb top heavy air compressor on a pallet and will need to lift it about 18" and 20' away once it's dropped onto the grass and gravel. The pickup truck delivering it won't have a hydraulic lift and I may be asked to figure out how to get it off the truck. That's just the way it is around here. I also wish I had a gantry crane.

[Bonzoo]

Buy a couple of 6 Meter Galv 3 x 3 x 1.5 tubes .Then half them .That gives the 20 feet of travel. 2 guys can wiggle/slide the pallet on top of them.
Put them against the truck bed, maybe with a flat bar " ear" to sit on the bed, or tailgate. Drive a couple stakes in the ground on the down side and slide the compressor down and onto the other two 10 footers.The ones from the bed ramp can now go to the other end to get you to your slab.If you need to go UP to the slab the ears are already on the square tube.
We moved my 5 hp 80 gallon and my finger brake like that.Slid the pallet off a flatbed and onto the ground. The compressor we used some 1 1/2 sch 40 pieces hand over hand (Roatan conveyor )due to the height problem in the compressor shed.

[RoatanBill]

DenisG : I'm looking for a longer term solution that is reusable, preferably indoors and outdoors.

I just moved two 20' shipping containers (my steel and wood shops) a few feet each to re position them for a fence I'm constructing around my work area. I have 4x4's and 2x10's left over from that project along with concrete rollers I made in #10 cans. If push comes to shove I could use that material for the compressor lift along with a 4000lb capacity "come along", hydraulic jacks and some serious chain.

The fence and gates I'm working on is due to a thief removing about $600 worth of tools while I went inside for a few minutes to check some measurements on my computers CAD application. That SOB was watching me and could have hit me over the head while I was near deaf while grinding or blind while welding. I believe "thief" is a recognized job category here.

[Bonzoo]

I call them "mommies little angels"///gracias a dios.
Here's two good ones !
The pilot is with his father, Satan, now.The other is perma-hobble so running fast or riding is out...........

[John Bartley]

I bought one of these about six or seven years ago. When it's not being used to lift I have a plywood topped pallet on it for a workbench. I paid $700 for it and spent $150 a few years ago for a cylinder rebuild, so $850 all in. IT gets used every day and takes up almost no room, certainly very little more than a non-mobile workbench.

[RoatanBill]

TJS: No offence, but I wouldn't take that lift table for free. Doesn't start near the floor, needs to have the load properly centered to avoid too much strain on the 4 legs and is travel limited. I guess for certain applications it might work, but a scissor lift would be my choice as a lifting table.

VPT: You're a lucky man to have a cherry picker.

Willie B: I always learn something along the way. I never heard of "pipe staging" equipment. I'd bet there's none on the island for me to use as the local one and only "rental center" is a joke. I've got more equipment and in better shape.

Smith Door: I have a 1 ton electric hoist, but nothing to attach it to for the example I showed or the future lift of the air compressor. I'll look up what a "flange beam" is, but the "beam" part sounds heavy.

Bonzoo: I think you took one heck of a chance moving that top heavy monster the way you describe. It's that sliding down part that concerns me. I could use 4x4's and 2x10's I already have, but it's the drop from the tuck bed to the ground that's the biggest issue. If something that weighs 600lbs starts to gain momentum or shifts off center, it's all over. I thought about laying the compressor on its side while on the truck, but just doing that is one risky rotation and requires rigging equipment I don't have.

I understand using what are essentially railroad tracks to provide a relatively low friction and better roadway than my grass and gravel presents. That's a pretty good idea. I was planning on using some dollies I built that could each support a cars weight, but the 6" wheels meant I'd have to sacrifice some 3/4"plywood for them to travel on. The steel runners are a better idea as they'll be no worse for wear and ready for the next adventure.

[RoatanBill]

Bonzoo: Part of my working attire now includes a pistol. The fence, once completed, will keep the opportunistic thieves out from along the ground. What's not clear in the picture I posted is that a determined person could drop in from above, but would then be locked inside the fence. There's no reasonable way for me to protect from that possibility. As a precaution, I cut down 2 large Papaya trees that could have been used to slide down or climb back up.

John Bartley: What do you call such a device so I can look it up?
I assume this is a forklift type device. What powers it?

[John Bartley]

John Bartley: What do you call such a device so I can look it up?
I assume this is a forklift type device. What powers it?

Bill,

The device I have is a manual travel (push/pull) pallet jack/forklift. The only powered part in it it the electric/hydraulic lift cylinder. It powers to "lift" the cylinder and drops by gravity. The control lever activates a solenoid that powers a 12v pump for hydraulic fluid to lift the table, then when moved in the opposite direction opens the valve to lower it. Mine is made by "Blue Giant" and has a lift capacity of 1500lbs. Mine is quite old, probably 20-25 years, but at one time they were very common in small warehouses across North America.

[RoatanBill]

John Bartley: The only pallet jacks I knew of barely lifted a pallet off the ground, so I ruled "pallet jack" out as a category. I wasn't aware there were ones that operated over a large vertical distance. I'll Google for "Blue Giant" and "pallet jack" to see if these are available now. For $1000 and a small foot print, I'd consider one.
Thanks for the lead.

[pjk]

[QUOTE=John Bartley;8636149]I bought one of these about six or seven years ago. When it's not being used to lift I have a plywood topped pallet on it for a workbench. I paid $700 for it and spent $150 a few years ago for a cylinder rebuild, so $850 all in. IT gets used every day and takes up almost no room, certainly very little more than a non-mobile workbench.


John- how high and what load can that piece of kit lift? I really like the compact size.

[Broccoli1]

Your A-Frame will certainly work for getting the compressor off the truck.

Just need a beefy dolly with large pneumatic tires to then move it.


We use these for hauling lots of cable, lead weights for camera cranes and sandbags. 1000# cap

https://www.filmtools.com/muscletruck.html

[RoatanBill]

pjk: From the John Bartley lead, I discovered what I was looking for is known as a pallet stacker as a general category.

https://www.ebay.com/bhp/pallet-stacker

[Bistineau]

DenisG : I'm looking for a longer term solution that is reusable, preferably indoors and outdoors.

I just moved two 20' shipping containers (my steel and wood shops) a few feet each to re position them for a fence I'm constructing around my work area. I have 4x4's and 2x10's left over from that project along with concrete rollers I made in #10 cans. If push comes to shove I could use that material for the compressor lift along with a 4000lb capacity "come along", hydraulic jacks and some serious chain.

The fence and gates I'm working on is due to a thief removing about $600 worth of tools while I went inside for a few minutes to check some measurements on my computers CAD application. That SOB was watching me and could have hit me over the head while I was near deaf while grinding or blind while welding. I believe "thief" is a recognized job category here.

Attach the come along to this A frame in this picture, drive the truck under it, lift the compressor, drive the truck out, set compressor on the ground(or wheeled dolly) move to desired location.

[RoatanBill]

Bistineau: There is no picture in your post.

I'm assuming a typical A frame behind the truck.
The issue with the A frame is how to get the top over the compressor without having the A frame angled so much that the legs are just as likely to come out from under it as it is to lift the load. At a minimum, the tailgate is 18" and then the pallet starts. The compressor center is 24 inches from the edge of the pallet. I haven't modeled this in CAD, but the A frame angle is severe. To reduce the angle by not having the top of the A frame over the load would be asking for the load to start to lean towards the A frame as lift is started. That might be OK for a minor lean, but not once we're talking about several feet.

If I had a gantry crane that could straddle the truck, that would work easily. The A frame, not so much IMHO.