[AT] shop equip

[John Hall]

Kind of quiet on the list so here is a bit of fodder.
The time has come to add a new piece of shop equip. The only lifting 
mechanism in the farm shop here is a generic engine hoist. I need to 
pull the engine out of my small Deere combine so after much deliberation 
I have decided to install a gantry hoist. I bought a Harbor Freight 1 
ton hoist and am in the process of replacing the top I-beam with a 
larger and longer one. When done it will span the width of the shop. 
It's on wheels so I can keep it in the back and then roll it to the 
front for projects. I had a engineer friend run analysis on the 
"conversion" and it will safely hold 1,000 lbs (about the weight of the 
engine).
I hope to get it installed next week, got about 5-6 weeks before the 
combine needs to go to the field.

John Hall