[AT] Latest shop toy

[John Hall]

  Back in the summer I mentioned somewhere along the way about needing a 
shop hoist/gantry crane. It needed to be 12' high and span 20'. As usual 
there was a little discussion on the list followed by (I believe) 
Spencer issuing the challenge "pics or it didn't happen". So here it 
is---its hard to photograph something that big. You'll see also why I 
needed it.

  Long story short I bought a cheap gantry crane. Then I bought a 6" 
I-beam 20 ft long. Now before I go any further, I have a engineer on 
speed dial (honest). Showed/told him what I was up to and he "built" it 
on his computer so he could run stress analysis--yes that's a real, 
modern engineering process that can take several hours. It passed at 
holding a 1/2 ton so I commenced to welding. I used 1 inch plate to 
mount the vertical legs to the I-beam. I added angle iron gussets (2 on 
each end) to stiffen things up. I promptly tossed all the China hardware 
in the scrap bin and used real bolts. Now the crane comes with a cheap 
winch on each upright (for adjusting the height only, not picking up a 
load) which promptly stripped out. I need to buy some cheap trailer 
winches to use so I can lower the crane should I ever want to. Right now 
its maxed out at roughly 12'---I had about 2" clearance to get the 
combine under it. The crane is on wheels so it can be positioned over 
the work area--you obviously can't move it with a load on it unless you 
have a death wish. Disclaimer--I'm not giving any kind of guarantee 
regarding the modifications, capacity, or safety of my crane.

  We've survived all these years with just muscle and an engine hoist 
for lifting things. Well engine hoists can be a real pain to reach 
things. With my son in college and my dad gone, I had to change my way 
of thinking when the engine on my combine went South. I don't have a 
backhoe and the last time I pulled a combine engine was on my 55 
Deere--I got a guy to lift it with a smaller trackhoe, it was all he 
could do to get enough clearance. This combine was way more involved to 
pull the engine so I didn't want to attempt it outside. Anyway, as you 
can see it worked and the combine got put back together in time to 
literally go straight to the field.

  One thing that I found SHOCKING--piston and sleeve sets from Deere 
were American made, less than a year old, and were WAY cheaper than 
no-name imports. Thank God I got my parts before the strike, even though 
I had to pay $100 expedited shipping. Matter of fact, all the parts I 
used were genuine Deere--it was very nice to not have to deal with 
compromised quality aftermarket stuff for a change.

  I didn't post a picture of the "why" all this was necessary but one of 
the pistons had burnt completely through the top ring and destroyed it, 
also burnt down to the second ring. And for good measure the skirt was 
cracked in 3 places. I figured it was just a broke ring based on leak 
down test, but had no idea the damage was that bad.

  Anyway, I've pretty much quit working on the really old stuff I used 
to and just keep my aging fleet of farm equipment going. Thinking this 
gantry will help a lot with that. Did I mention birthdays tend to make 
you weaker and your joints hurt for no good reason? They also teach you 
to work smarter, as I am finding out.

Sorry for the long post, at least you know why I don't post like I used 
to--I'm either in the shop or in the field.

John Hall


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