Franko's Hf Engine Hoist Mod

Franko

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Every time I've needed to use my HF engine hoist, the support feet weren't wide enough for the task. I decided to make new support feet that would be wide enough to fit around the stands I have my equipment on.

hoist stock_0743.JPG

First the plan. I decided on Z legs that would provide a little more then 32" clearance between them.
For the center of the Z, I opted for schedule 40 2.5" pipe with 3/6" wall. I thought the round tube would be less prone to torque than square tube, though a bit more work.
The wheels of the arms will line up pretty close to the original wheel position, as shown with the dotted lines. I was concerned they might want to twist with a load on them. Since they line up, I don't think that will be a problem. If it is, I'll run something across them through the tube. It will have to be removable, as they won't fold up with it in place.
The rest is made with the stock tubing.

hoistmod.jpg

First, I marked the cuts on the stock tubing. I used a ruler with the legs mounted.
This pic was posed after the fact. I wedged the legs in the slot to keep them parallel to the angle.

Marking legs_0748.JPG

With the legs marked, I made some wooden wedges to hold them in the correct angle in my horizontal band saw. I didn't want to turn the clamp because it is a pain to get it perfectly square again.

saw wedge_0756.JPG

To mark the birds mouth notches in the square tube, I cut a 1" section of the pipe for a guide and clamped a straight edge to draw the cutouts for the 8 cuts.

notch marker_0766.JPG

I'll cut birds mouths with my plasma torch. I measured the distance from the edge of the nozzle (3/16") and cut some circles 3/16" larger than the tube in 1/2" MDF for torch guides. That thickness guide holds my nozzle about 1/16" up from the cut, which is perfect. Two circles made 4 guides, in case I burned some up.

cutting plasma guide_0759.JPG

After cutting them in half, making guide lines and marking the pieces, I clamped them up for cutting.

IMG_0773.JPG

I clamped two pieces at a time for cutting the birds mouths.
None of my guides burned up. A little dross and some paint to grind off.

clamped guides_0772.JPG

After all the notches were cut, I layed everything out to check to see if they would work.
Everything looks good. Ready to weld!

test fit_0778.JPG

That's enough for now. I'm half done with the welding. To be continued...
 
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Never thought of using MDF for a torch guide. Looks like it held up very well! :encourage:
 
Nice work Franko. I will keep this in mind for my lift. I have been pondering a design that would allow for adjusting the legs. I was thinking about a protractor type arrangement with a pin to lock the leg in place.
 
Never thought of using MDF for a torch guide. Looks like it held up very well! :encourage:

Oh yeah, it works great, Jim. I've made all kinds of torch guides with MDF and 1/2 plywood, from straight edges to small circles for neat holes to run conduit on my utility trailer, and big radiuses to make a filler mud stop for my trailer fenders.

For my plasma torch, 1/2" holds the tip up from the cut surface 1/16". It seems to cut better held off some.
 
Nice work Franko. I will keep this in mind for my lift. I have been pondering a design that would allow for adjusting the legs. I was thinking about a protractor type arrangement with a pin to lock the leg in place.

I doubt anyone who's ever used one of them for anything but installing an engine hasn't thought of modifying it, whilst muttering dirty words. I thought about it for months and decided this simple solution would work for my needs.

I considered using nesting tube to make the legs width adjustable, but it's made with metric square tube, which is stupendously expensive in my neck of the woods, and it would have to be DOM tube and still be unlikely to have a close enough fit.
 
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Oh yeah, it works great, Jim. I've made all kinds of torch guides with MDF and 1/2 plywood, from straight edges to small circles for neat holes to run conduit on my utility trailer, and big radiuses to make a filler mud stop for my trailer fenders.
For my plasma torch, 1/2" holds the tip up from the cut surface 1/16". It seems to cut better held off some.
Franko, great idea in using MDF as a guide. I purchased a plasma cutter last year and now I have a new method for cutting intrigue parts. Thanks. Bob
 
This morning I finished the welding.
The long legs were clamped with a long pipe clamp and tacked.

hoist long clamp_0779.JPG

A slightly different set-up to clamp the short pieces. I used one of the wood wedges I made to cut them to give flat purchase for the clamp.

short clamp_0781.JPG

After tacking, I MIG welded everything. The welds came out ok for me.
I'm pretty happy with the fillet weld on the right. They aren't my forte.

avg weld_0783.JPG fillet weld_0784.JPG

As an experiment, I tried out the non-automatic helmet. I was supposed to be able to see better with.
As you can see, I couldn't see anything and totally missed the joint and had to make another pass.
I cleverly did this on the bottom where it won't be seen.

crooked weld_0782.JPG

I installed the legs to see if they work. It seems to be okie dokie. Nothing left to do but paint them.

finished_0787.JPG

Here it is with the legs in the stowed position.
Oops. The bad weld is showing. Looks like I'll have to grind some before painting.

stowed_0789.JPG

Phase one of the hoist mod is done but for the painting.
Phase two will be a knob for the jack screw. To be continued...
 
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That is on my todo list sooner than later. I can't lift machinery with the silly V shape. Very nicely done.
 
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