Gantry Cranes

I have easily lifted a 1.5 ton mill with my gantry.

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The upright beams are laminated (glued) tripple 2x4's. The overhead beam is trippled 2x12's (not laminated). The best thing about it is I can easily break it down and store it. All the pieces are lite enough moving them myself isn't an issue. I think I have about $100 in lumber. (I did have to replace the 8 foot laminated uprights shown here with 10' ones when I bought my mill). Of course 3 laminated (glued) 2x4's are much stronger than a single 4x6.
 
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With or without the casters?

Without...

Actually, I used it to lift my South Bend 14 1/2 lathe off the trailer. Just about the time we pulled the trailer out from under it, leaving the 1800 lb lathe hanging 4 feet off the concrete, I realized that I had the lathe and the weight of the gantry sitting on 4 casters that were only rated at about 1400 lbs... definately a 'pucker moment', but they held it.

Since then, I have replaced the casters with a set that are rated at 2400 lbs... but when I'm going to lift something over 1500 lbs, I take the casters off...

-Bear
 
I reading about gantry cranes, it sounds like a caster failure can change the geometry enough for the entire rig to buckle and fail.
Does no one have the Titan? Titan and Strongway may be the same model?
Robert
 
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I have easily lifted a 1.5 ton mill with my gantry.
MikeInOr:
Do you have drawings or even a simple sketch of your wood gantry? I have often thought of this as the cheapest alternative. Also, is it engineered and rated?
Thanks
 
MikeInOr:
Do you have drawings or even a simple sketch of your wood gantry? I have often thought of this as the cheapest alternative. Also, is it engineered and rated?
Thanks

I will be happy to add additional pictures when I get a chance.

The engineering is pretty simple: The tripped 2x12's header transfers the weight being lifted to the upright columns. The columns transfer the weight to the floor. If you could keep everything perfectly balanced this is all you would need. The additional bracing is there to counteract any lateral forces that would knock the upright columns over, they do not directly support the weight.

The rating: you are on your own. I have worked with wood and built enough structures to have a pretty good understanding of what wood can support. I understand that a weakness in a 4x6 post due to a knot or other abbreviation in the grain will likely run through the entire width of the board. By laminating three 2x4's any grain abbreviation will be supported by the adjacent 2x4's. By gluing the tripled 2x4's they will support each other their entire length instead of just at specific points if I had just used nails or screws.

As for any guarantees... you need to use your own judgement... as with anything you find on the internet. I do NOT hoist my mill up in the air then crawl underneath it to work on the underside of the mill. As with moving ANY heavy equipment I move slow, take extreme care and keep myself out of harms way in case an accident does happen. My assistant is my 14 yo daughter who is really just there to call the medics or the coroner. When my father was alive we worked together really well as he taught me when I was quite small to do what he asked and not grab a hold and try to help without being asked... this is a difficult concept to convey to friends trying to help. I VERY RARELY try to move anything with any sizable mass with brute force. When presented with a large load I like to "think it off" instead of "muscle it off".
 
Watch those links! Some of them want to install malware!
R
 
A friend of mine has the HF one. Its ok but seems flimsy to me. I will probably fabricate my own.
 
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