Wood beam traveler for a chain hoist

   / Wood beam traveler for a chain hoist
  • Thread Starter
#11  
Looks great and I would trust it for overhead lifting, which of course is the most critical of all lifting applications.

For myself, was thinking maybe instead of the chain, make a steel frame that dropped down the sides and under the beam to support the chain fall lift.

The only problem is, it is so unconventional that God forbid any accident ever occurred, all interested parties are gonna ask "who came up with this"?
IMO there's just no way you're gonna disclaim liability, The fact that you are already thinking/worried about it, makes it not worth leaving there.
Take it all down and forget about it, it's not like you have alot invested in it, except maybe time and pride.

Probably would never be a problem, and I'm not the type to go around pointing out potential long term liability issues. well actually I am, being a contractor I'm always conscientious of loss prevention, protecting the insurance companies to keep premiums down.
But in this case you brought up the concern.

JB.
Thanks JB,
Your last two paragraphs echo my similar concerns.
 
   / Wood beam traveler for a chain hoist #12  
Hello Paul,
The 3/8" grade 43 HF chain has this information on the outside of the box:
Working load=5400 lbs.
"Not for overhead lifting". A lawyer disclaimer IMO.


Like I mentioned OH lifting has critical standards, even the grade 70 chain that we all gloat over is not rated for overhead. You have to go to grade 80 which is an alloy, to be rated OH.

http://www.scc-chain.com/PDF/Cat_pg_20.pdf

.
 
   / Wood beam traveler for a chain hoist #13  
The liability issues are endless on your invention.

Has anyone done and rigging calculations on your set up, and is that person a certified rigger? Currently the way you have it set up a person can put maximum weight on the hoist and then actually try and shift the weight via the 1000 lb winch. So you could have a 1000lb winch trying to pull a 6000 lb weight, see that right there is a major flaw.

Now I'm not saying that will ever happen BUT "they" could - they put warning on hammers that say don't put this hammer in your mouth and swallow it - you get my point.

I always hate to be the one throwing a wet towel on things but in this society if someone gets hurt they will own you property and you retirement funs and you college fund, that's just the way it is today.

Personally I would take the whole shootin match down and if you still want it up do it the right way with an engineer etc. You need calcs on the bolts you used, the chain, the beam, etc.etc.etc.

No matter what you put up for "liability issues" whoever gets hurt will tie you up in court till he cows come home. I would never leave it for the next owner - why who is he to you?
 
   / Wood beam traveler for a chain hoist #14  
Why not stencil something like "1000 lb. weight limit" on the beam. As unlikely as it is you would have any liability issues it would show that at least you made an effort at a safety disclaimer.

MarkV
 
   / Wood beam traveler for a chain hoist #15  
I think you did a nice job. The problem here is you asked for opinion and now you are getting them. I like to keep things like this my business so all the lawyer types can not comment on it.

What you have is much safer than what 75% of the rednecks in my area use. A wire come along or chain hoist and a good tree limb.

I would take it all down and with you if and when you move. That is the easy way to prevent you from getting sued and you can use all the components for other projects later on.

Chris
 
   / Wood beam traveler for a chain hoist #16  
... We do plan on selling this property in the near future and I will leave the traveler and take the chain hoist. Any ideas on how I should disclaimer this setup so the new owner can't come after me when he pulls the roof down trying to lift a Sherman tank? Perhaps dismanteling it but leaving all the pieces?

It's a neat idea to use wood instead of a metal I beam.

If it was me, I'd remove all hardware off of the beam and then just leave it there as part of the building. If the new owner of the barn decides to convert it to anything, then it's up to that owner to do what they want with it, and assume the liability of what they create. Same as you when you built it and something happens when you use it.

The same is ture with attic space and people hanging stuff from their rafters. Just because a beam or truss is there, does not imply that it's designed for anything other then being part of the building. I've done allot of repairs to rafters over garages because people load up that space with storage. There is a limit to what you can put up there.

Just my opinion.

Eddie
 
   / Wood beam traveler for a chain hoist #17  
Looks like a very inventive design. I do agree to use it within your assessment of its capability and take down any hardware before official inspectors arrive prior to a resale.

Liability snipers aside, I do recommend reworking the connection to the chainfall's upper hook. It appears there are hex bolts there which connect the free ends of the chain and are loaded in beam-bending (IOW the bolts are a mini-beam).

I would prefer to use something like a hammerlock (two mating "E" shaped pieces which are interlinked to chain ends and a pin hammered to lock the two parts together) as that way you will get the true tensile strength of the chain available. Then shift the chain around its circumference so that the hammerlock doesn't interfere with the hoist hook. At current you'll get the lower of (bolt bending strength, the "hoop" strength of the chain where the hex would try to pull through. I don't think it is on the ragged edge of failure but I'd feel a lot safer if the chain is an endless loop.

Another interesting idea for sort of a rolling trolley in this application would use wheels suspended on compression springs (weaker die springs). With just the weight of the hoist alone, the wheels could roll on the sheet steel surface. Once the hoist loads, the springs compress so it is flat-on-flat.

Hammerlock
3578t15p1s.gif


Another alternative for the lower end would be a piece of solid round bar (say 1" dia) that you weld a couple of rectangular end plates to/thru. The plates would have a 1" thru hole at the bottom so you could weld both sides to the shaft At the top, a sort of double-keyhole arrangement which would allow the free ends of the chain to be passed thru the large hole and then linked into the slot. That is also a modification of a rigging practice used on adjustable chain slings.

Here's the basic concept, just invert.
33665T33_180x145.gif
 
   / Wood beam traveler for a chain hoist #18  
Nice work.

Regarding your other concern, I would take the traveler and chain fall down and store it before I offered it for sale. Then I would take those parts with me after the sale. I would leave the beam there and not say anything about it.
 
   / Wood beam traveler for a chain hoist #19  
Oh I didn't realize the beam was just for the trolley I though it was already there for structural reasons, now I see it obviously is not supporting anything, just say it's a high end collar tie :)
Don't see any need to take down the beam. unless you have another use for it or want to sell it.

jb
 
   / Wood beam traveler for a chain hoist #20  
Another thought for the beam, hand a sign on it. Or several signs on it to deflect what else it might be used for. Some of those old fashioned, metal signs would look real good up there. Maybe something horse related? or just that you love your barn? Johne Deere or some other tractor sign looks good in a barn too!!

Eddie
 

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