Gantry for Garage

[rjmack]

actually, for some reason i was thinking you were going to have a 7 foot span.

my gantry is 9 feet inside and i have never had a problem with width. as you can see, that welding deck fits easily. then again, i don't work on big rigs.

regarding the wide flange, what i meant by boxing the end is to put a piece of 1/4 or 3/8 x4 flat bar from the bottom flange to the top flange at the end of the beam. you then weld it all the way around. what this does is take the strength of the flange and basically wrap it around the end of the beam. .

what are shown in those pictures are generally called gussets or beam stiffeners. they are used to reduce flexing at points along the beam, for instance if you had a leg going up or down somewhere along the beam. in this instance i think boxing the end would be better because you use one piece of steel to do the job instead of two and you wouldn't have any weld across the section of the beam. also, nothing to interfere with your trolley.

if you are determined to go with an 11 foot span you would probably need knee braces or some kind of bracing at the top corners. that, in turn, would reduce the overall useable span accordingly. if you are determined to go with a trolley, and 11 foot span, you can still brace the top corners externally, after you box the ends.

also, my gantry is 9 feet tall, i believe the bottom pieces that sit on the ground are about 4 feet long. i would be very hesitant to go any shorter than that for your wheel spacing, probably longer would be better, you will loose some distance because of having to set the wheels back in a bit for mounting too.

 

[Shield Arc]

Cool. I'm thinking it would be best to align that plate up with the inside edge of the vertical legs. correct?

For this kind of load I'd place them on each side of the beam, centered over your legs. Extreme loads you'd place two on each side aligned with the walls / outside edge of the legs.

 

[tglass]

Thanks. The trolley I'm looking at, is listed on Harbor Freight, says it's for both S & W beams. Not sure how they do that, since the interior flange angles are different.

2 Ton Push Beam Trolley

I have one of these trolleys on my home built and love it. I can move the trolley with a load easily by hand and like the design where if any or all wheels fail to hold the load it only falls onto the trolley's frame to stop complete failure. I used steel wheels bought from northern with a higher rated load capacity than I'll ever lift and can move it by hand all over my shed. Probably the handiest thing I've ever made.

 

[rjmack]

For this kind of load I'd place them on each side of the beam, centered over your legs. Extreme loads you'd place two on each side aligned with the walls / outside edge of the legs.

that would work too.:thumbsup:

sounds like you have done some structural work in your past.

 

[Shield Arc]

that would work too.:thumbsup:

sounds like you have done some structural work in your past.

Mostly bridges.

 

[jimmer2880]

Ordered the trolley today. Wheels shipped today. Would be a productive weekend, but it's my youngest birthday. So - that = limited garage time for me. I hope to at least have the verticle supports welded to the horizontal legs. Then, it's just the fun part of welding the top beam (200 lbs) to the top of the legs.

 

[rhamer]

If your still looking for ideas, here's one I did.

Cheers

Rohan

 

[mmurphy]

If your still looking for ideas, here's one I did.

Cheers

Rohan

Very nice.
Seen the others and thought they were pretty nice set ups also.

 

[jimmer2880]

Nice work. As I'm thinking about getthing this 200lb beam 11' in the air, I'm starting to get envious of your lightweight design

Good thing my Brother-in-law is coming to visit tomorrow. Hope he brings his work clothes

 

[jimmer2880]

Pics to come tomorrow. (If I'm out of the dog house enough to take some).

Got the beam lightly welded (not tacked, but not fully welded either) in place. I was able to winch it all but the last 16". Boy, it sure wasn't fun lifting it the last 16" by hand.

Lots of welding to go before it's ready to lift. I don't even have the wheels yet.

 

[badbowtie]

I have one that is made out of 4x4 box it is just two capital tees upside down with big steel wheels on it and another bar accross the the top it is very very heavy 4 of us could not even lift it. I know it will lift anything I try we lifted a semi flatbed with it that had 30,000 on it and was able to lift the back up to do a brake job. I would post a picture but it is not here right know out at friends place I am going to try to go get it one day this week.

 

[jimmer2880]

Just realized something this morning....

The beam is up-side-down. That's a problem, because the one flange has 6 holes in it, and I'm using an I-beam trolly that rides on the flanges.

I think it'll be easier to weld the holes shut and grind them down, than to cut the welds & flip that heavy beam by myself. I think I'll weld a piece of flat-bar on the under side, then weld the holes closed. I know it won't be as good as new, but it should still hold the 1-ton I was shooting for.

 

[jimmer2880]

A couple of Pics to prove it's real.

 

[jimmer2880]

I still plan on capping the ends of the I-beam, fill in the holes on the lower flange, add the trolley (when it arrives on Thurs), add the wheels (when they arrive on Tuesday) and run another, heavier bead of weld across everything.

I was showing my girls how the chain hoist made it easier to pick stuff up. They were thrilled to be able to pick up that 22" long piece of 10" Ibeam.

 

[tglass]

Still like to see pictures when you get it done. Make a good gusset to support the stress of lifting and side movement on the legs. What kind of wheels did you finally purchase to roll it around with?

 

[jimmer2880]

I forgot to add that I cut some 2x4 box tubing that I had laying around, 12" long for gussets.

I went with glass filled nylon. But - at rated for 700 lbs, using 8, I should be good for 2 tons. My plan, is to put 2 of them beside each other at the end of each leg.

https://www.surpluscenter.com/item.a...catname=wheels

I know that larger, steel wheels would be better. However, with other projects I'm doing and this project being unplanned (see the boat lift cradle in the background), I needed to be very budget consious. Couldn't beat the price on these wheels given their load rating.

 

[tglass]

don't mean to sound negative about it, but you have no support from side to side or forward, backword movement. weight distribution is not evenly displaced over what you are lifting unless exact center is mated. you really need braces or legs from the bottom on each side to the beam and a good gusset on each end to prevent side to side failure. design looks good other than it needs more support, but don't mean to tell you how to build it.

 

[jimmer2880]

Thanks for the good information. I understand your concerns.

Given the method of lifting (chain hoist), it is almost always a hanging weight. Dead center lifting is almost certain.

Yes, gussets will be added, but nothing near what you are describing. I'm only planning on 12" long gussets to keep things plum and level.

Reminder - this rig won't be moved while it's lifting anything, so there is very little swinging motion to be concerned with. Also - I'm only looking at a 2-ton limit (really, only 1/2 ton, but wanted to be sure I had enough just to be safe)

 

[jimmer2880]

Didn't have much time, and it took way too long, but I got the 2 upper braces welded in place tonight. They are only 12" long, but made a big difference on the lateral (left/right) movement.

I also got some of the for/aft braces cut. They ended up being 20" long.

The wheels showed up today. I was surprised to see they were used. But, after re-reading the description, it did state "removed from service". They look like they are in good shape, so I'll use them anyway.

Hopefully, by EOB Thursday (have off for Vets day), I'll have the for/aft braces completed, and the wheels mounted. The Trolley is also supposed to arrive Thursday.

On a side note. Thank you vets for all you have given to our country. I have worked with many vets throughout my career. They always know when it's time to cut the BS and get the mission done. It's a pleasure working next to them.

 

[tglass]

sounds good. hope to see pictures when completed. handiest thing I've made in years.