My garage ceiling hoist

[James Biddle]

Here's the hoist I recently installed in my garage. It's intended to help me load/unload the truck, work on my tools, and load bigger blanks onto my lathe. The fixed portion consists of 10' section Unistrut mounted with Unistrut brackets, all rated at over 2,000 pounds. The brackets are bolted through the drywall to doubled up 2x4's laying on top of the bottom of the roof trusses. The 2x4's span 12' and are supported by 6 trusses and a doubled up 2x6 one one end (already there for some other purpose). I used a Unistrut angle brack at each end to limit the travel of the trolley. The 4-wheel trolley is also Unistrut and rated at 750 pounds, the weakest link. The hoist is a Warn Works Pulzall, with a capacity of 1,000 pounds. I have the 120 vac model, but it aslo sells in a 24 vdc version. It features variable speed via the trigger, LED load indicator, ON/OFF switch and a forward/reverse switch. I decided on this unit to have the flexability to use it eslewhere on different applications.
My first real tryout was to lift my new 530 pound MM16 bandsaw off the floor and put it on 4x4's to install casters. The hoist lifted the BS easily and smoothly. The ceiling did not appear to deflect at all (note that the drywall cracks next to the Unistrut are from a bad mudding job and were there before I started the project).


http://home.comcast.net/~jbiddle/pics/hoist1.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~jbiddle/pics/hoist2.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~jbiddle/pics/hoist3.jpghttp://home.comcast.net/~jbiddle/pics/hoist4.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~jbiddle/pics/hoist5.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~jbiddle/pics/casters.jpg

[Aaron Berk]

Now that's awesome, I don't know what I need one for yet, but I want one.

[Robert Chapman]

Very nice! When I saw your earlier post I thought that you had hung your BS on your garage door opener. This is a very well engineered project.

[Andy Casiello]

That's cool! Nicely done.

I have a hoist on the ceiling in my shop too - although it's just hung by a single 2' pipe installed over my bench area. I used it to hoist my tablesaw to add a rolling base - and as you can see from this photo I used it to hold up the base of my workbench as I kept fitting the base leg tenons into the mortises in the top. Makes life a LOT easier with heavy objects in the shop..

http://acasiello.dyndns.org:83/photos/shop/roubolift.jpg

[Dave Lehnert]

That's cool! Nicely done.

I have a hoist on the ceiling in my shop too - although it's just hung by a single 2' pipe installed over my bench area. I used it to hoist my tablesaw to add a rolling base - and as you can see from this photo I used it to hold up the base of my workbench as I kept fitting the base leg tenons into the mortises in the top. Makes life a LOT easier with heavy objects in the shop..

http://acasiello.dyndns.org:83/photos/shop/roubolift.jpg

Is that one of the Harbor Freight units? If not, what brand?

[Andy Casiello]

Is that one of the Harbor Freight units? If not, what brand?

Yep, it's the HF 880lb capacity. Got it for about $ 80 with a 25% discount coupon. It works great, and seem pretty well made (knocks on wood).. :o

[Alan Schaffter]

I have a hoist (HF on Ebay) on an I-beam I use to lift stuff up to and down from my second floor shop:

http://www.ncwoodworker.net/pp/data/500/medium/PC140051.JPG

http://www.ncwoodworker.net/pp/data/500/medium/PC140058.JPG

It stows vertically, out of the way inside when not in use:

http://www.ncwoodworker.net/pp/data/500/Woodrack-1.JPG

[Andy Casiello]

That's cool! Great system!

[James Biddle]

I have a hoist (HF on Ebay) on an I-beam I use to lift stuff up to and down from my second floor shop:
It stows vertically, out of the way inside when not in use:

That's a pretty cool system. I have a friend with the same 2nd floor access issue you had. How would you convert your system to work with a ceiling only 3"~4" above the door?

[NICK BARBOZA]

Alan,
do you have any further detail or pictures on that setup? i really like it! the engineer in me is drooling!

Nick

[Mitchell Andrus]

Alan, now THAT is way too cool.

[Mitchell Andrus]

That's a pretty cool system. I have a friend with the same 2nd floor access issue you had. How would you convert your system to work with a ceiling only 3"~4" above the door?

I'd imagine you could mount the beam on rollers, lock it into place and then roll the hoist out the door.

[Gary Lange]

I remember as a kid pulling a lot of engines with a 4"X4" laid over the beams in Dad's garage with a chain wrapped around it and an old chain hoist.

[Ed Blough]

I just caution everyone that trusses are not engineered to support weight other than the normal roof loads. My GC son-in-law makes a good living fixing garage celling that have collapsed because people either hung junk from the ceiling joist or piled too much up overhead.

On one job the customer to did enough damage that the county came in and condemned the whole house. To his dismay the insurance just shook their head and walked away.

My opinion if you need overhead storage or a ceiling hoist build the support for it external of the roof truss structure.

Take that for what it is worth.

[David G Baker]

James,
A friend of mine has a similar hoist set up in his pole barn. He put a 6x6x16' in the attic across the trusses and mounted a barn door track flush with his ceiling. The track has heavy duty rollers in it and a HF hoist mounted to the roller bracket. He uses it to skin deer, load a 500 pound weight in the back of his truck for traction weight and for lifting heavy items.

[James Biddle]

I just caution everyone that trusses are not engineered to support weight other than the normal roof loads. My GC son-in-law makes a good living fixing garage celling that have collapsed because people either hung junk from the ceiling joist or piled too much up overhead.

On one job the customer to did enough damage that the county came in and condemned the whole house. To his dismay the insurance just shook their head and walked away.

My opinion if you need overhead storage or a ceiling hoist build the support for it external of the roof truss structure.

Take that for what it is worth.
Ed, I was a little concerned about the truss load too. Would adding braces from the sleepers I installed up to the top of the truss (just below the roof) help carry the load better? I would think the load would then be similar to a snow load on the roof. FWIW, I don't store anything in the attic (other than the insulation I blew in).

[Chip Lindley]

Ed was reading my mind!! Much new construction uses only 2x4 roof trusses. Unless you have over-engineered your shop's ceiling joists to support heavy loads, disappointment may soon overtake the utility of a new overhead hoist.

I like the idea of a winch on a steel I-beam Mucho Betta than that of 2- 2x4s laid across the ceiling joists. Don't take this stuff for granted!

[Alan Schaffter]

Alan,
do you have any further detail or pictures on that setup? i really like it! the engineer in me is drooling!

Nick

Here are some more pics:

The diagonal braces are mounted to the rear end of the beam by a bolt through the braces and tabs welded to the beam- I don't even put a nut on it. The braces are thu-bolted to the gluelam ridge beam with the same bolt as the top of the wall brackets, which are also bolted to the header.

http://www.ncwoodworker.net/pp/data/500/medium/P6070008.JPG

A close-up of the pivot support. It may not look it, but it is plenty beefy and welded very well. The I-beam and supports can hold much more weight than the 1300# capacity of the HF hoist.

http://www.ncwoodworker.net/pp/data/500/medium/P6070009.JPG

The trolley was another Ebay special. Two 'U' bolts attached to the trolley bolt and are centered above the hoist cable drum. I added the garage door bracket and wheel to keep the hoist horizontal since the weight of the motor caused the hoist to tilt when there was no load on the hoist. It was not the best kind of trolley for this application but the price was right.

http://www.ncwoodworker.net/pp/data/500/medium/P6070010.JPG

Inside with the beam stowed. I use a C-clamp to keep the hoist/troller from sliding down because I never got around to drilling the beam for a clevis pin :):

http://www.ncwoodworker.net/pp/data/500/medium/P6070005.JPG

And outside with the beam stowed:

http://www.ncwoodworker.net/pp/data/500/medium/P6070015.JPG

[Brian Peters]

Alan I'm so jealous that is AWESOME!

[Ed Blough]

Ed, I was a little concerned about the truss load too. Would adding braces from the sleepers I installed up to the top of the truss (just below the roof) help carry the load better? I would think the load would then be similar to a snow load on the roof. FWIW, I don't store anything in the attic (other than the insulation I blew in).

Actually your load is nothing like snow load. Trusses are engineered to tranfer snow load into compression or tension load on the wood. Anything hanging on the ceiling truss is shear load. Having broken enough 2x4 ceiling joist in roof rafters by bad foot placement I don't trust them to bear any real load. To duplicate snow load you would have to run the rail mounts up to and connected to the ridge beam. Then the weight would be spread over the whole truss system. However you would probably compromise the ridge beam drilling nailing into it.

The biggest problem is if you break ceiing joist they are in tension holding the walls plumb. When one or more break the walls splay bowing out, the ridge then lowers and you end up with a mess. Your garage ends up looking like a bow legged sway backed horse.

Also the wall studs aren't engineered to support extra weight but they usually are over engineered to start with and usually don't fail.

If it were me I would built a sufficient support like two columns coming up from the floor and remove all load off the truss system. Short of that I would beef up the walls and using double or triple 2x12 with 1/2 or 3/4 ply in between build a support bean I wouldn't have to worry about.

[Bob Slater]

I am lucky that my shop has an 8 inch steel beam that goes across it. I hooked a half ton chain hoist up to a beam trolley I purchased on Ebay, so now I can move heavy stuff from one work bench to another.

[Mike Wilkins]

Great system. I currently use a chain hoist and a 1" steel bar bridging 2 of the 2 X 8 ceiling joists in the open attic. Lifted a 800# J/P machine to place a mobile base and no complaints from the framing.
Great set up Alan. I need to visit you in Washington some day.

[Brian Backner]

I would have to agree that using the roof truss system in your garage as an attachment point for a lift is asking for trouble - UNLESS those trusses have been engineered specifically for the job.

Many people make do with a mobile engine hoist. Depending on the degree of extension of the lifting arm they can handle between 500 and 4000# - this is usually more than enough for most woodworking tools. However, an engine hoist has a major limitation when moving anything that cannot fit between its splayed legs. I've also found them to be unstable when you are lifting something close to their maximum ratings. On the other hand, they can be useful because they are mobile - allowing you to pick something up and moving it to another part of the shop (assuming that it's not placed on a mobile base once you get it up in the air).

As an example, I once had to lift and move a very large granite surface plate - close to 1700# with the stand. I was able to have the legs of the stand straddle the legs of the hoist and, once lifted, I used a heavy duty engine balancer to get it stabilized - NOT. I moved the combination no more than 18", and though I moved it verrrrrrryyyyyy slowwwwlllly, the weight caused the hoist to tip and the the surface plate pinned me against the wall. I was lucky that my right arm was free as I was able to use my cell phone to call a friend to come and get me. Of course, he took the time to snap some photos of my predicament.

I'll grant that most of the folks on this list have no need of moving such heavy weights (that plate was not the heaviest thing in my shop - I have a massive vertical milling machine that is nearly two tons), but anything that is more than one or two people can safely lift - such as a cabinet saw or a big jointer - can be problematic.

I started to consider building a jib crane for my garage, but had yet to make any decisions when I recently ran across a rolling gantry crane that someone built based upon an article in an old issue of Home Shop Machinist magazine.

The design is inspired. It consists of two end supports with a heavy S-12 x 6" I beam connecting them that also carries a trolley and chainfall. The beam is long enough to span the width of a utility trailer and narrow enough to fit through the garage door. The really clever innovation, however, is the use of high lift hydraulic jacks on each end support to allow the beam of the gantry to be raised by about 20"! You could use the chainfall to lift something that was relatively light - say 500-1000# (you don't even want to know what chainfalls that can lift 5 tons cost). Should you need to lift something that weighs, say 6,000#, loop chain or nylon slings over the top of the beam and lashed to the item and use the hydraulic jacks to lift it off the ground.

In use this also would allow you to roll the crane out into the driveway - raise the crane to its full height - move it into position over your trailer and to lift whatever goody you have in it and roll it and the crane back towards the garage (you could also just pull the trailer out from under the crane). You then would lower the hydraulic jacks enough to allow passage back into the garage for final placement of your latest tool acquisition.

To build the thing will take good metal working and welding skills, but it you have a lot of old and/or heavy "arn", it could be indespensible. For moving heavy things on a more than occasional basis, I would make one modification - suspending more than 2000# at the center of the beam would want to force the end support outward - either allowing the beam to bend or possibly snapping the weld between the vertical supports and the beam. To counter this, I would use either chain or steel strap to hold the bottoms of the two end supports a constant distance apart - this could be made removable so as not to intefere with whatever you're lifting (or with the wheels on your trailer, etc.) - get the thing up in the air, attach the chain/strap, and then move it into position.

I've tried to attach a pdf of the construction article - unfortunately, it far exceeds the size limit for posting but you can download it from this chat list post: http://bbssystem.com/viewtopic.php?t=1631

Brian

[Dave Mura]

Wow that's really cool!! :)

[Tom Veatch]

I agree with Ed that ceiling structures aren't typically designed to support hoisting loads. I'm not a civil engineer, nor am I an expert on building codes, but I do recall that, during my investigations prior to building my shop several years ago, I ran across a statement to the effect that engineered trusses are designed to accept a 200# live load at the center of their bottom chord. The reason for engineering in that load was for the safety of personnel walking the chords during erection of the trusses. If my recollection is faulty, someone please correct me.

Note that I am not addressing joist and rafter construction nor am I suggesting that ceiling structure can safely support hoisting loads even at less than 200# per truss. In particular, it does NOT mean that it is safe to apply a 1000# vertical load if you spread it across 5 trusses. Load paths and distributions in redundant structures are not that simplistic.

I am suggesting that although small loads may be perfectly safe, if you intend to attach hoisting apparatus to your ceiling structure, seek and take the advice of a qualified professional engineer.

[Sherzod Niazov]

Hi guys, this is what I use to lift cast iron.

After lifting the Delta X5 14" bandsaw onto it's stand with my treasured wife :eek: I realized that its not the way to go, we still want to have kiddos.
I built this out of some studs and bolts and a winch from HF, cost about 30 bucks, can't beat that! I can take it apart to place it in a corner until the next tool arrives :D.

I hope this helps someone. :)

[Steve H Graham]

I guess I shouldn't talk about my hoist. I bought a cheapo half-ton Northern Tool hoist to get my compressor into my garage, and when I was done, I had to do something with it, so I put a two-by-eight across three or four two-by-six trusses and suspended the hoist from it with a piece of heavy chain.

Will it hold a big load? No idea. I'm afraid to go past three hundred pounds. But it's still great for smaller stuff. And it looks cool.

[Louis Rucci]

I have the same hoist and was wondering how to use it in the shop. I've left my ceiling open, since I have foam insulation. So I may borrow a tip or two from yours.

Thanks for sharing.

[Alan Lilly]

Engineered ceiling trusses can lift quite a bit of weight if you distribute it across them. Here is my garage trailer lift using the same harbor freight hoist.
My trailer is approx. 500-600 pounds and the weight is distributed to 4 points and at each of those points the weight is spread across several trusses.
My trailer has been hanging in my garage for about 6-7 years now.

http://panofish.net/2007-06-03_Trailer_Lift/index.html

http://home.comcast.net/%7Epanofish/pics/hoist.jpg

http://panofish.net/2007-06-03_Trailer_Lift/z1_d2.jpg

[Kelly C. Hanna]

SWEET! I am going to get one of those for my carport when I finish it. Gonna use it for tools and other big loads as well as motor swaps. Sure do like yours!

[Terry Brogan]

I wonder what the deflection is on the center of, say, a 10' wide 6x6 supported from the floor with a suspended load of, say, an Oliver 20" Planer or 12" Jointer so say one ton.

There are some lighter and cheaper commercial gantry cranes around, from Northern Tool or Rand I think. If you had the room and the cash for them, the big ones are clearly the right answer--they roll; you could pick up your car if you wanted <g>. Pallets of plywood or a couple hundred BF of lumber steel-banded would be nothing. The engine hoists are, yes, unstable.

Or a Bobcat.

[Luther Oswalt]

In an ideal setup I need three overhead cranes ... and I see what I have been thinking about is very much in this tread! I need one to lift heavy objects into the "Hay Loft" storage area, One to handle unloading/loading trucks and trailers hauling mowers etc. in a coveredarea outside the shop and and another for smaller equipment,wood and sheet goods in the shop! Thanks to all for the pictures and thoughts!
Leo

[Brian Tax]

That is a great simple setup, any thoughts on the load capacity? Also how do you make the attachment to the machines, some kind of strapping and a spreader bar, chain, etc. Great solution.