They're Building A Shop Around Home-Built Lift System

2013 - Volume #37, Issue #1, Page #37

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As Rusty McCombs and his father, Charlie, were planning their new equipment shop last fall, they knew the shop would need to have a heavy lifting system.
  “We run farming, ranching, logging, and sawmill operations, and the need for equipment maintenance is constant,” says Rusty of Hueytown, Ala.
  Their old 32 by 40-ft. shop had a 2-post vehicle lift and a ceiling-mounted, 20-ft. long single I-beam equipped with 2 manual chain hoists. “We liked using the single I-beam, but it had limitations when creative lifting problems arose,” says Rusty.
  So when they decided to build a new shop, they built the lift system first and then started building the shop around it. “We plan to build the shop with a second floor storage area, and if we had put the building up first there wouldn’t have been enough headroom to fit the I-beams,” says Rusty.
  The primary lift in the new 50-ft. sq. shop is a parallel 22-ft. H-beam system equipped with a 16-ft. long perpendicular I-beam carriage. Each main 22-ft. long beam carries 2 manual chain hoists, while the carriage beam has a single manual chain hoist. “The entire overhead carriage places almost 400 sq. ft. of shop floor directly under a chain hoist,” says Rusty.
  Also new is a jib crane equipped with a 10-ft. long articulating arm and an electric-operated chain hoist. It will be located just inside the shop’s main door. “The working perimeter of the jib crane will allow the arm to lift objects outside the building,” says Rusty.
  They also plan to bring the 10,000-lb., 2-post vehicle lift from their old shop into the new one.
  Charlie fabricated several jigs that enable the vehicle lift to raise everything from riding mowers to larger equipment trailers. “The vehicle lift will be positioned so it can work together with the overhead carriage to remove engines from vehicles,” says Rusty.
  He says many of the lift system components were salvage items, which saved a lot of money. “The main H beams and jib crane pole came from an industrial machine packing crate,” says Rusty. “Old service station canopy poles support the H-beams. The I-beam carriage originally was used in a warehouse. The jib crane’s articulating arm is off a demolished car wash. We found all 6 of the chain hoists in the barns and sheds of different friends.”
  The project was a lot of work, but the 2 men say it was worth it. “In the new shop, no one better be caught lifting heavy objects by hand,” Charlie adds with a laugh.
  Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Rusty McCombs, 3712 Virginia Dr., Hueytown, Ala. 35023 (ph 205 497-0994; rusty.mccombs@homewoodal.org).

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They re Building A Shop Around Home-Built Lift System BUILDINGS New Techniques As Rusty McCombs and his father Charlie were planning their new equipment shop last fall they knew the shop would need to have a heavy lifting system “We run farming ranching logging and sawmill operations and the need for equipment maintenance is constant ” says Rusty of Hueytown Ala Their old 32 by 40-ft shop had a 2-post vehicle lift and a ceiling-mounted 20-ft long single I-beam equipped with 2 manual chain hoists “We liked using the single I-beam but it had limitations when creative lifting problems arose ” says Rusty So when they decided to build a new shop they built the lift system first and then started building the shop around it “We plan to build the shop with a second floor storage area and if we had put the building up first there wouldn’t have been enough headroom to fit the I-beams ” says Rusty The primary lift in the new 50-ft sq shop is a parallel 22-ft H-beam system equipped with a 16-ft long perpendicular I-beam carriage Each main 22-ft long beam carries 2 manual chain hoists while the carriage beam has a single manual chain hoist “The entire overhead carriage places almost 400 sq ft of shop floor directly under a chain hoist ” says Rusty Also new is a jib crane equipped with a 10-ft long articulating arm and an electric-operated chain hoist It will be located just inside the shop’s main door “The working perimeter of the jib crane will allow the arm to lift objects outside the building ” says Rusty They also plan to bring the 10 000-lb 2-post vehicle lift from their old shop into the new one Charlie fabricated several jigs that enable the vehicle lift to raise everything from riding mowers to larger equipment trailers “The vehicle lift will be positioned so it can work together with the overhead carriage to remove engines from vehicles ” says Rusty He says many of the lift system components were salvage items which saved a lot of money “The main H beams and jib crane pole came from an industrial machine packing crate ” says Rusty “Old service station canopy poles support the H-beams The I-beam carriage originally was used in a warehouse The jib crane’s articulating arm is off a demolished car wash We found all 6 of the chain hoists in the barns and sheds of different friends ” The project was a lot of work but the 2 men say it was worth it “In the new shop no one better be caught lifting heavy objects by hand ” Charlie adds with a laugh Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Rusty McCombs 3712 Virginia Dr Hueytown Ala 35023 ph 205 497-0994; rusty mccombs@homewoodal org

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