Engine Hoist plans. (DONE)

For you guys that have an engine hoist, or those of you wanting to build one. You know that it is an invaluable peace of shop equipment. Here is a nice up grade for you to think about. The next time you need to have the jack fixed or replaced, think about replacing the bottle jack style with a single 2" ram and a nice pump system. I got lucky when I got mine it was set up that way already. Ya she is ugly but it works like a dream. Just never leave the pump in the weather or you will fill it with water.
Use the Enerpac P-50 ($650.00) as the pump source. It pumps in 2 directions and the lowering release gives a real fine release that allows you to creep the engine down so slow that you can stick the engine by yourself. I just love mine. In fact I just had the hole unit rebuilt after 25 years of service. (rebuild $260) I will come up with a set of plans for those of you thinking about buying or building one. The folding type are nice but there as scary as the person you wake up with in the morning after a long night in the local bar. You get what you pay for. Drinks are cheep, and a cheep engine hoist can cost you, your life. Do it right the first time.
Plans will be up soon.

Parts list: coming soon.

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I have started working on the plans. Here is the first of 2 PDF files to build a hoist that will lift engines with confidence. And it can pull a V8 out of your boat with plenty of arm to spar.
I have lifted the back of the D50 off the ground and rolled it around with out any problems, removed the radiator from the freightliner with no worries. And the lift points are 7 foot in the air plus chain. The heaviest things i have lifted was my Liberty Gun Safe. It weighs 670 lbs.

The PDF has more detail.
part 1: Click Here for General Overview.
Part 2: Click Here for Upper Lift Arm.
Part 3: Click Here for Back & Back Support.
Part 4: Click Here for Legs & Base.

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Parts List:
BOX TUBING
3" X 4" X 3/16" LIFT ARM
2 1/2" X 3 1/2" X 3/16" LIFT ARM EXTENSION.
3 1/2" X 3 1/2" X 3/16" LEGS
3" X 3" X 3/16" LEG EXTENSION.
1 1/2" X 1 1/2" TRUSS SUPPORT
FLAT STRAP
1 1/2" X 5/16" TRUSS & BACK SUPPORT
4 1/2" X 3/8" UPPER PIVOT
4" X 1/2" CASTER MOUNTS / FEET
"C" CHANNEL
3' X 2" X 3/16" LIFT ARM HYDRAULIC RAM BRACKET
4" X 2 1/2" X 3/8" LOWER MOUNTING POINT FOR UP RIGHT
4" X 1/4" LOWER RAM MOUNTING POINT
5" SOLID STEEL CASTERS.

My Wife can't under stand how I can take a crappy sketch that took me 10 minutes to measure and draw up, then pull 4 full pages of details and a parts list out of it. I blame it on my Dyslexia, I see things the way it should be, then it gets tossed in a box with a bunch of other junk. Mix it well and pour the stuff on the floor. Then extract the true shape I was thinking about. But the majority of the time I don't use this much detail. It just remains locked in the box tell I cut and weld it. Some of my best hieroglyphics are on 4" X 4" note paper. Thats where the build truck was born.

Here is the way I make notes. Does it even look like the pages above? To me it has every detail you find in the pages above. Strange hu???? I still can't figure it out how it works but it does...

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Works for me. Perhaps it's because I'm a touch dyslexic as well. The sketch is just an anchor for what's in your brain, I think?

I know you wanted to look at Solid Works for such things, but have you ever played with Sketchup? It is no good for exporting to a CAD/CAM compiler, but is GREAT for fiddling about and planning projects in 3D. And? It's free!

It has provision for showing all dimensions, internal and external, etc. You can also texture your model and render it with a number of open source rendering programs.

Ya I saw that but I want to be able to hand over the disk to the cut guys or my own plasma machine next year.
If I had the plasma machine and mill I could build headers and trany adapter plates.

If done correctly you can lift nearly anything with confidence.
Here is just one example.

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