Milling Machine Jib Crane

[platypus20]

In another thread, I mentioned I made a jib crane (JC), for my milling machine. The reason is for the jib crane is the weight of the 10" Yuasa rotary table (RT) and the matching 10" lathe chuck that I use on the RT. The weight is such that I fear either screwing up my back or dropping either the RT (about 110#) or the chuck (about 80#).

The basis of the jib crane is the Harbor Freight #1647 pick-up truck bed crane. I made a mounting pad for the JC and attached it to the column of the 1940s era Bridgeport mill (the infamous Franken-Mill). The mounting base doesn't effect the ram operation at all. I shortened up the JC arm and fabbed a ring for the end. I'm not too concerned about the weight being applied to the base, the weights being lifted are not excessive, and I have done chin ups on the JC arm at about 225#. The mill is rock steady, and the mounting base doesn't flex at all.


1 - the base on the mill
2 - the JC base mounted
3 - the arm attached
4 - the fabbed arm ring
5 - ring welded in
6 - the JC ready to use

[RSG]

That's pretty slick Platypus smart move for your back!

[J.Ramsey]

Looks good!
Here's mine, swings a little over 200 degrees and the mast doubles as an air tank.

[Lew Hartswick]

That last pix: Initially, I thought I wasn't sure I'd like to trust he weight of the vise to the
clamping pressure. But after thinking about it a bit, and the cantilevering of the block, I
guess it's pretty slick.
...lew...

[TomB]

I had the same issue with not feeling good about lifting that much weight and then bending into a funny position to put it down in a slide in shelf. I found the Harbor Freight hydraulic lift table (Item #93116) solved the problem. It will not go quite high enough for the mill table but I put a box on it and and I can roll the table to the mill, pump the heights to be equal and then slide the RT, vice or whaterver on and off the table. The cost is a bit more than the pickup truck boom (I have one of those on a work truck) but the foot actuated pump is easier to use than the hoist bar. After I got the table I'm astounded by how much I use it.

Tom

[platypus20]

I looked at the lift table, but they didn't go high enough, and the shop is too tight for it to be there all of the time. Also, the idea of another flat surface to be cluttered up with "junk" was very unappealing.

[bill jones]

-here my version of a swing arm hoist that I normally use with a 1-1/4" x 17" long travel air cylinder that I use to lift my vises from a tool cart.

-I also have a 3" diameter air cylinder when needing to lift heavier stuff like a 297# Ford engine block up onto my mill from an engine stand.

-the blue hoist frame will easily hold this 297# plus I can bounce my entire 200# body weight out on the end of that hoist frame at the same time.

-the 17" travel air cylinders don't have enough travel to lift from the floor so I typically roll the heavy stuff over to the mill on a roll around table.

-This swing arm deal was originally built to move the heavy vises etc from my nearby tool cart back and forth to the mill table.

-the post for his blue swing arm hoist is bolted down to the top of the mill into the eye hook hole which is about a 7/8 NC thread---so that entire deal relies on that one fastener.

-shown here it's connected into a 3/8" hole I drill into my four vises and I use a simple quick release pin with 4 detent balls to pick up the vises.

-I have also used this same swing arm hoist to lift the mill motor up off the mill--and to lift the entire top section including the motor up off the mill to get into the cross feed gears and into the top of the quill---and to swing all of this off to the side.
-----------------------------------------------------
-I can use the same air cylinders to hoist crankshafts etc onto my lathe with an overhead trolley above the narrow walkway in front of my lathe.

-these two pictures are showing a 58# model b Ford flywheel being loaded on the chuck--and there's about a 4 foot long rail near the ceiling so I can load parts from a roll around table in front of the lathe----then one end of this rail can move about 24" left or right along the length of the lathe bed up near the ceiling.

[Davo J]

Hi,
Some nice cranes posted up, so I thought I would join in.
Here is my home made jib crane, it was only built to get things on and off the mill and lathe etc.

It has a 500kg electric hoist, home made trolley and festoon. I put a spring balancer on the control hand piece so when you bend down to hook up something off the floor, the controller comes down with me, without hanging too low other times. I used a 4 wheel drive rear axle taper bearing on the bottom and a plain bearing on top, they work too good as the crane can drift away with the slightest bump, so I have plans for a brake.
I also added a large swivel hook because the standard hook was small and was fixed, so it meant you needed to twist the cable/s to turn something around.

I also have made up lifting brackets for the vice, chucks, rotary tables, etc. My vice ones are similar to what J Ramsey posted, but mine are out of steel angle and flat bar welded together with pins as a safety. The angle that my vice jaws clamps onto has 2 pins on the centre line that stick out both sides, these go into the vice socket head screws holding the jaws on, so no chance of slipping out as the vice needs to be opened 1/2 inch to get them out. I thought I had a picture of them, but it doesn't look like it. If there is any interest I will take a few and post them.

Here is a thread I posted on it.
http://www.chaski.org/homemachinist/vie ... ilit=crane





Dave

[RSG]

Very impressive Dave

[Davo J]

Very impressive Dave

Thanks, there where more than a few hours designing and building it all, but now it's up, I think it was well worth the effort.

Dave

[RSG]

Well, judging by the size of your shop, it looks like you can use it. My shop is so small you couldn't even fit the boom in it:?

[GlennW]

Awesome crane there Davo!