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Back at the shop move...

JPG

Ed in Tampa wroteTalking about cranes, my buddy was in the hospital and while visiting him I noticed that each room had a hoist. There were two tracks parallel to the side walls that ran the length of the room. Between them was another rail which carried the carriage.

It looked to me that this crane/hoist could go practically anywhere in the room and putting the hoist right over what needed to be lifted. The tracks were fully encased and looked to be about an inch or so wide about 6 inch high. The hoist assemble itself was fully enclosed but I assumed it could lift a patient so it was probably rated 300+ lbs and hoist travel was at least from floor to some distance above a raised hospital bed.

What caught my eye was the fact it totally finished and didn't look like something massive. I was connected to the ceiling in such a way that looked sturdy but not factory huge.

I have no idea of cost but since each room had one I can't imagine it was all that expensive (however I was in a hospital which tend to spend money like water because they are getting it from health insurance companies but that is another thread). It sure looked like something I would love to have in my garage. I will now keep my eye peeled everytime I see a remodel job in any hospital. I will bet more than one construction guy has one of these in his home shop to pick up various things in the shop.

More likely 500# +.

FWIW they work quite well with 350#+ load. A proper sling helps greatly.

I have noticed them mainly in ICU.

BTW, SWMBO does not share our awe of the thing!

fixit

I am investigating getting such a device for our home because of my wife's MS and my continuing struggle with an arthritic back which is making it increasingly difficult for me to lift her.

The latest quote we have is for a system which will work in our bedroom and a similar system for the bathroom. Cost: $8,500. The system is called a Portable Ceiling Lift System and the lift itself is called "Voyager" although that's strange because the farthest it will move someone is about 20 feet.

I'm glad I already have my Power Pro because after this expense it will be a long time before I have that much discretionary money to spend again.

I'm not complaining - just saying these systems are NOT inexpensive. Of course a hospital buying in large quantities would certainly get a better price than I can on a one off purchase.

swampgator

Thank you, Leonard, for your post. I had forgotten your situation, but your post gave me information that I, too, am needing. My high mileage is limiting me to getting my woman around. This is a great idea which I may start to acquire in piece meal projects. Again, thanks.:D

Sorry, Francis, for highjacking your thread.

robinson46176

swampgator wrote

Sorry, Francis, for highjacking your thread.

No apology needed... I am giving a "LOT" of thought these days to mobility issues for Diana and I. The problem I had a few years ago where for a fair block of time I could only walk about 100' at a time by using two canes, planted the subject quite firmly in my mind.

I thought long and hard about mobility and access before making the decision to put my woodshop in the basement. That location has the advantage of not needing to get out on ice to use it but the disadvantage of having to navigate stairs. Right now the stairs are just good exercise but probably will become an impediment in the future (I'm currently mentally working on that).

If I were to build a new house today it would be an even more open floor plan than this one is and like this one would have wheel chair / disability scooter access from the outside. The main floor is all accessible. The upper level is pretty much all storage plus maybe a thousand old books I don't have room for in the library.

The basement is the woodshop and some utility stuff and an about 12'x14' strong room / storm shelter. I have a large closet that could become an elevator between the main floor and the basement but don't really have a good place for an elevator to serve all three levels. Then again I don't really need regular access to the upper level.

Here is a kind of lift that doesn't need a track:

http://www.disabilityequipment.com/tmh_mtch.php

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fixit

I have one similar to that and it has come in VERY handy several times. Fortunately for me, between MEDICARE & TRICARE (retired military health coverage) the out of pocket cost was minimal.

The equipment I am working to get now is very helpful but UNfortunately, MEDICARE doesn't consider it "medically necessary" so I'll get no help with the purchase. I'm hopeful this will be close to the last durable medical equipment item I have to purchase. Power wheelchairs (2), a scooter, a Hoyer Lift (http://www.disabilityequipment.com/tmh_mtch.php), two (so far) modified vans with ramps, hand controls, etc. have consumed much of our disposable income over the years. We both have more enjoyable uses for our money - but none so useful in maintaining our independence.

It sorrows me to think that most of these "gadgets' were not available just 15 or so years ago. They would have helped so many people with mobility issues and greatly improved their quality of life. I know they have done so for us. Thank God for American ingenuity and industriousness (is that a word?).

robinson46176

It was kind of embarrassing this week after moving a bunch more stuff into the shop then sliding in a sheet of 3/4" plywood to discover that all of a sudden I didn't have room to work with the silly sheet... :o

It's not that there will not be room... there just isn't now with stuff stacked all over the place.

This evening I opened the "hole" in the outside wall and disassembled the temporary ramp from the outside. That freed up about 30 square feet. :)

I also started hauling in metal utility shelf sets to get stuff up off of the floor which will free up a lot of real estate. I have 4 shelf sets in there now (still empty) and I have 4 more sets still sitting in the farm shop. Most of the stuff I'll put on them will not be in it's permanent home but it will keep it out of the way as I work on the shop (I hope). :)

I have a bunch of shop company coming on 1-12-2013 and I hope to have it pretty civilized by then. :rolleyes:

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robinson46176

I had some nice colors picked out for the shop walls but I probably won't be using them. I got over 20 gallons of Pittsburgh paint for free today... Kind of hard to pass up the price. :D

It's not a bad color but I can't find the color name on it. The best I can describe it is that it is close to the color of new yellow pine lumber before it darkens with age. :) :)

I might paint the walls from the top down 4' and then tint a batch with a brown tint to a light brown and use it like that for the bottom half.

I am kind of fond of free. :)

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skou

robinson46176 wrote I am kind of fond of free. :)

Free is my favourite price.

Speaking of "free," just picked up another ER for

only $60. Not free, but not too far away.

I'd rather buy them, than see them scrapped!

steve

tgamel

robinson46176 wroteI had some nice colors picked out for the shop walls but I probably won't be using them. I got over 20 gallons of Pittsburgh paint for free today... Kind of hard to pass up the price. :D

It's not a bad color but I can't find the color name on it. The best I can describe it is that it is close to the color of new yellow pine lumber before it darkens with age. :) :)

I might paint the walls from the top down 4' and then tint a batch with a brown tint to a light brown and use it like that for the bottom half.

I am kind of fond of free. :)

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Hard to go wrong with free....Just painted my shop with 5 gallons of free white paint that my father brought me. Around here that paint runs $25 to $30 a gallon and we used about 3 1/2 gallons to apply two coats to the walls so my father saved me anywhere from $75 to $90. :D

frank81

robinson46176 wroteI had some nice colors picked out for the shop walls but I probably won't be using them. I got over 20 gallons of Pittsburgh paint for free today... Kind of hard to pass up the price. :D

It's not a bad color but I can't find the color name on it. The best I can describe it is that it is close to the color of new yellow pine lumber before it darkens with age. :) :)

I might paint the walls from the top down 4' and then tint a batch with a brown tint to a light brown and use it like that for the bottom half.

I am kind of fond of free. :)

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If you don't like the color, you can retint it to whatever you like at any paint store with a spectrometer.

Normally they are scanning something you've brought in to color match, and the default tells them how to mix starting with the white base. But there is also a part of their program that scans the old and new color and calculates the difference. Some retints get rejected by the computer due to cost or the volume of pigment needed, but more often than not it will work.

Find a store that carries the brand of paint you have and they will likely retint for free or minimal cost (those pigments are very expensive!).

robinson46176

I'm just posting a line here to mark this thread so I don't have to search for it again. I have more to post but I am out of time right now. :)

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JPG

robinson46176 wroteI'm just posting a line here to mark this thread so I don't have to search for it again. I have more to post but I am out of time right now. :)

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A 'Temporary' condition I hope!:D

robinson46176

Diana and I have been busy most of the day making room on the main floor for all of those Xmas decorations that have been residing in a 3' x 24' area at the south end of the woodshop. It's been going pretty well but has involved moving a lot of “stuff” and shifting some furniture and large a number of large old heavy wooden boxes commonly referred to as either a seaman's trunk or a carpenters chest. Most full of stuff of course. I love those old wooden boxes of all types and reproductions of some of them is one thing I would like to be making in the shop.

Now for the minor glitch... We have all heard stories about some guy building a boat in his basement and not being able to get it out. Well, I can get the two sets of simple quick and dirty shelves I made to hold the Xmas decorations out of my basement just fine thank you... The trouble is that there is no way I can get them into the first floor of the house. :rolleyes: They are 3' deep, 8' long and 6' tall and sturdily glued. Not a really problem, especially since they were a simple build I will just cut them in half at the ends and middle of the frame. The shelves themselves are just loose sheets of OSB held in position by the frame. Once the frames are cut and in the house I will just use some scraps of the material I used to make them to splice the frames back together. Three splices on each end and two in the middle. I will not glue those just in case I need to move them again. :D

It going to be nice to gain that 3' x 24' section back in the woodshop. It is going to be even better not having to carry all of those boxes and big plastic totes up and down the stairs anymore. I felt that it was becoming too big of a fall risk as well as a lot of work.

Speaking of work... :eek: It seems that while I was not paying attention to things I have maybe changed the plans for my outside door. :D There is a picture of the outside "pit" on message 21 of this thread. I have the current opening through the basement wall at 5' wide and 7' high. I'm very seriously thinking about making that door a 9' x 7' door and cutting a few trees to make room to cut the pit on out about 50 feet farther as a driveway. The dirt moving is free, the only real expense is the driveway drainage which will involve installing several tile laterals across the drive and filling those with stone on top of the tile so any water can quickly weep down. Then at the bottom I would install a couple of slotted drain channels all the way across that drive. That and a bit more cost for the bigger door. I already have the steel "I" beam to put over the door.

It sure would be nice to be able to back into the shop to unload lumber etc.

I'm still working on the details on that project. :)

robinson46176

Here is a picture of one of the antique wooden box / trunk / chest I was speaking of. I love these old things. This one has some shelves and a drawer inside and a shallow tray at the top rear that reminds me of the tool tray across the back of many traditional wood working benches. It is 44" x 22" x 24" tall. (the furniture dolly is from Harbor Freight 🙂 )

I have seen hundreds, maybe thousands of these things of all kinds but I have never seen another one with a lid like this one. This one has been on the farm since at least the 1940's. My father kept it in the barn and just tossed old electrical parts in it. I moved it into the house and we found it to be already fully housebroken. 🙂

About all of the old ones were made as a single item to serve its owner / maker so you almost never see two exactly alike.

I thought I would post the picture in case someone was looking for a project idea. I'll try to get pictures of the others as I get them moved. One has a couple of drawers at the bottom that you open from the outside but that can be locked by inserting a dowel or metal rod from under the lid. Another opens only at the top but has sliding trays in it.

beeg

NICE looking antique wooden box.

Fred Grover

Thanks for sharing those boxes. They give inspiration for some design ideas. I love the old antique and retro stuff.

dlbristol

That is an interesting piece, what do you know about it?

robinson46176

Here are a couple of pictures of the chest with 2 drawers at the bottom front. I bought this one at a yard sale years ago for $5. It had a broken piece at the back of the lid. I repaired it with a kind of weathered piece of tulip poplar so it wouldn't show up as much. It is deeper front to back than the first box. Based on holes that have been repaired with dowels I believe that this was made from recycled lumber. I have had it maybe 30+ years and it looked really old when I got it.

Ed in Tampa

Farmer if the expense is little more than a door cost and some digging I would certainly make the basement drive in capable. That would save you a ton of lifting and such just moving wood in an out. Plus you could always work on something so big you would need to move it by trailer.

Go for it!

robinson46176

Ed in Tampa wroteFarmer if the expense is little more than a door cost and some digging I would certainly make the basement drive in capable. That would save you a ton of lifting and such just moving wood in an out. Plus you could always work on something so big you would need to move it by trailer.

Go for it!

Yep, that is my thinking. :)

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