Patient lifts and why you want one for mosickle engines, plus oxygen cylinder fun.

[farmall]

Patient lifts are very cool small cranes with spreader bars for lifting immobile patients out of bed. I always wanted one but many are rented (a rip off) and paid for by insurors. They are worth looking for because not only are they a nice precise utility hoist but the leg spread is adjustable which lets you easily get them through narrow doorways.

Lifting engines manually is a great way to destroy your back and a patient lift works superbly lifting engines from floor to bench.They'll straddle many bikes too. They make fatfuck versions with higher capacity.

I finally scored one for 80 bucks (Medline 400lb as in pic) at a thrift store which ain't bad since they retail for 625 for the low end variety. I wouldn't blink at giving a hundred for another, but cheaper is always better. If I didn't have other lifts I'd go to the ~$200 range others sell for.

If you are pillaging old people get the oxygen cylinders too.

My portable torch setup with info:

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/878472-portable-oxy-propane-setup.html

[fastfiat]

Just is just the shit i come on here for. Thanks Farm

[DoomBuggy]

Man that is a smart idea, no cheap ones by me at the moment, but now I will watch Craigslist for one!

[farmall]

Sporty lifting fixture

Here's my new quick and ugly but effective lifting fixture for Sportster engines that works with common auto engine stands. (Credit to Punkrod for the engine stand idea.)

http://www.chopcult.com/forum/showthread.php?t=31448&p=517015&viewfull=1#post517015

This has two bolt holes so it should ONLY be used BEHIND the Harbor Freight engine stand head plate as shown. The bolts pick up the existing milled slots in the HF head.

My eyecrometer says there's enough room to snatch the rear cylinder in mid-air if you don't use a stand for whatever reason but I didn't check. I'd do any work on the stand because it's easy to invert the engine in case FOD finds its way into the crankcase.

Use good Grade 5 or better hardware. It only bolts to the HF plate, not the Sporty mount. Note ring position keeps engine level.

It doesn't interfere with the four bolts holding the Sporty engine in place so it can be removed and installed without fuss. Nothing special about the design. I grabbed some scrap angle off the ground and used a pipe ring so I can use a hook, sling or the pry bar seen in pic.

If you don't use the engine stand you should make a four hole plate to use all four Sporty mount holes because using two bolts could apply too much force to the aluminum engine mount.

I'll do a big twin version next time I lift one.

[fastestz1]

I have been using one of these lifts for years,,kz 900/1000 engines weigh
a ton,,these lifts are fantastic,,completly adjustable,,my brother worked at a nursing home
every couple of years they threw away perfectly good equipment

[PRWIS13]

Perfect! Thanks for the tip. I hope they do not keep me at the home when they find me digging in their trash.

[farmall]

If they do keep you at least you can enjoy some hot 1950s vintage pussy...

While you are at it raid the adult diaper stash. Much cheaper than official oil sorbents and work great. The large ones fit a 9" Ford hogshead.

[12w3e4r]

The patient lift is nice, I'm thinking that maybe a barn door trolley might work too, rated at 250lbs load capacity.

Scroll down for parts:

https://www.amazon.com/National-Hardware-N112-102-5005-Hangers/dp/B0002YSIX0

[farmall]

I'd fit a heavier load rating trolley if you decide to hang stuff from beams. Alternate option if you don't have beams where you want them is to fab a small gantry. Stronger is always better especially because you don't want to buy lightweight parts then need to move something heavier than you planned for. Gantries are cool but take up floor space if used indoors.

Lifts, gantries and engine hoists are mobile. Beams are fixed. You can only get back and forth motion on a single beam via a trolley, but not side to side unless you have or install parallel beams with a trolley or similar for each and a crossmember between them with another trolley. Then you are still limited by that width.

If you have a long beam that may not matter because you can place a bench or cart beneath the beam axis to pick from the ground then roll over cart/engine stand/work bench or slide a stand or cart beneath the load. With the engine on the floor after removal you can just roll it onto a dolly or creeper to place it beneath a lifting device.

If you have a strong, long bench you can fab or buy a truck hoist from Harbor Freight or make a simple jib to mount to (for example) the end of a bench then pick the engine and swing it over the bench. Many machine shops fab simple jibs to move milling machine vises, work pieces etc from machine to cart or bench.

Image search any of the terms for pics of many home shop and commercial examples.

You can also just run a chain over your beam for vertical lift without attaching anything permanently.

There are many ways to save your back. Figure out what works for you. You can even use synthetic rope (Amsteel, Dyneema etc) which is stronger than steel and very light with pulleys (see how arborists get mechanical advantage, there are many Youtube videos) for a very mobile setup. I neglected learning about that until I had a bunch of trees to drop clear of my power lines. The more you learn about rigging the easier your life becomes!

Pic shows my modded hoist (with space saver spare tires/wheels because they still roll when they go flat, it's pulled a 460/C-6 and other heavy drivetrains in a sand yard). It was easier to lift the F 150 cab then cut the bent frame in half and roll the pieces out of the way. Note comealong at left of image. Since plain engine hoists are not optimized for best picking I welded a plate on either side of the boom so I can drop a comealong cable over a pulley on a bolt between them and reach the floor (or into truck and car engine bays without the fucking boom in my way). I run the ram all the way out for that, and when the hydraulic cylinder eventually dies of old age I just cut a permanent ram lock from pipe, unbolt the hydraulic cylinder rod, slide the pipe over that and leave things fully erected.

For light stuff you could use a boat winch, WORM drive (because self-braking and greater mechanical advantage) preferred.

The reason I learned this stuff is I work alone, I'm old and damaged, and for machinery moves etc I don't want to pay a rigger. I refuse to break a sweat moving anything. Let a machine do it!

Study your situation then do what suits your needs.

[babysfirstbike86]

Oh my god, I just imagine quickly setting the surrounding buildings on fire. That is terrifying, and very cool.

[farmall]

I imagined burning buildings before erecting the surrounding structures. They are 40' High Cube steel shipping containers and a Steelmaster steel building on a concrete slab. I separated them far enough so they won't fratricide in a fire because that's how I roll. Flammables live in non-obvious steel cabinets outdoors. Trees are cut far enough out for a reasonable firebreak and my bikes mostly live in a dedicated 40' High Cube with doors on each end as a ride-through garage. Steel shell and doors mean a fire would promptly smother. That's part of why I don't have or want windows. My inert shielding gas cylinders live in my containers so if needed I could open the valves to inert the interior like a jet fighter fuel system except with argon/75/25/CO2 instead of Halon.

It's insured so if they go I'll do it over with much more play money. Let the chickens out of their little coop (pic related) and have at it. (Woodland camo panel at right of pic is street side of container shop.) I fap to the challenge of calamity!