One-Man Column Hoist Handy For Lots Of Jobs

One-Man Column Hoist Handy For Lots Of Jobs MISCELLANEOUS EQUIPMENT Miscellaneous 28-3-32 When Ken Pehovic set out to build a 30 by 30-ft. arch-type steel storage building, he faced two problems: a lack of skilled help to raise the arches into position, and the lack of a high-lift scaffold. He solved the problem by building his own "column hoist" for less than $600. "It's very versatile. I've used it for everything from putting up buildings to stuccoing my two-story house. I even used it to drill a well," says Pehovic. The hoist has a 5-ft. sq. base. It's equipped with a pair of lift arms that are adjustable for width. The hoist is equipped with a hand winch that's used to raise or lower a trolley which carries the lift arms. Additional pieces of 3-in. sq. tube can be coupled to the main column when additional height is needed. For example, two pieces were added to reach a working height of 20 ft. to build the arch building. One corner of the building was cut into the side of a high bank, so the building was set on top of a concrete wall 4 ft. above the finished floor. "Even if I would have been able to use a conventional scaffold to raise the arches, they would still need to be raised straight up 4 ft. in order to get them up on the sill channel. A completed arch weighs about 200 lbs., so it wouldn't have been an easy job without this hoist," notes Pehovic. He used lightweight rectangular tubing to build the base and 3-in. sq. tubing to build the column. The lift arms, made from 2-in. sq. tubing, can be turned upside down to gain an additional 12 in. of height. Not long after Pehovic had the building enclosed, he decided to add a loft. He used the hoist to raise 12-ft. long, 4 by 8 timbers up to the loft which were used as floor joists. He also uses the hoist to move heavy power equipment up to the loft for storage. The hoist was designed so it can be easily taken apart to get it into rooms or other small areas. For instance, he took it into the house to lift 4 by 12-ft. sheets of drywall when finishing off a ceiling. Pehovic also used the hoist to drill a 55-ft. well on his farm, installing a submersible system with a 4-in. pump. The hoist's lift arms were used to support a hydraulic auger drive that turned a 5-in. dia. drilling bit. "I used a shop-built swivel to hook up a water injection system to a 1-in. dia. drilling pipe. I was constantly going up and down with the drill to add and remove drill stems, so for this project I converted the hand winch to a 12-volt, battery-powered winch," notes Pehovic. He could sell a complete set of plans with an itemized parts list, including sources for mechanical parts, if there's enough interest. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Ken Pehovic, Coventry Berries, 15012 Balsam Lane, Ocqueoc, Mich. 49759 (ph 989 734-4990; fax 989 734-2794; email: berryworks@core.com).

To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click here to register with your account number.