Lifting chucks and vises.
#1
I made these lifting hooks up for my milling vises not long after I built my crane and they have worked great.
When I made all the storage boxes recently I decided to give them a fresh coat of paint.

The vise ones are made out of a piece of bed angle welded to a piece of flat bar. The angle was drilled and tapped 6mm to match the vise socket head screws spacing. I then machined down some short pieces of thread rod at each end so they had a thread in the middle to screw into the angle, and where plain each end.

Before drilling the lifting hole, I welded them together with a longer than needed top leg, and mounted them into the vise. I then hung it by a loop of wire from the crane around the flat bar to find balancing point. After marking them at the balancing point I drilled and counter sunk the 25mm holes for the hook to go through.

The eleco tap is wrapped around them to prevent rust from the flat bar going onto the vise jaws. These have been in use for over 12 months and seem to have worked fine. They used to be painted black with black tape and I would loose them in the shed all the time, so being red and black now they should be easier to spot. LOL



The chuck ones are just made out flat bar welded together and a piece of mild steel bar. I machined a collar on one end of the bar so it cant slip out of the chuck when in use, and taped the other end M16 for a lifting eye. These where balanced up like I did the vise ones..I stamped the ends of each one so I don’t get mixed up which one goes with which chuck.
After they where made I wrapped them in electrical tape so there is no chance of any rust forming on the flat bar and jumping to the chucks, because I have a rust problem in the shed.

The lifting eye is for lifting the chucks horizontally to go onto the rotary table. It also allows the rotary table to be lifted when a chuck is mounted on the rotary table.

When they are in use the pins go into the socket head screws of the vise jaws, and the the vise jaws clamp tight on the angle. If the vise jaws happens to loosen the lifting bracket can not slip out because the pins catch on the socket head screws.

Being able to lift the vises like this makes cleaning underneath them easy before going on the mill.
The crane for lifting this gear is posted up in the link below.
http://www.metalworkingfun.com/showthrea...83#pid3683

Dave


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#2
Dave,

I need to make one of those for my Kurt vise. It's all I can do to lift it and one of these times I'm going to throw out my back so it's time to remedy the situation.

Thanks for posting the pictures.

Ed
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#3
Hi Ed,
Even one of those cheap cranes they sell for around $180 for trucks would do mounted to a pole. Or if you have a engine crane dual purpose it onto a pole. It can always be changed back with only 2 bolts.

Mounting the vise with the crane makes it so easy, I lift it up over my head where I can then check the under side for any rubbish and oil it up before putting it on the mill. With my neck problem it save bending.


Dave
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#4
Hi Dave,

My plan is to bolt a swing arm to the wall so I can lift my vise and rotary table from a shelf to the mill table without lifting them. I need to clean and rearrange the shop before that happens though. Blink

Ed
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#5
(05-10-2012, 06:59 AM)EdAK Wrote: ...I need to clean and rearrange the shop before that happens though...

Always an issue! I need to find a disused Tardis to convert to a workshop.
Hunting American dentists since 2015.
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#6
(05-10-2012, 07:03 AM)Mayhem Wrote:
(05-10-2012, 06:59 AM)EdAK Wrote: ...I need to clean and rearrange the shop before that happens though...

Always an issue! I need to find a disused Tardis to convert to a workshop.

Can I ask what a Tardis is?

I have 3/4 of the steel for my over head crane to cover the shed corner to corner, hopefully it's not to far away as I have gotten lazy using this one, but it's limited in range.
It will only have around a 250kg rating as I only want to move stuff around in the 150kg and under range. The 2 spanning beams are going to be 150 x 50 heavy wall RHS, with the trolley running on the top of them for maximum head room.

Dave
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#7
Obviously you were never a Dr. Who fan Dave.

The Tardis was his time travelling machine, which was an old British Police Box. However, once inside, it was a never ending expanse of rooms.
Hunting American dentists since 2015.
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#8
No never got into it as I never watched much TV, when I was a kid I was always out building stuff or modifying things, or taking things apart so they never worked again, LOL

Dave
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#9
Nice lifting gear. Need to build one for the mill vice and something for the rotary table. I made one for the lathe chucks, I used 1 inch rod with 1 inch pipe over it. This allows the chuck to rotate when alining the pins in the spindle.

Put two overhead cranes in the shop. They travel 36 feet down the shop, each 12 feet wide to cover the two bays. I had to put two posts in the middle of the shop to support the cabinet shop above.[Image: IMGP0824.jpg]
Greg
Free advice is worth exactly what you payed for it.
Greg
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#10
Nice cranes, I hope to have mine in soon but it has to span 25ft wide x 25ft long. I have 3/4 of the steel so far.

With the chucks I just turn the lathe spindle around if it needs it.
I did think of being able to rotate them, but if I wanted it to be able to turn them would have meant coming out further, which would mean I would have to make bigger storage boxes and I am short on space in my shop.
http://www.metalworkingfun.com/showthread.php?tid=29

Dave
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