Boom Me Up Scotty

Pulley end of the laminated beam extension for the boom

While waiting for decent weather to build, I have been making a boom extension for the “crane” we will use to raise the remaining three arches.  The four laminated 2 x 6 planks (milled from our trees) will increase the reach of Dozy’s backhoe boom high enough to lift the arches into position.  From the picture below, it looks as if Dozy would topple over if any weight were applied to the end, and it probably would.  However, when in place, this boom will be braced 3/4 of the way up against the apex of the outer most arch, acting like the third leg of a tripod.

 

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An 8000 lb. winch attached to Dozy’s 3-point hitch will do the heavy lifting.  Thanks, Khat for the loan of the winch.

 

The cable runs up through a snatch block (green pulley), then to the pulley at the end of the boom.  I picked up the snatch block from a boat yard for $20. It was a bit rusty and the wheel didn’t turn.  With a bit of elbow grease, a new bolt and some paint, it’s as good as new.  Considering they cost $230.00 new, I thought that was a pretty good deal.  It’s certainly overkill on capacity but it sure looks cool.

 

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 2 comments
mom
I am in awe of this whole scenario!  Is this a very safe proof way to get the main large archway beams up in place? And are they immediately bolted on to the rest of the structure?
Saturday, April 4, 2009 – 10:39 PM
Jeff
As soon as they are in position they will be bolted in place and secured. Not to worry, mom.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009 – 06:11 PM

Hot Wired

I have been wondering what the best material is to attach the rebar to the steel arches.  Since the rebar will be exposed for some time, corrosion is an issue. I was hoping to use stainless steel wire but the cost is prohibitive…. That is unless it’s free.  We just scored a nearly endless supply of stainless steel wire from the local utility.  These pieces are waste cut-offs from their wire shielding.

While we wait out the winter weather, we will make our own rebar tie wires.

pastedGraphic.pdfI built a little jig to bend the wire to the right length.

 

pastedGraphic_1.pdf These homemade stainless steel “Snap Ties” will work great with the Spinner Rebar Tie Hook tool and best of all, they won’t rust.  It feels great to be able to recycle material that was destined for the trash bin and end up with something that is better than we could have paid for.  Recycle, Re-use, Renew!

1 Comment

Jeff – Nice work, Steve luvu – March 10, 2009