Removable Hoist Mount
Centered wire rope - Bueno!
Related: HOIST 1: HOIST MOUNT DO'S AND DON'TS
Removable, Portable and Centered...
Harbor Freight 880 LB 120V Hoist
Thanks to Terry Blount and his hoist making website perfectflyer.com/roofinghoist.htm I had this first try inspiration. I used his advice and purchased the Harbor Freight 880lb electric hoist. I bought a used 28 foot ladder and began to make a 14' hoist.
Hoist mounting location is key!
These hoists are designed to be attached high, on a building's bar joist, to pull straight up. It is like a plumb bomb. As long as the load is directly below - no problem. The attachment recommended by Mr. Blount to the bottom rung of the ladder requires a pully at the top of the ladder which would be OK if everything were kept in a straight line.
It's impossible! No matter which way I attempted to attach the hoist, the wire rope was offset and not centered. But I had no idea at the time this was a problem. I was focused on getting the darned attachment brackets tight aroung the bottom rung of the ladder.
Attaching the hoist to the bottom rung of the ladder does not work!
See how the wire rope is rolled on the spool at the end of the device. Parallel mounting puts the rope too far to one side.
Improvise
Because I couldn't get that tight bracket to rung fit, I ended up using rubber cut from a sheet I bought at a wholesaler in Kansas City (Hanna Rubber Company). This sheet was designed for placing under machinery to absorb vibration. I thought ‘problem solved’.
Horizontal mount on bottom rung of ladder is a mistake and should be avoided. As the video on this page shows (really early fail attempt on a fiberglass ladder) the trolley will lurch as the wire rope unfurls. Imagine a load on the trolley - not good!
Hoist mounting brackets and bolts/washers.
Eventually I devised a hoist mount that aligned the wire rope in the center of the ladder and was removable so one could use the ladder both as a ladder and as a hoist ladder.
When the hoist is not centered at the bottom of the ladder, the hoist wire will roll onto itself and unroll in a fashion that is bumpy and uneven. It jerks the trolly on its way up. Not good.
This page: HOIST 2: REMOVABLE HOIST shows how to mount a removable hoist that works correctly by centering the wire rope at the bottom of the ladder. Pictured below.
Removable mount centers the wire rope for smooth trolley travel.
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