Unistrut Trolly

[pontiac428]

So is the design load including the factor of safety? That's not too shabby. And the chainfall trolley can easily be made to mount to two skates for 2x. I'll have to fiddle around to see how long of a span I can run to make an x-y work. I could probably back the unistrut to steel box and weld that bit. I would need to cover a 10x10 area. Then figure out how to best anchor to the joists above. Upper floor is rated pretty strong, I just gotta be smart about it. Hmmm.

 

[Larry$]

Upper floor is rated pretty strong

If it is a typical house construction it would have a design live load of 40#/sq ft. Note that the design load is based on a perceptual sag not to structural failure. Attachment to ceiling joists with lag screws? There's no way you could over load the ceiling system with a Unistrut trolly. Add in the fact that you will likely be attaching near the walls where loading can be much more.

 

[DavieJ75]

p1000 is pretty strong stuff. One company I worked for we used it for our cable curtains. One thing though, you can add some more strength to the unistrut brackets, tighten the bolts till they are just tight and not malformed. They should have come with the mounting brackets? It will also stop one end of the unistrut from trying to ride up with the weight at the other end. I have plans to use p1000 on a small crane in my tiny shop. Also have long standing plans to make a pull out for my truck using it. Its good stuff and we electricians use it all the time.

 

[Larry$]

Unistrut is like an industrial Erector Set.

 

[Provincial]

My grandfather used a piece of barn door track with two trolleys (joined by a 3x12 to spread the load) attached to a heavy wood truss in the open machine shed to carry a one ton chain fall. It supported some very heavy loads. I wouldn't use it today for anything more than a couple of hundred pounds.

 

[verbotenwhisky]

I’m actually looking to make a unistrut bridge crane for my shop for the same reasons.

I have been looking at the barn door trollies and track at Tractor supply, will hold up to 300 pounds per trolley.

 

[rwdenney]

I figure mine provides a safe and reliable quarter-ton capacity.

I think I’ll extend it to reach where I’m planning to put the Bridgeport. It’s over the lathe now and I use it for the big 4-jaw chuck.

Rick “put an electric hoist on it since this photo” Denney

 

[Charles scozzari]

I can't help it but I wouldn't put anything over 75 lbs on a uni strut. If your intent on using them at least if it were me I would mount 2 struts spaced maybe a foot apart with a trolley system. An I beam eliminates any dangerous situation.

 

[verbotenwhisky]

I can't help it but I wouldn't put anything over 75 lbs on a uni strut. If your intent on using them at least if it were me I would mount 2 struts spaced maybe a foot apart with a trolley system. An I beam eliminates any dangerous situation.

I agree, but a beam eats up space where ceilings are the standard 8 foot, the barn door hardware by Hilman is rated to carry a load there are several designs they offer but the one with the standard trolly is rated at 350 pounds per trolley, for lifting my rotary table, dividing head, chucks and other tooling they provides a comfortable safety margin while not encroaching on the manufacturers insurance safety margin.

Added: I do agree with you on the uni-strut, while very strong it isn't designed for a live load, it is designed for a static load, same reason I do not use tie-down straps to lift a load.

 

[verbotenwhisky]

I figure mine provides a safe and reliable quarter-ton capacity.

I think I’ll extend it to reach where I’m planning to put the Bridgeport. It’s over the lathe now and I use it for the big 4-jaw chuck.

Rick “put an electric hoist on it since this photo” Denney

I like it.