Joke becomes reality

[SteveColes]

A while ago, Tom Ferone & I were talking about our respective crosscut sleds. We both felt ours were too big and too heavy and had become a PITA to put on and take off the table saw. Plus, at least in my case, I really had no place to store it when not in use. I was constantly moving it out of my way to get to things. It is 40" wide & almost 30 " deep.



So as a joke, Tom said we should put in a ceiling hoist to raise and lower it to the table. The more we joked about, the more it seemed reasonable. I think we both said "one of these days"

Well, this weekend I was rearranging my shop to get my lathe and "sharpening station" in a more usable place. Well, I seemed to spend more time moving the sled then anything else. And then when I dropped it on my foot that did it.

Ceiling Hoist:



Hooked up to hoist:



On the way up:



Tucked out of the way



And not only does it physically work, but it has actually made going back & forth from rip to crosscut much easier than I expected.

[ashley_phil]

good job. i did a similar thing with my 30' extension ladder.

i notice you have the exaktor blade guard. do you like it? i'm going to get either it or the excaliber inthe coming weeks.

[Alan in Little Washington]

Hey, if I use my I-beam hoist I can do that with a 5' X 10' sled. Hmmm, will that fit on my tablesaw?

[Big Mike]

Brilliantly executed but does that help with turning on the DVR?

Neat idea, Steve. It saves space in the shop and is easy on the back.

[DaveO]

Sweet!!! Steve


Dave

[FredP]

great idea steve! you could also use the lift to remove the "goblet" from the DVR? BTW hows that coming along? pics my man pics! we need more pics!

fred p resident ding bat.

[MikeL]

That is so cool Steve! I heard about your idea the day you bought it and you made it happen. Congrats.

[michaelgarner]

that is great!!Now how can I tell,,arrrrr convince her we need a ceiling hoist. Ohh I know,,it would be a time out for the boys!!! JUST KIDDING.

[Canuck]

That has to be the coolest setup. Steve!!! You should send some photo's into the popular woodworking magazines!!!! Such a unique solution to moving it around!!!

(By the way, that sled sure looks nice. Has come a long way since I saw it last!)

Is that an electric (220V) hoist???

Thanks for sharing!

Wayne

[SteveColes]

Thanks for all the kind words, even if you were taking pity on me and trying to be encouraging.

Originally Posted by Mike Davis

That's a great idea and brilliantly executed!

The idea was Tom's and your just buttering me up in to get a raise

Originally Posted by ashley_phil

i notice you have the exaktor blade guard. .

I'm not sure whether I like it or not. It gets in the way a lot and doesn't really pick up that much dust. But I'm going to wait until after I install a cyclone before I make up my mind, so I can see if a stronger DC will suck up more dust through the cover.

Originally Posted by Big Mike

Brilliantly executed but does that help with turning on the DVR?

YES!!! I can finally find the DVR again

Originally Posted by FredP

great idea Steve! you could also use the lift to remove the "goblet" from the DVR? BTW hows that coming along? pics my man pics! we need more pics!

I chose to round out that blank when I did to test the DVR. I had to do it with a very dull roughing gouge, Because I couldn't get to my "Sharpening Station". Well today I finally got that straitened out.



Probably try to do a little turning tomorrow after I work on my shop cabinets.

[SteveColes]

Originally Posted by Canuck

Is that an electric (220V) hoist???

110

[toolferone]

That is to funny!!! I can't wait to see it. I do remember talking with you about it.

[Gotcha6]

I had a neighbor who was my shop teacher in school. He built a shop with an octagonal roof and attached a hoist to the center peak. Under it was a pool table . He built a cover for the table out of a 5x8 sheet of plywood (that's right 5x and lowered it onto the table when he wanted to do shop work. Otherwise the cover was raised and the grandkids shot pool. When they sold his estate nobody wanted the table because they didn't know how to move it. I dismantled it & lifted the solid 1" slate top with the hoist and a web sling onto a dolly. Ya don't gotta be real smart sometimes, just real lazy....

[junquecol]

Steve, in first photo, is there really a table saw under that sled? Clever idea. I have a customer who has a place at the beach. Kitchen/ living area is on third floor. He used HF winch to build a dumb waiter to carry up groceries, and luggage. Three flight up with a couple of case of liquid refreshments is a killer.

[Travis Porter]

That is too cool. Tell me you have a remote control for the winch!