Jeff--
My neighbor has an ibeam across the ceiling of his shop. He went to a
lot of trouble to put it in. As I recall, the beam goes across the
shop, supported by 3 each 8" diameter steel posts, and helps support the
roof (there is a loft in part of the roof, the other part uses
trusses). He has a trolly chain hoist attatched to it.
I've been doing just fine with a cherry picker (mobile engine hoist)
since 1984. It fits behind the lathe when I'm not using it, and does
take up a little bit of room...but I can take it outside if I have to,
and also I can pull an engine from a vehicle that is on jackstands.
I've taken it to other people's houses and pulled engines (sometimes
I've gotten good deals on used engines by being able to pull them
myself). My friends borrow it occasionally, too, which may or may not
be a good thing.
I would suggest that if the overhead beam/hoist setup is going to cost
more than a cherry picker engine hoist (a couple hundred bucks), then
you ought to forget about the beam. I think it's just not worth the
trouble. I've moved a couple times since building my cherry picker, and
if I had gone with an overhead beam instead, I would be on my third one
by now!
Jim F
59s in AZ
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