[Plasmaman]

Here are a few DIY projects I have undertaken for my shop over the last few years. Most have involved repurposing unneeded equipment and/or parts. Hope they may be interesting, if not particularly useful.

1: Combined an old Troyke rotary table and some drill press parts to make a welding positioner.

2. Used a Grainger gear motor and a toy train transformer to make a pantograph plasma cutting machine.

3. Used some drill press parts and magnetic drills to make a couple of drill presses.

4. Made an engine crane using an old Chevy bare block, crank, and starter motor. A fun project if not a practical one.

5. Made a light duty shop crane out of some 1" x 1" square tubing and a winch motor.

6. Made some grinder stands out of old drill press parts.

 

[Plasmaman]

The electric winch capacity is 440 lbs. I think it could handle that much, but I wouldn't feel comfortable with it. I regularly use it to lift drill presses, tool boxes, and other stuff up to about 300 lbs. If I want to move something heavy, I pick it off the floor, put two or three 2x4s across the bottom two side tubes, and let it down on them.

 

[Plasmaman]

Here are some mods I made to my 20 ton Harbor Freight press:

Air/hydraulic jack, table winch, guide rollers, casters, pinned table plates, release knob, grade 8 frame bolts, finger brake, support pin shaft collars.

Also, I have found it obnoxious to give up my ability to use my press when it is occupied by my Swag finger brake. As useful as the brake is, it is tiresome to have to uninstall it every time the press is needed as a press.

I'm currently fixing this problem. If you have a winch installed to raise and lower the deck, as I do, my fix is to lower the existing deck (table) way down, and fabricate a second deck from a length of channel. It can be quickly inserted above the brake in the frame and used for pressing. The second deck can be made as sturdy as necessary for the pressing you intend to do. Use a wooden block to raise the pressing surface as needed. I'm using 4" x 7.25 channel, which is in the process of being delivered. See second image.