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 How do you get a 500 lb boiler and two 200 lb generators down a short flight of very steep, wet, dirty, and uneven concrete stairs with rounded edges? This is the question I've been contemplating for a while, as my only basement access is through a trap door in the sidewalk.
The thought of trying to use a hand truck to carry heavy stuff downstairs gives me chills, as I can barely move the boiler with a hand truck on flat ground. The second problem is getting anything heavy up the stairs, including lots of pieces of concrete from an old walk-in fridge that used to be in my basement. I'd thought briefly of getting rid of the stairs and putting in an elevator, but I need something I could do and afford now. For me, the answer was to make a gantry crane. I looked into buying one but they were overkill for what I needed and the cheapest I could find was almost $600. Not to mention, I would still need a hoist. My solution, of course, was to make my own for about $250 including the electric hoist. 
At the hardware store I purchased three 2x6 boards, a couple of 2x4's, some casters, steel plumbing pipe and fittings, threaded rods, and steel straps. I also splurged and purchased an AC-powered electric hoist capable of lifting 1300 lbs.
The assembly process required me to screw the three 2x6 boards together into one and mount the plumbing parts onto the wood. The legs of the crane were made in a similar way, except that I connected the casters on the ends. To strengthen the frame, I welded the threaded rods onto the pipe and used a turn buckle to tighten them up. I also drilled holes and inserted threaded rod into the main beam for additional support.
After about 2 hrs of assembly I had something that looked like a gantry crane. I made it about seven feet tall and seven feet wide so that it can be used to load stuff into a truck and perhaps even lift a small engine. My  design also allows the legs to be removed for easy storage and moving.
To test my gantry crane, I first connected one of the generators to the hoist hook and pressed the up button. In about 2 seconds the generator was lifted from the floor to eye-level; all I had to do was use my thumb.
Once I knew that my crane was operational, I brought it outside and set it up on the sidewalk. In less than thirty seconds I had lowered the engine down. The second generator was lowered just as easily. For the next task, I tied some very heavy-duty rope around the boiler and brought it to the sidewalk. I connected the hook and pressed the button; in seconds the boiler was floating until a few moments later it was safely at the bottom of the stairs. The next test for my gantry crane was lifting. I attached a bucket, which I'd hastily made from a keg tub, and filled it with pieces of concrete slap. When I connected the hook the bucket was lifted without any problem at all.
So far I am very happy with this setup. Using the gantry crane makes my basement much more useable and work down there much easier. I can't wait to use this crane for other projects.
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Re: Build your own crane
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