I am considering bolting a 10ft I-Beam to the ceiling for pulling engines and such and mounting a trolley on it. I have a Tugit 3/4 ton chain hoist I can hang from it. I know most of you will probably say to get an engine hoist but I don't want the clutter of having to store the thing when not in use. I will check out the local scrapyard and hope to find an I-Beam.

Other than restricting the movement into one axis tell me why I should or should not do this. :thumbsup:

http://www.harborfreight.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/370x/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/i/m/image_3831.jpg

Structural integrity of your building would be my first concern. When you bolt the weight of the beam plus hoist plus what ever you plan to lift, will your ceiling framing hold it?

If you go with the steel beam you might want to think about using 3 with 2 of them bolted to the floor and the third bolted or welded across them.

Just my opinion.

Jim :beers:

There are two types of I beams........Make sure you have the proper trolley.

see below:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I-beam

There are two types of wheel configurations, one for "flat" running on W shapes and one is for "beveled" use on S shapes. Whenever possible I use S shapes for trolleys, the wheels seem to stay centered better. On W shapes the trolley will wander around a bit.This is a very inexpensive trolley:

http://www.toolfetch.com/Category--Hoisting--252020.shtml

Never put your personal safety at risk. We all have done stupid things in the past and said "I'll never do that again !"
Not just projects like this one...
-eye protection ?
-gloves ?
-feet ?

You get the point

Thanks for the advice guys. My shop is two story with the upstairs flooring of plywood. The floor/ceiling is 2" x 8" spaced 16" on center. A 300 lb man could stand on one foot anywhere upstairs and not be concerned about falling through.
I am thinking that if I span an I-Beam across the first floor ceiling and use two 3/8" lag screws in each truss the spread of the weight will be sufficient to hold the weight of an engine.
I think I will check the local metal recycling yard to see if they might have available a suitable I-Beam. When that becomes available I'll consider how to proceed.

As suggested by JimmyC, I would mount the I-beam on its own posts to keep the weight off the building structure.
The trolley shown will work with the tapered flange and usually, depending upon the construction/dimensions, it could weigh up to 30 lbs or more per foot.

Over time, the wooden structure will bend and give way.
Use a post at each end. A better structure would be to add a smaller beam foot for each end parallel to the wall, and triangulate the long foot to the uprights. Then weld in a tirangle in each upper corner to prevent or minimize sideways movement.

In my youger years, before I bought an engine hoist, they were $200 then, I borrowed the neighbor's A-frame and used my chain hoist. I worked on R&R a 400 CID Pontiac engine from a '70 GTO. Ever try to move the car up a 3° driveway to align for mating eng to trans? I did this event twice. It was the neighborhood event, had people out there in lawn chairs watching, snacks served, drinks available, and of course, you had to have music. Quite the event, I miss it now. We get older too quick.

No offense Andrew but if you look at building construction, there is a reason beams, whether wood or metal, are on top of the plates and not just secured to the ceiling joists. And they are not just simply on top of the plate and over a single stud or worse yet, between studs. What you want to do is not recommended. Your garage doors are not even framed this poorly, one would hope.

Thumbs up for the Overhead Trolley Setup. :)

No offense Andrew but if you look at building construction, there is a reason beams, whether wood or metal, are on top of the plates and not just secured to the ceiling joists. And they are not just simply on top of the plate and over a single stud or worse yet, between studs. What you want to do is not recommended. Your garage doors are not even framed this poorly, one would hope.

No offense taken. I understand the strength benefits of stacking verses only fasteners supporting the load. I'll remove this idea from my to-do list. Thank you for your candid advice. :thumbsup:

No offense taken. I understand the strength benefits of stacking verses only fasteners supporting the load. I'll remove this idea from my to-do list. Thank you for your candid advice. :thumbsup:

You can do this, just get 2 more beams just like others suggested too. Basically it's a header supported by jacks, like your door opening construction. Beams are in masonry walls the same way. The only drag is it being a single axis setup, but still nice to have nonetheless.

I have done this and used block work as the supporting members. 12" block collums on each end to support the beam and they don't take up a lot of space.

You can do this, just get 2 more beams just like others suggested too. Basically it's a header supported by jacks, like your door opening construction. Beams are in masonry walls the same way. The only drag is it being a single axis setup, but still nice to have nonetheless.

I planned to put this beam the length of the building right over where the car sits so I could use it for engine pulling and such. It just won't work right turned 90 degrees with legs down to the floor. I couldn't pull an engine and then move it forward away from the car. When the time comes I'll buy, borrow or rent a cherry picker.