Hoist Away, Matey!

Since finishing the fourth floor of the barn fifteen years ago I’ve used that space for a lot of things; a meeting /presentation space for Groopshop,  a video studio, a classroom, a Gragg chair workshop.  With the demise of my teaching schedule here the function of the space has (d)evolved into primarily storage especially for extra workbenches and such.  Over the years I’ve probably moved benches from the main floor to the fourth floor (and back) a dozen times or more, using my compound block-and-tackle hand hoist.

But here’s the part where the story gets very mysterious.

Somehow the benches gained weight over the years, and I was at the point where hoisting them by hand was problematic.  What was once no big deal is now a very big deal.  And, since in recent months I’ve been reorganizing and reducing the contents of the main floor, I was faced with the task of hoisting several benches up and out of the way.

Hmmm.

The solution?  Buying and installing a Harbor Freight power winch.   Their smallest 120v plug-in model was more than adequate.  I bolted the winch unit to a 2×8 then lag-screwed the 2×8 into a number of the 2×6 rafters.  The new system works perfectly and moving heavy things up and down to the barn attic is now a piece o’ cake.