A Little Winch For The Shop

[Don42]

Good one! Thanks for the laugh!

A question for you: have you ever actually lowered a heavy load with a simple ratchet strap winch? It's easy to control when raising a load where the ratchet "catches" the spool if you relax on the crank, but when you must rely purely on your strength to resist load torque on the crank from a spool that can spin freely, it's a very different story. Your arms must exert force on the crank in different directions depending on the angular position of the crank. If a not-quite-strong-enough grip or sweaty hands results in the crank getting loose, a stretched nylon strap has a LOT of stored elastic energy. A load can only accelerate at rate of g in free fall, but the stored tensile energy in that strap can almost instantly get that crank spinning at very high speed because cranks tend to have quite low moments of inertia. Injury is almost inevitable if the crank gets away from the operator under load and free of ratchet constraint.

I do indeed make mistakes -- but I try to make them only once, particularly those that hurt. That's exactly why I want a me-proof Weston-like brake on my little winch. It really does work as intended and described. Do as you will at your own peril, but please advise others responsibly or not at all.

[Jon]

Congratulations Don42 - your Shop Winch is the Homemade Tool of the Week!

This is a nice light-duty design for everyday shop lifting, and the ability to use it in a Skyhook-style configuration opens up even more options.

Some more good builds from this week:

Power Hacksaw by yair feldmann
Block Lifting Tongs by hemmjo
Drywall Cutter by orioncons36
Oil Can Nozzle by mr_modify1
Spoke Bending Jig by Mr. Factotum's Workshop
Hose Clamp by diy creative crafts
Desktop CNC Modification by ericinventor
Wheel Hoe by liberal
Bandsaw Sled by Make Things
Squaring Stick by e_m_maker
Electronic Edge Finder by rgsparber
Sliding Bevel Gauge by fox craft
Clamp and Press Organizer by Eloy Workshop
Mini Lathe Motor by engineer steve
Welding Cart by Haslip Cycle Works

Don42 - you'll be receiving a $25 online gift card, in your choice of Amazon, PayPal, or bitcoin. Please PM me your current email address and gift card choice and I'll get it sent over right away.

This is your 2nd Homemade Tool of the Week. Here are both of your Homemade Tool of the Week winning tools. Congrats again

Puzzle Nut Key by Don42

tags: wheel, key, nut driver

Shop Winch by Don42

tags: winch

[rebuilder1954]

Don, this is brilliant. In my small shop I don’t have room for a gantry or engine lift, but this is perfect for chucks, dividing heads, vises, etc.

Can’t wait to build one!

[Don42]

Rebuilder 1954: Mark II is always better than Mark I, right? If you build it, I'd suggest going with coarser threads like 1/2-13 -- or even 1/2-10 if you're comfy making odd threads on the lathe. The idea is to minimize friction in the threads so it releases more easily when lowering load. Make the threads as smooth as possible. I might even make the nut of brass or bronze. Lubricate with the slickest grease you can find, but keep the lube away from the friction plate, disc and ratchet disc. I once had some red stuff intended for rebuilding engines that was incredibly slippery but I can't remember what it was. You might know.

[rebuilder1954]

Good idea. I actually have a stick of 1/2-10 acme with nuts, so I may see if that will work. I will let you know how it comes out.

[tony_hill]

Don_42 well done project. I must say that it is unfortunate how some ignorant, wanna-be gear heads have to interject their opinions of so called safety conscious just to flatter their own ego into an otherwise fine, “home made tool” posting. Frankly, if one doesn’t fully understand the “risks” of using such a tool they shouldn’t (and most likely can’t) build said tool. Why some people feel they are the safety police for the world is beyond me. Think you again Don!