Material Handling at Home.

[ForceDesigns]

How do you guys handle some of the thicker material at home? I got a 4x4 sheet of 1/4" plate and it was a bear to unload. My brother helped me get it out of the truck and load it on the table. But It was the most challenging load I have had to move yet for the plasma. So just curious how you guys do it normally at home, not in a facility. No fork truck yet.

Has anyone built a small gantry for handling material? Now before we get into the debate on safety, I realize that a failure could be catastrophic and that the math needs to be right with the proper safety factor. I've actually designed a lot of material handling systems for more weight than I am talking about. Thinking a max of 500 lbs so that I could do a 4x4 sheet of 3/8" material pretty easily (~250 lbs if the math is correct). Might even need a couple of systems. One above the table to load a sheet and one to get it out of the truck or off the trailer.

Just looking for ideas right now. Powder coat oven is probably my next project.

[Scratch]

My shop is a dirty hot mess. I even have a dirt floor in most of it, but I don't have any big equipment so I have learned to handle heavy sheet steel fairly easily.
I have two of these wheeled conveyor racks about 8' long that make it "easier". I store my sheet steel vertically, slide one out from my storage rack then flop it down onto the first one of these conveyor racks laying on the ground.
I roll it over to my table where I have the second conveyor rack hooked onto the end of my table. The second rack is hooked on the end of the table (about 2' high) then angled down to the floor at about a 30° angle.
I spin the sheet of steel 90° using a vice grip has a handle, then muscle it up the angled rack and onto the table.

It's a bitch, but I do it by myself with every 4 x 8 sheet of 1/4" steel (and lighter) that I cut. Luckily, my storage area, and table are close enough that I can do this operation with just two of those racks.

I've only cut a full sheet of 3/8" steel one time, and had a bunch of help to load that one.

IMG_8737.JPG

[djreiswig]

We use a cherry picker. Fabbed up a short chain with a vise grip welded to each end. Lift the sheet from the long edge and roll it above the table. Set the sheet down on the near edge of the table and slowly lower the cherry picker as we roll it forward. If you keep the positioning right it lays right down with minimal adjustment.
We have move 4x8x1/2" sheets several times.
It's certainly easier with 2 people, but doable by yourself.

[acourtjester]

You can check out this post about moving and handling metal sheets
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=19897&p=115109#p115109

[SegoMan DeSigns]

Lets see here 1" metal is 40lbs sq ft x 6' x 12' = 2900 lbs, Better have a good overhead hoist LoL

[ForceDesigns]

SegoMan DeSigns, I will not be moving material of that size. My table cannot handle that weight, my table is not that large nor can my plasma cut that thick. But I will ensure that I size any kind of lift appropriately.

The ideas of using a roller conveyor are really getting me thinking. Using a lift from the truck might not be too bad to get it onto my dolley, which was what we did last time by hand. And from there use a removable roller conveyor in front of the table. Looking at some simple truck bed lifts, I could easily make something like that to support about 500 lbs. I was even thinking a storage rack with little rollers to make sliding material in and out easy.

[tnbndr]

I posted this somewhere once before, it may give you some ideas. Has been working well for me for last 4 years.

https://youtu.be/w7YscmOMFwg

[acourtjester]

Tnbndr some guy just have all the nice tools
I added rail trolly puts the icing on the cake too
Thanks for posting at least the trolly is on my todo list

[mitchw123456]

To get heavier sheets out of the truck I have a piece of rebar I push into the expansion joint in the driveway and C clamp a rope to it. Then put truck in neutral and let it roll a little forward to the point I can reach it with my engine hoist. I didn't buy the engine hoist for this purpose but so far its worked pretty well

[tnbndr]

Tnbndr some guy just have all the nice tools
I added rail trolly puts the icing on the cake too

The trolleys just keep everything aligned. The handle on the outside comes off also so if I buy extra sheets I slide them from my pickup bed onto the lift, lower and push under table.
This simple device allows me to move around and load sheets all by myself without busting my back.

[sawdust1]

I took a piece of barn door track, welded cross tabs to the back every 16 inches and lag bolted it to my ceiling trusses. A 50 dollar electric winch from Princess and I can go from truck to the floor, storage trolley or onto the table.