Ceiling Mounted Repair Stand

BassoBry · #1 12-28-2018, 07:13 PM

We are knee deep in a new build out for our shop. Just finished the bench. Moving on to the stand situation. I am thinking of flipping a prs-3.2-1 upside down and mounting it to the ceiling. The joists are exposed, so I am certain I can get a very solid purchase with a cross beam and some beefy hardware. It will allow us to still utilize the space under the stand for bike storage come closing time. The prs 3.2-1 is adjustable but I think I will most likely have to take a hack saw and shorten both ends. Has anyone done this?

weisan · #2 12-28-2018, 07:17 PM

What prompted you to want to do that?

BassoBry · #3 12-28-2018, 07:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by weisan

What prompted you to want to do that?

Storage space is critical (large rental fleet) so this allows us to store bikes in the space underneath the stand.

AngryScientist · #4 12-28-2018, 07:22 PM

based on that picture, i would want to bolt that stand to a steel plate and span two beams. that thing looks to have enough lever arm that you will rip hardware right out of wood if you bolt it directly. use a large square steel plate and spread the load a bunch and you'll have a much more sturdy stand.

IMO.

vqdriver · #5 12-28-2018, 08:12 PM

i've actually considered this with a 100-25d head. i could get into the pragmatics of it, but ultimately it wasn't worth the hassle. in your case it'd be easiest/strongest to grind off the mounting plate and drill holes thru the post itself for the bolts. limiting factor here is twisting forces on the post itself, it's a long lever arm. the ceiling height pretty much dictates your working height. no matter what, the knob thing that locks in the clamp rotation will be underneath and very inconvenient to tighten/loosen

have you considered the wall mounts?

BassoBry · #6 12-28-2018, 08:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vqdriver

i've actually considered this with a 100-25d head. i could get into the pragmatics of it, but ultimately it wasn't worth the hassle. in your case it'd be easiest/strongest to grind off the mounting plate and drill holes thru the post itself for the bolts. limiting factor here is twisting forces on the post itself, it's a long lever arm. the ceiling height pretty much dictates your working height. no matter what, the knob thing that locks in the clamp rotation will be underneath and very inconvenient to tighten/loosen

have you considered the wall mounts?

I'm not sure if I follow you. The prs-3.2-1 is essentially two arms that slide within another. I can cut/re-drill holes of the mount end arm to shorten the height. The ceiling is not very high, and based on my measurements, it should be at a pretty good working height. I initially considered the wall mounts but but they are way more limited in adjustability, specifically height.

BassoBry · #7 12-28-2018, 08:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

based on that picture, i would want to bolt that stand to a steel plate and span two beams. that thing looks to have enough lever arm that you will rip hardware right out of wood if you bolt it directly. use a large square steel plate and spread the load a bunch and you'll have a much more sturdy stand.

IMO.

The mounting plate has four slots for hardware. I was planning on using a 4x4 as my cross beam that is boxed in one two sides by joists, and boxed in on the other sides to spread load.

vqdriver · #8 12-28-2018, 08:33 PM

would you really want to be adjusting clamp height with the setup hanging?
fwiw, every shop i've been to, (hell, even in my own garage) the stand has a tool tray attached filled with small parts and tools. dunno if i'd ever loosen that collar to change the height a smidge

vqdriver · #9 12-28-2018, 08:35 PM

fwiw, i'm rooting for you to have success with this because it's something i'm genuine interested in. but for my own purposes, i wanted the ability to swing it out of the way and couldn't get over the physics of the long lever arm.

BassoBry · #10 12-28-2018, 08:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vqdriver

would you really want to be adjusting clamp height with the setup hanging?
fwiw, every shop i've been to, (hell, even in my own garage) the stand has a tool tray attached filled with small parts and tools. dunno if i'd ever loosen that collar to change the height a smidge

Oh I see what your saying. I'm referring to adjustment at the end of the day with no bike in the stand, not during repair situations. Basically moving it up slightly out of the way to fit bikes under. It might not even be necessary tbh. It's also not a through space so it won't ever need to be moved out of the way completely.

It does have the tray, but I think this is actually the adjustment section. Safety pin/pinching mechanism.

FlashUNC · #11 12-28-2018, 09:04 PM

I'm not sure how much space is saved by ceiling mounting versus just mounting it to a heavy, flat steel plate on the floor.

With the added bonus of you don't have to worry about the whole works coming down on your head.

pdmtong · #12 12-28-2018, 09:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FlashUNC

I'm not sure how much space is saved by ceiling mounting versus just mounting it to a heavy, flat steel plate on the floor.

With the added bonus of you don't have to worry about the whole works coming down on your head.

or, hitting your head on it one day while walking under it.

if it could magically be a telescoping arm where you could push it up out of the way and pull it down when needed that would be more interesting.

I like the out of box thinking for sure....and if you proceed, I would do as angry suggested and bolt to a plate to a span that is then lagged into beam on each end.

sitzmark · #13 12-28-2018, 10:17 PM

I have a prs-3.2-1 mounted to Park's HEAVY steel base plate in my garage. Bombproof stand. Components - cast work tray, horizontal clamp tube - will flip to mount it from the ceiling and retain functionality. Not even sure you have to flip the horizontal tube... IIRC you can insert the lock block from either side of the square opening. If not just loosen the fixing bolt and rotate the tube.

I'd run bolts all the way through the four holes in the mounting base, 4x4, through a steel backing plate on the back side of the 4x4, then lock it down with washers and nuts. I wouldn't rely solely on the lock block compression to hold the post tubes together - definitely use the locking pin.

As noted above, if you mount the prs-3.2-1 on a large steel plate it will sit solid on the floor and you can park bikes all around and on it. You will lose only a few inches of space (basically the width of the post). That said ceiling mounted is an unconventional way to go.

Correction - I think I recall that the mounting plate holes on the post are threaded. Think I ran bolts from the underside to secure it to the steel base plate. If true you'll want to come top-down with mounting bolts or modify the base.

YesNdeed · #14 01-02-2019, 08:05 AM

This is cool. The boom supports three bikes, and raised a lowered by remote control using an electric motor, wires and pulleys. My buddy uses it for bike storage area and also how he works on them. I have a video of it in operation, but can’t post it here.

ultraman6970 · #15 01-02-2019, 08:21 AM

Have not read all the other insights but IMO just because of a torque situation I do not thing it is like a good idea to mount that upside down from the ceiling. Unless you want to fabricate like a 4 pieces bracket. 1 base plate and then 3 like lateral angled tubes, creating like a pyramid so the main tube of the repair stand doesnt go anywhere.