Safe and secure way to suspend a 5″G Tender

[GreensandsParticipant @greensands]

I am looking for a safe and simple way of rotating a 5” gauge tender suspended from an overhead hoist arrangement using the drawbar centres as the pivot points in order to work on the underside of the unit.  One option is to make up a rotisserie/rotator as I have for the engine unit but unlike the engine which can be supported by a crossbar mounted through the front buffer beam holes to give a stable and safe means of support, use of a crossbar is not possible with the tender unit with the result that when lifted off the bench as shown in the photos there is nothing to prevent the tender from swinging violently out of control.

One is quite familiar with engine builders using rotators for their locos but I have not seen any similar applications for tenders which can be very heavy beasts to manhandle.

I would be very interested to hear how others builders manipulate their tenders in order to be able to work on the underside. Any ideas and hints for relieving the problem would be most welcomed.

 

[DC31kParticipant @dc31k]

Where is the centre of gravity of the item in relation to the current suspension points?

My guess is that it is somewhat above those points, meaning it will be unstable as shown, but stable once upside down.

Bolting something rigid to the current fixing points and then relocating the hooks upwards to co-incide with the centre of gravity would make it roll consistently/controllably through a full rotation.

As it is relatively short, consider the possibilities of rotating about an axis 90 degrees to that implied by the photos. That could make fixturing easier.

[BazyleParticipant @bazyle]

It looks like it would be top heavy about that point, but with steel frame and wheels low down where is the CofG?
Can’t the buffer cross bar be used at the rear end to give enough control with a solid bar up to the hook rather than a rope?

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

As my Dad was fond of saying:

If a job’s worth doing, it’s worth working to death

He was however spending other people’s money

.

https://tescotools.com/products/t68340-fdl-engine-frame-rotating-fixture

MichaelG.

 

P.S. __ I love the fact that this one comes from Tesco !

 

[GreensandsParticipant @greensands]

 

As has already been suggested the C of G clearly lies well above the chassis level which in practice means that once clear of the bench the tender will topple over to its stable upside down position.

I had considered using a crossbar across the rear buffer beam but unlike the engine unit where the front buffer beam is drilled with through holes to accommodate the buffers, the corresponding holes in the rear buffer beam on the tender unit are blind being just 1/8” in depth.

Although interesting in theory I don’t think a transverse mounting is a practical proposition.  I need to give some thought to the possibility of adding some counterbalance weights to even things up.  All good food for thought.

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