A "Gin" for a higher lifting point

Back in the late 1970's lineman told me about, maybe showed me, a device he called a "gin" (clearly derived from "gin pole"), which he used in the days before ubiquitous boom-trucks.

If you want to hoist a transformer up to the top of a pole, or a beam onto a similarly located tenon, the pole is by definition not tall enough to provide a place to lift from. Enter the "gin". Mine are a 4 ft piece of 2" pipe, with two pairs of angle-iron legs welded on near one end, providing a vee which nests the pole. Add a chain and binder between the leg. Photo shows one lifting a ridge-pole to the top of king-post for addition to toolshed yesterday. Sorry about the leaves in the way.

This is how they built radio towers.

Looks like an ordinary gin-pole to me. Common as dirt in the communication tower business. We've built several over the
years. They used to show up in the construction trade as well but with the proliferation of crane trucks and smaller mobile
cranes they're just not used any more...

Thanks for the education in terminology. I always thought a gin pole was simply a long stick placed on the ground or mounted on a truck , supported and positioned by two guys, not the clamp-on device I posted.

magneticanomaly said:

Thanks for the education in terminology. I always thought a gin pole was simply a long stick placed on the ground or mounted on a truck , supported and positioned by two guys, not the clamp-on device I posted.

Click to expand...

CE terminology, it indicated any SINGLE pole, in compression, not necessarily vertical (seldom, actually - your slanted example the common one, simply so the load was not trying to be where the anchor was), rest of the work done by cordage.

Add even one more rigid element, other terms applied, depending:

"A" frame, "tripod", "stiff leg derrick", etc.

AFAIK mariners have a mostly different set of their own terms. Fair enough. They have been at it a while..

Apropos of nothing much . I'd have called that clamped-on extender a "jib", rather than a "gin" ..but I've been wrong often enough, so..

Pick yer book, Ancient and Honourable Corps of Engineers and Artillerists (AKA land lubbers... or "disturbers" anyway)... or Blue Water Navy & Mercantile Marine, wooden hulls and Iron men era...

Nowadays the second lot have gone scarce, even the button-pushing networked and remoted.

Many years ago I watched the erection of an elevated water tank, the single pedestal type. They used a rented crane to get the first 20-30 feet of column up. After that everything was done with a gin pole.

Illinoyance, there were lots of those at home in the Midwest, but I was young then and didn't think about things like how they were erected. Now you got me thinking. How on Earth do they install the large, massively-overhanging tank bulb for those pedestal style water tanks? Did they use falsework to support the bottom arc of the tank until it was self-supporting? Supported by the ground, or by a collar around the pedestal, or ???

sfriedberg said:

Illinoyance, there were lots of those at home in the Midwest, but I was young then and didn't think about things like how they were erected. Now you got me thinking. How on Earth do they install the large, massively-overhanging tank bulb for those pedestal style water tanks? Did they use falsework to support the bottom arc of the tank until it was self-supporting? Supported by the ground, or by a collar around the pedestal, or ???

Click to expand...

Ummh.. Folks? "Field-expedient" methods, as we sometimes call such things, are valuable lore. Sharing is blessed. It can be SUPER valuable knowledge when disaster strikes and lives are to be preserved. Or saved. Or even just time or MONEY saved.

But not EVERYTHING has had to be done with field-expedient methods..

Now and then even a Hairy-Eared, mud-boot, leather britches Combat Engineer actually books a mobile crane! They do exist, after all.