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Many of the stones
that you will find in neglected cemeteries that have
been broken or knocked off their base can weigh in
excess of 300 pounds. Far more than you will be able to
lift on your own. To repair or reset larger, heavier
stones such as this Saving Graves recommends the use of
a tripod hoist. The tripod has been used since Egyptian
times to raise heavy objects, and can simplify your job.
However, even with the aid of a tripod, it is important
that you have enough help to ensure safety. Extreme
caution is required when using a tripod. You need to be
knowledgeable on rigging. Rigging heavy
stones with inexperienced people can and will result in
injuries. Think about the pendulum effect when
lifting a stone, especially when you are working on an
tilted surface. One suggestion is to
have a local pipe fitter or welder conduct a class with
a select group of volunteers and city workers to
instruct us in how to SAFELY erect the lifting device
and how to SAFELY rig a tombstone. That includes the use
of steel toed boots, good leather gloves, etc. All
rigging in future would be done only with members of
that trained group.
Tripods for cemetery
restoration use vary from the two wooden "A" frame type
capable of lifting up to two tons to the three pole
steel I-beams frame that will support five tons.
Patricia Kneisler of
Benicia, California is a civil engineer who works on
restoring the 20 acre city-owned Benicia City Cemetery.
Among the problems facing their efforts, "almost the
entire cemetery is on a slope ... 18" in 10' is not
uncommon. And erosion is a huge concern as years of
indiscriminant Round-Up usage has left the slopes nearly
bare of vegetation. That makes use of equipment such as
rubber tired loaders, backhoes and cranes somewhat of a
problem as driving them on that slope sure doesn't help
matters ... and picking a load on a slope is something
only an experienced operator should be doing. Then there
is the sheer expense of using that kind of equipment.
AND there is the "hurry up" factor. It's a fact that
when you use something that costs several hundred
dollars an hour, you tend to "hurry up" to save money!
And I think we'd all agree that that's NO way to restore
a cemetery."
"So,
being a civil engineer, I put my head to the problem. To
my mind, tripods, engine lifts, etc. were either too
dangerous on a slope, or too restrictive in their
picking area. So a friend and I developed our own
"little" design for what looks like a portable kid's
swing set. The rail along the top is actually a small
crane beam that a trolley hoist can ride on. The four
legs are made from steel pipe and adjust up to 2' to
compensate for the slope (a smaller sized pipe slides up
and down inside each leg and can be pinned in several
spots depending on the height you need). It stands a
little over 6' high and will be about 8' to 10' long (so
we can rig base blocks out of our way completely when we
dig out for new foundations). Yep ... it's a tad heavy!
But it's meant to bolt together in pieces. And once it's
up ... well, it just stays up until whatever we're
working on is done ... if that's a month, so be it. We
intend to use a "chain fall" with the trolley, and two
cloth slings to pick the stones in sort of a "basket
hitch". Now all we have to do is get the city to pay us
for the material to put it together. It's probably
overkill for a small cemetery ... but Benicia is so
large, we'll use a device like this for years."
Some manufactures such as
the
Granite City Tool Company offer sturdy, lightweight
tripods of steel or aluminum construction that set up
quickly for heavy lifting (1 to 3 tons) in areas with no
overhead support, with independently adjustable legs
that permit use on uneven ground and adjust on 6"
centers. A standard lashing kit prevents the legs from
spreading on hard or soft surfaces and is included with
every tripod.
Before getting started,
there are three points that we need to look at:
1 Make sure that no
metal is used in strapping the stone before attempting
to move it with the tripod. This will cause additional
damage to the stone and should be avoided. You should
use canvas strapping for lifting the stone.
2 You will want to make
sure before attempting to lift that the ground you have
placed the tripod on is solid enough to hold the weight
of the equipment without sinking into the ground.
3 You will want to make
sure that the tripod is set up in such a way as to
prevent the legs from spreading and causing the stone
to drop while lifted.
An example of a tripod in
use at a cemetery can be found at:
http://www.rootsweb.com/~intcpcrg/2002-Routh/RouthMay4.html |
