# Crank up Lighting stands



## church (Jun 19, 2009)

I recently went looking for some extra crank up stands and finally purchased some Global Truss ST132 stands. Very pleased with the quality, they also will lift 220lbs at 13 feet and have one leg that can be adjusted for an uneven floor. The price was also very good. I much prefer them to the Manfrottos and applied electronics stands.


----------



## NickJones (Jun 19, 2009)

Very nice, I was busily cranking up a tree a few years ago, and was told by one of the guys putting in the massive stage, that trees were now illegal in Aus. I wasn't sure whether this was true or not, and have not needed to use them since, I can see why push up stands would be a major problem, but I wasn't aware of them being made illegal. All the hire places in the area still hire them out, even the push up ones. Any Aussie techs got any ideas?


----------



## JD (Jun 19, 2009)

In my mind, a "push up" stand is one where you push the section up and then lock off the segment with a clamp or threaded fastener. I guess you could call a crank stand a push-up stand as a cable is used to pull the ends of each section together, pushing up the lengths. By that definition, a Genie Super Tower would be considered a "push up" lift. Unless you have some structure to rig to, the elimination of those lifts would require a massive scaffold build every time you could not rig. Doesn't sound right.


----------



## gafftaper (Jun 19, 2009)

Illegal? That seems a little extreme. Dangerous? Well in the wrong hands they sure can be. Just wanted to take a moment for the standard safety lecture. If you know how to use them they are safe and an excellent tool to have in your arsenal. If you don't know what you are doing you can create an incredibly dangerous situation where people could easily be badly injured or even killed. If you buy or rent a crank up stand be sure to have a trained professional teach you how to properly use it. 

Crank up light stands definitely are part of the rigging world and as such any discussion about how to use them alone or in conjunction with truss will not be allowed. This thread's discussion of if they are legal or not in Oz is of course acceptable to discuss on CB. 

I now return you to the previously scheduled discussion...


----------



## Chris15 (Jun 24, 2009)

The original winchups are illegal because no one ever got them certified...

18' w/ups are becoming much harder to find these days, 12' are still reasonably commonplace.

One will find regular application of WD-40 to the moving stems of a winchup to be beneficial, it's quite annoying when a stand gets stuck at some height up. Particularly if one has to resort to pulling on the multicable attached to the bar up to to get the stand to come down...

Also be careful that you don't fall victim to the snatch points, particularly around the various pulleys and the winch drum...

I'll see if I can get a photo of a winch up, I suspect we are talking about a slightly cruder product than our overseas bretheren are used to...


----------



## BillESC (Jun 24, 2009)

You could always go with Genie Super Lifts or Super Towers. About the best crank stands available.




800 pounds to 26 feet.


----------



## Chris15 (Jul 6, 2009)

I promised a pic earlier, so here we go:


----------



## NickJones (Jul 6, 2009)

Yeah, that's the type I was using, one of the guys putting in the stage told me, he didn't seem to sure, I couldn't find anything on Google to prove / disprove this claim.
Nick


----------



## jmac (Nov 3, 2009)

church said:


> I recently went looking for some extra crank up stands and finally purchased some Global Truss ST132 stands. Very pleased with the quality, they also will lift 220lbs at 13 feet and have one leg that can be adjusted for an uneven floor. The price was also very good. I much prefer them to the Manfrottos and applied electronics stands.



Forgive resurrecting an old thread, and my lack of knowledge on booms and stands... and disregard, if deemed no-no rigging questions..

What are these generally used for, just par cans? Or are these crank up stands with cross arm suitable for mounting, say four Source 4's using C-clamps, as opposed to bolting on lighter par cans. Looks like this would be well within the 220# rating, but.... Or would it be better (or common practice ) to use two stands and a piece of truss, (obviously more expensive)?

Looks like there are alot of portable light duty DJ stands available, suitable for a few par cans, but what if anything is reasonably available, in something portable and easy to set up, that is suitable for the added weight of Source 4's and the like?

Our local rental shop seems to use home made booms using the 50# boom base and 1-1/2" pipe, to which are added sand bags or blocks, but again, typically just for par cans or fresnels. And these guys aren't exactly easily portable.. (I did read the ANSI E1.15 referenced here elsewhere, which has some guidelines for this type of boom, but I don't know if it is applicable to the tripod style stands..?).

So, has anyone come up with a solution for the heavier fixtures, or are we limited to the lighter par cans? Can you comment?


----------



## derekleffew (Nov 3, 2009)

What BillESC fails to mention is the Genie ST-25 weighs 555 pounds. Not something easily tossed into the back of a minivan.

jmac, http://www.controlbooth.com/forums/members/jmac.htmlthis might suit your application.


ETC SmartStand

However, for theatre purposes, very few items rival the standard 50# boom base and 1/5" pipe.


----------



## mstaylor (Nov 3, 2009)

You put whatever on a stand as long as you don't exceed the weight rating. Also, remember to keep the weight balanced. We used a couple of Applied stands that have what we call moose antlers to carry truss. We built a cross bar that replaces the moose antlers and allows us to mount lights at the tree only. If you do this make sure it is done by a certified welder.


----------



## jmac (Nov 3, 2009)

derekleffew said:


> What BillESC fails to mention is the Genie ST-25 weighs 555 pounds. Not something easily tossed into the back of a minivan.
> 
> jmac, http://www.controlbooth.com/forums/members/jmac.htmlthis might suit your application.
> 
> ...



Thanks, Derek. Yes, the Genie looks to be quite manly, a real brute. Hadn't seen the ETC Smart Stand before. It looks similar to the Global Truss ST132 which started this thread. However, the ETC version appears to cost 3x the GTruss...

I do like the solidness of the basic boom base and 1.5" pipe, but the crank stands do pack up nicer, and have adapters for truss which gives them another possible use, for little concerts, etc.

Does anyone have experience with four S4's on one of the crank stands??


----------



## BillESC (Nov 3, 2009)

We have the Global ST 132 stands in our rental department (as well as the Genies,) and there is an available 2" x 4' T Bar. You can hang 8 S4's on the T Bar all day long.


----------



## jmac (Nov 4, 2009)

BillESC said:


> We have the Global ST 132 stands in our rental department (as well as the Genies,) and there is an available 2" x 4' T Bar. You can hang 8 S4's on the T Bar all day long.



Is that a special bar, or the standard Global bar? The standard bar (1-3/8"?) looks like you can only hang four, or are you top hanging too? Do you bolt the yokes to the bar, or use C-clamps? Use sandbags?


----------



## church (Nov 4, 2009)

if the T Bars are the ones from Global Truss their collar fits over the top of the stand and there is a wing nut that locks it to the stand. I both over and under mount fixtures on these making sure it is balanced and I always put the lightest fixtures on top. These stands carry a higher weight rating than many other manufacturers for this type of stand. The stands are pretty substantial and have safety interlocks built in. The global truss T bars I have are made from square steel tube so I do not use c-clamps with these T bars. these T Bars came with the stands as a special promotion Global Truss was doing so I do not know if these are the regular T bars they supply. 

In general when using T Bars I do not use Clamps simply because they add unecessary weight, the less weight I put at the top of the stand the better. This is not because I am worried about the stand being able to lift the weight it is just I prefer to minimise the weight I put in the air. This is my standard practice even when using fixed hanging points or flown pipes. 

I get quite annoyed when people just keep adding things to the rig and leaving it there as a convenient storage because you can eventually exceed your load ratings without even thinking about it: a couple of fixtures here, extra cable there and so it goes on. Just my standard practice - each to his own.


----------



## len (Nov 4, 2009)

jmac said:


> Does anyone have experience with four S4's on one of the crank stands??



Applied sells a couple t-bars that fit their crank stands. One is a 1" square, and the other is a 2" round pipe. Can't remember how long they are. Applied also sells a claw adapter so that you can use your own pipe. 

I'm sure other mfg. have similar accessories.


----------



## n1ist (Nov 4, 2009)

I'm in a similar boat, but just want to mount one Altman 360 on such a stand. I'd rather not use a t-bar since that puts the weight off-center.  Is there some sort of clamp that would let me rooster the fixture?
/mike


----------



## BillESC (Nov 4, 2009)

n1ist said:


> I'm in a similar boat, but just want to mount one Altman 360 on such a stand. I'd rather not use a t-bar since that puts the weight off-center. Is there some sort of clamp that would let me rooster the fixture?
> /mike



A trip to your local plumbing supply can remedy your problem.

Buy:

1 - 6" pipe nipple (of a diameter that will fit inside the center mast of your stand.)
1 - pipe end cap

Drill a 1/2" hole in the center of the pipe cap and bolt it to the yoke of your fixture. Screw the pipe nipple into the cap. Slide the pipe into the mast of your stand. Walla! Fixture centered over the stand.


----------



## BillESC (Nov 4, 2009)

jmac said:


> Is that a special bar, or the standard Global bar? The standard bar (1-3/8"?) looks like you can only hang four, or are you top hanging too? Do you bolt the yokes to the bar, or use C-clamps? Use sandbags?



Global's standard T Bar is square tubing. They do however offer a 2" diameter round tube x 4' T Bar as an extra cost option. Part # GT-LB132


----------



## jmac (Dec 11, 2009)

BillESC said:


> We have the Global ST 132 stands in our rental department (as well as the Genies,) and there is an available 2" x 4' T Bar. You can hang 8 S4's on the T Bar all day long.



Bill- Are the T-bar's you rent to hang the (8) S4's the 1-3/8" square version, or the 2" diameter T-Bar? And do you bolt the yokes to the bar or use C-Clamps? I'm trying to figure out if the 2" diameter version is suitable (sturdy enough) for clamping (it looks like they still show the bolts going thru the pipe), which would seem to make it most versatile. If it's not suitable for clamping, then it seems like the square bar would hold things in place better, if bolting the yokes.. Thanks.


----------



## Traitor800 (Dec 11, 2009)

The 2" round cross bar is very sturdy and you can use C-clamps on it in adition to the 4 bolt holes that it comes with. If you use a standard theatrical c-clapm i would hesitate to crank it down real tight because its thinner wall tubing. I usually use half-boro clamps on mine.


----------

