Building a winch

[fabricator]

I'm thinking about building a winch, I'd use a worm gear speed reducer like a Dodge Tigear, most worm gear winches are around 30:1, so I'm thinking maybe 50:1.

Worm gear reducers are inherently self braking, weld up a drum with some bushings and a frame, should be pretty simple to make 8-10K lb winch, I can get used tigears for 50-60 bux all day long, seems like it should work.

[SparWeb]

I saw your post last week, didn't have time to comment at the time.  Surprised nobody's tried to respond yet.

Actually maybe winches are a risky project to take on, but if you've got some experience with this stuff it may not be so daunting.  Somewhere around 30:1 or 40:1 ratios your winch has too much mechanical advantage to move when the crank is released.  If you're looking at a 1800 RPM motor to drive it, then the drum will turn about 30-60 RPM with the reduction.  A drum about 4" in diameter will take in up to 1 foot per minute (a bit fast, why hurry?) but it shows that the ratios you want will offer you a reasonable cranking speed and not need some kind of brake on the induction motor.

Size of the motor - look at similar winches on the market, but I'd expect at least 10HP.  That may be the limiting factor since the Tigear that I found from a google search came up with max 6 HP.

The reduction ratio and the required power are interrelated, so it's a balancing act.  Good luck!  I'm really interested in what you can come up with - if you decide to pursue it.