Dan -

You can make the movement much smoother (more finely controlled) and reduce the 'strain' on the hoist by adding a double pulley (block & tackle) set-up to what you have. It's basic physics: by adding a double pulley you cut in half, and in half again the amount of force required to lift the object while at the same time doubling, and doubling again the amount of travel the cable has to move to lift the object.

All you have to do is add the pulleys. Note that the cable hook will now go to a fixed location (like a celing joist) - this is what will now take on half the burden of wieght. Again, the real benefit of setting your system up like this is that you will gain 2 times the control over the movement.



- michael