{"id":1168,"date":"2009-03-23T11:23:46","date_gmt":"2009-03-23T02:23:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2009-03-23\/1168"},"modified":"2009-03-23T11:23:46","modified_gmt":"2009-03-23T02:23:46","slug":"raising-crane-in-otsu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2009-03-23\/1168","title":{"rendered":"Raising Crane in Otsu"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n
\nNOTE<\/b>: Images with an icon next to them have been artificially shrunk to better fit your screen; click the icon to restore them, in place, to their regular size.\n<\/div>\n\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 160 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>1000 sec, f<\/span>\/4, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nJust a Bit<\/span> More...<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

While visiting Zak<\/a> the other\nday at his place in Otsu, I happened<\/span> to step into the hallway outside his\n15th-floor apartment just in time to notice that the tower crane at the\nconstruction site next door was about to be raised a notch.<\/span> Having always\nwondered about the details of how these cranes worked, I left Zak<\/span> with\nthree highly-energetic preschool kids (one of mine and two of his) and\nstepped out into the calm to watch the crane.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 116 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>1600 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nLowering a New<\/span> Segment Into Position<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

These “self-climbing tower cranes” are popular in Japan. They can be broken\ndown and their pieces can be transported by normal trucks, and reassembled\nfairly quickly at the next job site. As the construction<\/span> site they serve\ngrows, they can be raised on the fly by adding new segments to their main\nsupport column.<\/p>\n\n

First, they use the crane itself to lift and position the next segment of\nthe big support column, lowering it on top of the previous segment...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 70 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>1000 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 175 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>800 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nFinal Alignment<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

When Zak and other residents of his building bought their places, they\nwere told that the small plot of land to the north would not be developed.\nOf course, they were lied to, and now a 15<\/span>-story condo is going there. On the plus<\/span> side, the view of the site from the top of his building is\ncommanding, and with the crane right next to it, I had a<\/span> great perch from\nwhich to watch the proceedings.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 24 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>125 sec, f<\/span>\/14, ISO 360 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nCommanding View<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f\/2.8 @ 24 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>200 sec, f<\/span>\/9, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nLooking Northeast<\/span>\nthe 38-story Otsu Mary<\/a> is nearby\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 200 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>640 sec, f<\/span>\/8, ISO 200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nLake Biwa<\/span>\nbeyond the Otsu Mary\n<\/div>\n\n

In the picture above you can see a similar<\/span> crane in the distance. The columns<\/span> can be differing sizes, shapes, and colors, but the jibs (booms)\nare almost always alternating orange and white segments like the one seen\nabove. Yesterday's “What am I?” quiz<\/a> shows one corner where two segments\njoin. The jib wasn<\/span>'t at the angle seen in the picture when it was right in\nfront of me for the shot, but I tilted<\/span> the camera to make it appear to be\nrunning from corner to corner.<\/p>\n\n

Anyway, back to the event at hand, once the new segment was positioned,\nthey installed 20 big bolts all around the joint, tightening each with\nseveral big whacks from a sledge<\/span> hammer...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 340 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>500 sec, f<\/span>\/13, ISO 3200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nBattening Down the Hatches<\/span>\nso to speak\n<\/div>\n\n

Then each nut\/bolt position was marked, I suppose,<\/span> so that they can\nnotice later whether there had been any slippage....<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 340 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>500 sec, f<\/span>\/13, ISO 2200 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

Then it was time to lift the rig up the four and a half<\/span> meters (15 feet) to its\nnew home...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 120 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>500 sec, f<\/span>\/7.1, ISO 640 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nUp She Goes<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

The platform is raised by the winch\/chain combination in the center of\nthe photo above. The entire<\/span> weight of the platform, 98-foot jib, and three\nmen is borne by each link in that chain. Wow.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 120 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>500 sec, f<\/span>\/7.1, ISO 400 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nAlmost There<\/span>\nThe entire trip took about two and a half<\/span> minutes\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 165 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>500 sec, f<\/span>\/4.8, ISO 250 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nOne Foot to Go<\/span>\nwhile the guy at left chats on his cell phone\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 120 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>500 sec, f<\/span>\/4.8, ISO 360 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nLocking In<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 120 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>500 sec, f<\/span>\/5.6, ISO 400 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nOffloading the Winch Assembly<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 195 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>500 sec, f<\/span>\/8, ISO 900 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nHeading Back to Earth<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 340 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>500 sec, f<\/span>\/8, ISO 1250 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nOops, Hold On<\/span>\nForgot Something Important\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 340 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>500 sec, f<\/span>\/8, ISO 1250 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nLight Me Up, Baby<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

The crane, built in 1991, is a Kitagawa Iron Works' JCL030II<\/a>,\nclassified as a “small climbing crane” that can reach a\nfree<\/span>-standing height of 30.8 meters (101 feet) if all seven of the\n4.5-meter column segments are used, as per the schematics<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

The segment they just put on looks to be the fifth, so that means\nthey're going to climb down 74 feet in a dark,<\/span> windowless tube that's not\nmuch more than three feet in diameter, smoking the whole way. Not exactly<\/span> my idea of fun, but they were all smiles.<\/p>\n\n

(When I first wrote this, I'd mistakenly<\/span> used the specs for the next\nsmallest crane in Kitagawa's line, the JCL015II, and none of the\nmeasurements really added up. Kudos to my brother Steve for pointing it out,\nallowing me to fix it so that no one else will ever know that I flubbed<\/span> it up.)<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f\/2.8 @ 340 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>500 sec, f<\/span>\/8, ISO 1100 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span>\nCatch Y'all Later!<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

You can see in the lower left of the last picture three lines written\nwith a marker<\/span> on the top face of the cylinder. That's the (upside-down from\nmy view) character \u4e0a<\/b>, which means “top”. Such a low<\/span>-tech way to\nindicate which way the cylinder section should be installed!<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

While visiting Zak the other day at his place in Otsu, I happened to step into the hallway outside his 15th-floor apartment just in time to notice that the tower crane at the construction site next door was about to be raised a notch. Having always wondered about the details of how these cranes worked, I left Zak with three highly-energetic preschool kids (one of mine and two of his) and stepped out into the calm to watch the crane.<\/p>

These \"self-climbing tower cranes\" are popular in Japan. They can be broken down and their pieces can be transported by [...]","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1168"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1168"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1168\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1168"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1168"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1168"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}