Stationary crane

I could google this but I bet you know. How do they put them up and tke them down?

I do not know for sure but I think there is a jacking unit that raises it so another section can be installed. Now we will see if my ..guesstimation.. is correct. I am sure if I web searched it that would tell me. Amazing how the internet is ..nearly as smart as the ..YT brain trust.. ha ha. Waiting for the knowledge of YT to kick in will be more fun!

A larger crawler/wheeled crane builds the smaller tower cranes. When the raise up with the building they have the jacking unit on the tower.

As UR said they self erect. The horizontal boom is erected on the base on the ground. Then it raises itself up one vertical section at a time.

Is that the one at the hospital in Mankato? That thing is HUGE!!

It is. I went to the attached clinic for
my annual wellness checkup. Same old
advice from dr. Eat less, exercise more
and lose weight.

The official bird of Austin, the Construction Crane.

Madison, Wisconsin also has a bunch of them Cranes in several different colors. They must like it here because they don't seem to migrate south in the winter.

I was born there a LONG tine ago

Does the counterweight adjust electronically as per what the hook weight is lifting or does the operator have to adjust that?

Amazing machines. Erection and disassembly require attention to detail and respect of details. Erection of tower cranes is not a one method fits all project. The crane and the tower determine how they are erected as well as location. There are some small models that are truck and or trailer mounted and truly self-erect, basically unfolding themselves from the travel/stowed position.

Most of the larger ones use a truck or crawler crane to assemble the tower to a given height and install the upperworks (jib machinery deck, etc. at the top of the tower), which may be assembling it to working height if it doesn't need climb/jack and high enough to clear obstructions to swinging. If it is going to climb it may be assembled at a level high enough to allow installing the tower jacking components. During climbing the ends of the upper works must be kept in balance to prevent tipping of the tower. Some can at least partially assemble and disassemble the jib and machinery deck themselves.

It is interesting to stand at the base of one when working and look up the tower. You can watch the tower bend in the direction the upperworks is loaded. They are generally left to freewheel (rotate) when not working due to wind loadings on them, also there are windspeed ratings that require taking them out of service and allowed to free wheel. Which is one of the reasons if there are two or more tower cranes on a site, in close proximity, they will be assembled to different heights so one can swing over the other.

Some have moveable counterweights some don't.

I am a member of the International Union of Operating Engineers. All that means is Im a union heavy equipment operator. I am not a crane operator. I did get to see a bunch of cranes, large tower, and mobile at our national training facility in Crosby Texas 3 winters ago. They were very impressive and yes I believe they can basically build themselves. Not for me. About 8 or 10 feet is my comfort limit. Have talked to some of the tower crane operators. I figured it was a fairly stable rig. They said it sways more than youd think just sitting there. Almost like sitting in a tree stand on a smaller tree on a windy day ! No thanks ! Ill stick to the ground ! Id probably pass out before I ever got to the cab on one of them !

I have had tower crane operators say they knew pretty much what they had for a load by watching how many floors (sighting something else) the boom tip lowered when they sighted along the boom/jib. The cranes have to flex in the tower and jib, or they would break.

I agree with the operator of a truck crane helping with the assembly of one. When asked if he was going up to check it out after it was assembled since he was a crane operator, he replied, ''Nope, I can't think of a thing I left in that cab, so I have no reason to go there.'' Hats off to guys, and gals, who run them.

Bob Crouch of Newport VT. operated one of those in Boston for many years. He passed a few years back, but before he did he had about the sweetest hook when pulling with his JD GM that anyone has ever had. You can go to you tube and enter Uncle Buck's John Deere, and see if you don't agree. I was there near the finish end of the track.

This provides a general idea of how most of them are erected. It's a rather simplistic view, but not bad
Tower Crane Erection

Here is a short video of one way. Some other you tube videos are there just look with the self climbing ones. joe
crain

I went on and watched the pull - very cool

Me too, Butch. A little less than 74 years ago.