If you have a copy of Machinrery's Handbook, you can look up the deflection for various standard beam sections. You don't want more than 1/4" deflection under designed loading if you're going to use a trolley on it, or the thing will roll to center and stop. For 28' foot clear span, at 2 tons I would take a WAG and say you'll need something on the order of W16-80 I beam. That's 16" web, wide flange, weighing 80 pounds per running foot in standard beam nomenclature. Check Machinery's, it will have the exact figures. You're gonna be unpleasantly surprised though, I'm afraid.
Last edited by Rich Waugh; 06-30-2006 at 08:22 PM.
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