Abstract: An industrial robot well suited for handling heavy work pieces comprises a base; a vertically oriented main support shaft rotatably mounted in the base on a radial thrust bearing; a support frame mounted on the support shaft; a flat-sided extendable main extend shaft mounted on the support frame; and a tooling assembly mounted on the outer end of the main extend shaft. The main extend shaft is a hollow, rectangular tubular member and rides on a simplified bearing assembly consisting of two sets of adjustable cam followers that ride on all four walls of the shaft. The tooling assembly comprises cam-operated, adjustable force grab jaws that hold the work piece; and separate means for raising and lowering and extending and retracting the grab jaws with respect to the main extend shaft. The whole system is operated hydraulically by solenoid actuated valves which control hydraulic motors or cylinders, with the cylinders functioning on a full extend or full retract basis.