------------------ "I am not what you so glibly call to be a civilized man. I have broken with society for reasons which I alone am able to appreciate. I am therefore not subject to it's stupid laws, and I ask you to never allude to them in my presence again."
Note, nowhere in this post did I exclude myself from my above statements.
------------------ "I am not what you so glibly call to be a civilized man. I have broken with society for reasons which I alone am able to appreciate. I am therefore not subject to it's stupid laws, and I ask you to never allude to them in my presence again."
Well, you most certainly did... but I've now since corrected it.
[QUOTE]Originally posted by ericjon262:
I know us cheap bastards trust our lives to these things.
[/QUOTE]
if that's how you interpret it, cool, to be honest, it doesn't bother me either way and if it bothers someone that much, I still don't care, at least they now know their HF jackstand may have an outstanding recall and needs to be thoroughly inspected.
------------------ "I am not what you so glibly call to be a civilized man. I have broken with society for reasons which I alone am able to appreciate. I am therefore not subject to it's stupid laws, and I ask you to never allude to them in my presence again."
Is Only One Sku? Most HF items sell under Two to Many Skus and owners have lost labels etc.
A company sending notice to some buyers but that often doesn't mean much. Many are bought as gifts or paid by cash, gift cards, etc. that doesn't have billing data. That's ignoring second hand markets.
If you worried about one HF Recall... Go to https://www.cpsc.gov/ Search Harbor Freight In drop down box select "Search Recalls: Harbor Freight" to find more recalls w/o CPSC news pages.
Did bother to see if above is listed but site says May Not show new recalls because of CCP virus problem.
------------------ Dr. Ian Malcolm: Yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should. (Jurassic Park)
if that's how you interpret it, cool, to be honest, it doesn't bother me either way and if it bothers someone that much, I still don't care, at least they now know their HF jackstand may have an outstanding recall and needs to be thoroughly inspected.
The sad part about this is that Eastwood has 6 ton jackstands that are CHEAPER than Harbor Freight and I can almost guarantee better quality. People should take some more time and research their options before just assuming that Harbor Freight has the best prices.
The sad part about this is that Eastwood has 6 ton jackstands that are CHEAPER than Harbor Freight and I can almost guarantee better quality. People should take some more time and research their options before just assuming that Harbor Freight has the best prices.
if I were a betting man, I'd say that most jackstands are probably all made in the same factory, side by side. in reality, you should do an inspection on things like jackstands before, during, and after use regardless of brand.
------------------ "I am not what you so glibly call to be a civilized man. I have broken with society for reasons which I alone am able to appreciate. I am therefore not subject to it's stupid laws, and I ask you to never allude to them in my presence again."
Prime Minister Brunelle uses these home-made wood blocks:
Benefits (as I see them): Easy to make: use 2x3 lumber, wood screws, glue (PL Premium or yellow glue), and red Tremclad (colour is up to you) Not overly expensive either. When supporting the pinch weld section below a car's rocker panel, the metal will bite a bit into the wood; low risk of slipping! Do orient the pinch weld perpendicular to the wood grain to avoid splitting. When using these blocks on asphalt, the large surface area prevents sinking into the pavement. They're quite strong enough; I have no qualms about getting under a car supported by these.
Edit: since these blocks were designed and built in Québec (a project between my dad and I), we dubbed them the Bloc Québécois.
[This message has been edited by pmbrunelle (edited 04-08-2020).]
Prime Minister Brunelle uses these home-made wood blocks:
Benefits (as I see them): Easy to make: use 2x3 lumber, wood screws, glue (PL Premium or yellow glue), and red Tremclad (colour is up to you) Not overly expensive either. When supporting the pinch weld section below a car's rocker panel, the metal will bite a bit into the wood; low risk of slipping! Do orient the pinch weld perpendicular to the wood grain to avoid splitting. When using these blocks on asphalt, the large surface area prevents sinking into the pavement. They're quite strong enough; I have no qualms about getting under a car supported by these.
My uncle made some similar stands to go under his Camaro, they worked great.
------------------ "I am not what you so glibly call to be a civilized man. I have broken with society for reasons which I alone am able to appreciate. I am therefore not subject to it's stupid laws, and I ask you to never allude to them in my presence again."
I bought four good ones and my little brother stole two. I didn't ask for them back because I want him to have two good ones.
of all the sketchy tools HFT sells, jackstands are pretty low on my list of tools that scare me, they're simple, 2-3 parts, very easily inspected, and hard to mess up. their jacks and cherry pickers scare me way more than the jackstands, there's no way to see what the seals look like in the pump, there's no way to tell is the check valve in the pump is about to randomly die and drop a car, and engine, a transmission ect...
as I said above too, I'm fairly confident most jackstands on the market, short of something home made, are probably all made in the same sweatshop in china, regardless of HF or other branding.
------------------ "I am not what you so glibly call to be a civilized man. I have broken with society for reasons which I alone am able to appreciate. I am therefore not subject to it's stupid laws, and I ask you to never allude to them in my presence again."
Years ago I worked with a guy at NAS Alameda on the S-3 line....He was a preacher also........Was working under his >>R.V.<< and the (Auto) jack-stands collapsed......Made us all be more careful about our jack-stands- especially what weight they were rated for......
short of something home made, are probably all made in the same sweatshop in china, regardless of HF or other branding.
I'll say, those Pittsburgh stands look exactly like the ones I bought from Advance Auto last summer. Will take a good look at them this weekend. I've REALLY soured on Chinese stuff lately.
My even cheaper than HF ones from K Mart, are over 25 years old and still work fine. As a general practice, I put jack stands under for a safety margin, but still leave the hydraulic jack near to where Im working. Its ez enough to see any cracks or bends on them.
since these blocks were designed and built in Québec, we dubbed them the Bloc Québécois
If thats the case how come you painted them RED?
jon
------------------ Astronomy says we will find a coded signal from outer space. Then we'll KNOW that life exists there, for coded signals aren't by chance.
Biology says there are coded genetic signals in every cell, but we KNOW that no intelligence created life.
I'm the original owner of a white ' 84 2M4 purchased Dec 10, 1983 from Pontiac. Always garaged, no rust, 4-wheel drifts are fun!
If the wheels are off I usually throw them under the car, with a 4x4 on top if there's room, for a little extra security.
That's exactly what i do too.
------------------ Astronomy says we will find a coded signal from outer space. Then we'll KNOW that life exists there, for coded signals aren't by chance.
Biology says there are coded genetic signals in every cell, but we KNOW that no intelligence created life.
I'm the original owner of a white ' 84 2M4 purchased Dec 10, 1983 from Pontiac. Always garaged, no rust, 4-wheel drifts are fun!
Wood Blocks above is just basic cribbing used for Thousands of Years and doesn't need screws glue etc to work for most jobs. But even the best of any type of Cribbing, Jack stand, and so on can fail when load isn't centered etc.
Pyramid stacking, either above block stacking or shaped bottom most stand uses, helps but still have limits to keep crooked loads pushing sideways at the top.
quote
Originally posted by ltlfrari: If the wheels are off I usually throw them under the car, with a 4x4 on top if there's room, for a little extra security.
⚠️ That has hurt or killed many people thinking rims are strong. Steel rims can fail easier then most think when loaded in odd/nonstandard ways. Alloys rims can Break (or Burst w/ tire pressure) w/o Warning doing the same.
You see many junk yards w/ rims stacked under a car too. Common is one on side on bottom w/ another stacked in it holding up whatever. Regardless on the stacking method, Do Not think is safe and work under the vehicle.
IOW When a Vehicle is Sitting on rims or complete tires to work on is more likely the vehicle in sitting on Eggs w/o loading the whole Shell.
Do Not use them! Not even on Concrete floors. Even when new and have right pins not bolts shown here have big problems and most places no longer sells them. Is very common to have the top saddle fold when load shifts to one side of the saddle and often drop the load w/o warning.. Used on dirt or asphalt can sink unevenly and drop the load w/o warning. Many loose the OE pins and use Bolts... Most use wrong bolts and they break and drop the load w/o warning.
If you're thinking Cheap Chinese product... Wrong. Many are made in the US and other places way before everything is made in China now.
Think Many where Recalled by CPSC etc decades ago but you still see many are still used or sold thru all of the second hand markets.
Prime Minister Brunelle uses these home-made wood blocks:
Benefits (as I see them): Easy to make: use 2x3 lumber, wood screws, glue (PL Premium or yellow glue), and red Tremclad (colour is up to you) Not overly expensive either. When supporting the pinch weld section below a car's rocker panel, the metal will bite a bit into the wood; low risk of slipping! Do orient the pinch weld perpendicular to the wood grain to avoid splitting. When using these blocks on asphalt, the large surface area prevents sinking into the pavement. They're quite strong enough; I have no qualms about getting under a car supported by these.
Edit: since these blocks were designed and built in Québec (a project between my dad and I), we dubbed them the Bloc Québécois.
I like this idea of yours.
I've always felt uncomfortable going under the car when I use jack stands.
I use the floor jack as backup, but sometime it gets in the way and don't trust it fully.
Now, with wood blocks as backup or even as primary, I would feel better, knowing I have a backup in case something goes wrong.
Instead of using screws, don't you think it would be better to use bolts to better secure the wood blocks, on top of glue?
From the look of the wood blocks, is it 3" horizontal and 2" vertical?
Originally posted by Fiero Vice: Instead of using screws, don't you think it would be better to use bolts to better secure the wood blocks, on top of glue?
Like ogre said, screws/glue are not technically necessary for the strength of the blocks. My blocks are glued/screwed together so that I don't have to putz around playing Jenga each time I want to lift my car; I just grab the assembled blocks and get to lifting. I think bolts would be overkill for nothing.
quote
Originally posted by Fiero Vice: From the look of the wood blocks, is it 3" horizontal and 2" vertical?
Yes, but it's not exactly 3" and 2".
The actual measurements of lumber are about 1/2" smaller for each dimension, so it's more like 2-1/2" x 1-1/2".
I use jackstands and leave the jack in place while working under the car. I also chock the wheels to prevent rolling. If possible I have my son help to serve as a spotter.
Unfortunately, I lost a brother-in-law when he was 24-years old so a very expensive lesson learned. He dis-connected a transmission from the engine while under a car and the car rolled off the blocks crushing him.
Side note: Nearly All "lumber yard" wood (Dimensional Lumber) is "Under sized" by ~ ½ inch for the US market. So you buy "2x3" to get 1.5x2.5, "2x4" gets 2.5x3.5 etc.
Rough cut wood was nearly close to real size say 2" x 4" but now less. Was a time the under size was ~ ¼" but saw mills made changes to get more finish wood out of a tree plus get more money out of buyers. Think rough cut now is ~ 1.75x3.75.
Rough cut wood is basically right from primary saw machine w/ all saw marks etc. About the only thing I see now using rough cuts is companies making pallets and related use. Part of the under size is cause by Planers to make finish/dimensional product. Planers cut ~ 1/16 to ⅛" per side depending on several things.
Originally posted by GTGeff: I use jackstands and leave the jack in place while working under the car. I also chock the wheels to prevent rolling. If possible I have my son help to serve as a spotter.
Unfortunately, I lost a brother-in-law when he was 24-years old so a very expensive lesson learned. He dis-connected a transmission from the engine while under a car and the car rolled off the blocks crushing him.
There's that... Others have used concrete block or clay bricks that simply broke w/o warning hurting or killing them. Had one killed that way in town where I lived years ago. Is more common then most think because MSM doesn't report these. Might make local news but only when someone dies...
I'd say that most jackstands are probably all made in the same factory, side by side. in reality, you should do an inspection on things like jackstands before, during, and after use regardless of brand.
Exactly. I recognise those as sealey/draper/sip/ etc axle stands....all made in the same place and branded to suit.
Most ratchet stands here are 3t and under. Some 2t some 3t...some labelled with safe working load AS A PAIR....some as single. Since there is little consistency in the labelling, it is possible for a user to pick up an axle stand labelled "3t" and without reading the small print they actually have a 1.5t axle stand.
I inspect axle stands for a living. They can look fine on visual inspection (as carried out by an insurance assessor) but when load tested under LOLER (Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations) can go boom....which never fails to make me jump!
I'm also a wheels under the car person. And agree with the benefits of a decent slab of wood. Used in preference to stands on agric here.....uneven surfaces, emergency repairs & very heavy equipment.
Originally posted by PK: That is one of the best stands for exploding under load. The lower welds look fine on visual inspection but go BOOM when tested to WLL.
Can a load test on a marginal jackstand weaken the stand enough to make it more dangerous to use than before the test?
There is a margin of safety built in so testing at SWL will not be the same as a test to destruction. So the spec of the design will exceed the SWL. Load testing will not exceed Safe Working Load, so it shouldn't cause any weakening to the structure. I know for sure I would much rather crawl under a ve-hickle that has a load tested axle stand than not. ... There is an argument for not repeat load testing axle stands once you have verified SWL. Our regulations call for repeat testing on axle stands every 12mths.
It is very very rare that something won't be picked up on a visual inspection that shows up on load test.
Also we test in a hydraulic press with the load applied perfectly to the saddle. Lots of failures, as you can see from ogre's pic of his "do not use" axle stands, occur from the load shifting and the forces on the stand changing. That design is very old, they used to be made (amongst others) by a UK company called Melco. I haven't seen them here for many years but no doubt there are many still tucked away... I have a set.
So the visual inspection includes:
checking condition of welds
Check for signs of overloading. bends,buckles, twists, fatigue etc
Any damage to the leg supports
Any damage to the legs
If a rachet stand then check mechanism (the small roll pin in the cam plate can shear/partially shear and stop the handle from functioning). Also the little tab should be pushed in to stop the shaft&saddle from being able to slide the whole way out.
Any axle stand pin should be suitable for SWL! I see a lot of threaded bolts...and other horrors. Also 2&3tonne pins in 6t axle stands!
Axle stand pin should be permanently attached to the stand (helps to prevent the above horror). Eg chain/wire/...it doesn't matter as long as it's attached.
Check stem/saddle for distortion. Wear to pin holes.
Update: As of May 19, 2020, HF Site and other docs now list jackstands recalls. Is under NHTSA orders ID # 20E-016 and 20E-027 2 skus for 3 ton units: 56371 and 61196 under 20E027000, Units Affected 1,254,000 1 sku for 6 ton unit: 61197 under 20E016000, Units Affected 454,000 So far...
Note that this Recall still Does Not show up searching at cpsc.gov and may never show there.
Those recalls currently does show up at nhtsa.gov thru NHTSA ID search To find click Recalls then switch to Equipment below "Safety Issues & Recalls" Then "search by NHTSA ID" below "Check your equipment safety"
if you just search by harbor freight currently reports "No results found."
[This message has been edited by theogre (edited 05-20-2020).]
For 6 ton look like saddle part for different model and even teeth are way short. Most saddles for this type have very little or no slop so won't twist/move except up/down.
Interesting video about this issue the showed up on my Youtube page. He even shows the bad part number.
Kind of shocking that he can make them drop with little effort!
I use these:
I always leave the jack in place. I jack the car up until I can fit the jack stands, then slowly lower the car until the weight is on the jack stands. Then I jack the car up every so slightly so that (to the best of my ability to guess) the weight is spread over the jack stands and the jack.
Even then, I feel uneasy crawling under the car. My car sits about 2.5" from the ground. My head is 5" wide. So, yeah - I'm fully aware how I'd look if the jack stands fails...
Originally posted by Cliff Pennock: Kind of shocking that he can make them drop with little effort!
I use these:
CLICK FOR FULL SIZE
CLICK FOR FULL SIZE
I always leave the jack in place. I jack the car up until I can fit the jack stands, then slowly lower the car until the weight is on the jack stands. Then I jack the car up every so slightly so that (to the best of my ability to guess) the weight is spread over the jack stands and the jack.
Even then, I feel uneasy crawling under the car. My car sits about 2.5" from the ground. My head is 5" wide. So, yeah - I'm fully aware how I'd look if the jack stands fails...
Stand's base seems a little better but thin top saddle likely has same problem as "cut pipe stands" above... It matter just what and how something is supported.
Cheap jack of any type often have problems. W/ yours, Common issues are Pump and/or control valve very often fails. Or seals on main ram or C-valve leaks loosing pressure.
Other jacks and stands can fail too and more so overloaded, used of rough "ground," etc. too. If you lift near or at rated limits... Better is use next higher rated tool.
I'll say, those Pittsburgh stands look exactly like the ones I bought from Advance Auto last summer. Will take a good look at them this weekend. I've REALLY soured on Chinese stuff lately.
They are the same brand that Advance Auto and Autozone sell. I just ordered 4 from Amazon.
I have two of the HF still in the box and two that I have been under the car while using. I sent an email to HF but haven't heard anything and the local store is still closed. These were a gift and if it wasn't for it popping up on Facebook I wouldn't have looked. feel good about the ones I ordered as they have two separate lockes.
