2020 POTD Thread Archive

[Z2V]

Yeah, tell me about it, i must do something about my working environment, i'm debating between a 2 post lift or a inspection pit. Both options have difficulties, lift can go only in the big garage that has only single phase power and it can't work, the pit can only go in the small garage, because the big garage has massive footings that hold up the building.

I‘ve had a 2 post lift that was single phase that worked just fine. I currently have a 4 post that also works just fine on single phase 220v. The 4 post has a 9k lb capacity for a 3800 lb car
Granted, I do not know what your power supply is where you live
Hope you can get it worked out

 

[gr8legs]

Project of the last couple o days.

Buying an old GMC motorhome and realizing it needed a lot of work underneath (sewer system, fuel tanks, wiring, etc) I invested in a suitable 4-post lift and at the same time figured the matching rolling jack would be useful so I got the package. I'm too old and creaky to be on my back on a creeper. Creaky creeper? Hmmm.

As it turned out, once it arrived and got set up I found that the rolling jack arms didn't go wide enough to get under the lift points of the coach. Advice: Check the specifications more carefully than I did. Would have saved quite a few of the green.

So, on to my project, making a set of replacement jack arms.



The lift is metric, all I could find nearby that was affordable (HRS) was either grossly undersized or very slightly oversized. Doing the math showed a suitable length arm would have to be pretty much full size in the rectangular lift tube and the nearest available Imperial size of CRS was exactly the (measured) height of the tube and slightly smaller in width.

Off to the metal supply - I needed two pieces about 39" long and it comes in 12' sticks. Best deal I could find was some very nice cold rolled steel. That's steel spelled with several $ signs by the way. The metal supply cut it into thirds so I could fit it into the back of the car, and I would cut it to fit exactly once I got it back and have the drops for who knows what future project.

After cutting to length on the bandsaw and boring / milling the holes for the lift pads I did a test fit and found that the rectangular tube it was to fit into was a bit pinched where the welds of the gusset were. First thought was round the corners of the bar stock to give clearance for the weld distortions. It would also make the bars a bit nicer to handle in use without the sharp edges of the CRS. Off to the mill, and cut a 3/8" radius on the 2 long top edges and 3/16" on the bottom.

A good thought but the rectangular tube was also not particularly well dimensioned along its length (China fit and finish) and the replacement lift arms got 'stuck' a few inches farther into the tube. So, back to the mill, skive about 50 thousandths off the lift arms height where needed, add a bit of red paint (improved visibility instead of black to bonk your head on or trip over) and Bob's your uncle.



Whew!

Stu

 

[Z2V]

Like the red paint, nice work, Stu. I also use a lot of red.
I have a four post with a similar jack, 9k.
The lift and jack were invaluable in putting my lathe together, used it instead of renting an engine hoist.

 

[mmcmdl]

I've shot my brothers .338 Lapua a few times, awesome rifle (Barrett I think) but very expensive. I can hit targets further than my brain can comprehend, I blame it on the massive scope. Fun day target shooting with big rifles......

Last Oct I fired off 20 rounds out of the Remington .338 . No brake on it yet , took me over a month for my right side to recover from that weekend . They are some powerful *** rounds !

 

[francist]

I haven’t made a pair of jacks for a while so I figured it was about time. You know, can never have too many. I’d also been wanting to try some with two telescoping stages, the idea being a short collapsed height but still having a reasonable amount of extension range.

Nothing exotic for material, just some A36 I had in the rack. The ice started to get a little thin though when I decided to get fancy and turn all six segments in one blank. Here’s the spool turned to size prior to as well as just after threading.






At this point the various segments would need to be separated in order to complete the operations so instead of fooling around with parting I opted for the bandsaw. The setup was a bit Rube Goldberg but worked — a vise holding a vise holding a V-block holding the part. And there’s that pattern again...






The final part of my master plan was to do all the internal threading for each jack without un-chucking the part. So I cleaned up the saw cut and turned the base segment to length, bored and threaded it for 3/4”-20, threaded in the middle section to clean up the saw cut, bore and thread it for 1/2”-20, and then threaded in the top tier to clean up the saw cut and turn to final length. To lessen the chances of the segments torquing themselves together I drilled all the starter holes for my boring bar first, and I also put brown paper washers between the segments for the final boring and threading.





Not much left except final touches. I milled some serrations into the edges of the centre tiers, drilled some spanner holes around the perimeter of the top section, and gave everything a light polish with a grey pad. A quick torch bluing over the centre tiers and I’m calling them good. Overall range is about 0.85” collapsed to a safe extension of about an inch and a half. One more generation to the growing family. Thanks for looking.

-frank

 

[Nogoingback]

Didn't make a thing. All I did was pull my floor jack apart. I bought it in 1972 or '73 when I was not long out of high school.
It's been stolen and recovered. I've gotten going on 50 years of service with only a little top off of oil, but it finally needs a rebuild.
I looked online for a parts kit (I still have the original parts list), but it's so old nobody sells one. But I found a place in New Jersey
that can rebuild it, so rather than do it myself I'm sending it out. It will cost as much as buying a new one from Harbor Freight, but
I'd rather fix it up for another 45 years of service with my son.

 

[extropic]

When you get it back, please post a review of the rebuild and the contact info for the shop that did it. The info could help some other pilgrim.

Isn't it incredible that you had to go clear across the USA to find a source. I've got a small (2.5 Ton, I think) Walker of the same vintage. Still going strong (knock wood).

 

[FOMOGO]

Have you tried here. You should be able to get what ever you need here, or several other hydraulic parts places. Mike

Didn't make a thing. All I did was pull my floor jack apart. I bought it in 1972 or '73 when I was not long out of high school.
It's been stolen and recovered. I've gotten going on 50 years of service with only a little top off of oil, but it finally needs a rebuild.
I looked online for a parts kit (I still have the original parts list), but it's so old nobody sells one. But I found a place in New Jersey
that can rebuild it, so rather than do it myself I'm sending it out. It will cost as much as buying a new one from Harbor Freight, but
I'd rather fix it up for another 45 years of service with my son.

 

[Nogoingback]

When you get it back, please post a review of the rebuild and the contact info for the shop that did it. The info could help some other pilgrim.

Isn't it incredible that you had to go clear across the USA to find a source. I've got a small (2.5 Ton, I think) Walker of the same vintage. Still going strong (knock wood).

I will post that info when I get the jack back together. The company is called Metro Hydraulic Jack Repair in Newark, NJ. When I called,
they transferred me right to a guy in the department that does the repairs. I told him how old the jack was and gave him the model
number, which he didn't recognize immediately, so he told me to take some pictures and text them to him. He called back a few minutes
later and said he recognized the model and said they could rebuild it for me, and that years ago they used to rebuild quite a few of them.
Nice guy, with a positive, helpful attitude.

I could have spent more time searching for someone closer, but they specialize in that work and have done it for years, so I though they
were a good bet. I also realized I needed someone with enough knowledge to deal with the fact that the rebuild kits are no longer
available by part number.

 

[Nogoingback]

Have you tried here. You should be able to get what ever you need here, or several other hydraulic parts places. Mike

Not sure where "here" is, since you left out the link. I did look at a number of places online that sell rebuild kits for
jacks. None of them had a kit for my jack, or referenced my model number. There was a newer generation of jacks
from the same company that has good availability of kits, but I think mine is just too old. While I could just tear into
it and then try and find the seals and other parts I need on an individual basis, the local businesses might or might
not be able to help me. The place I called specializes in jack repair and has done it for decades, and according to the
guy I talked with, they have a very large inventory of parts. I'm fine with sending it out, and honestly, I don't need another
project right now anyway.