Granite 944

I got my Northern Tool and Equiptment flyer in the mail today, and it looks like they have a pretty good sale going on for a bunch of stuff, including tall jackstands ( I'm kinda liking that 12 ton set for $39.00). Some of the best prices I've seen on them anyway.

http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/w...atchallpartial

sharky47

Walmart has pairs of 2-tons for $8, can't beat that with a sharp stick.

GlenL

Yeah...except you've got to go into the Wal-Mart to get them.

father2nate

I would be afriad of cheap jack stands ( $8 a pair at Wal-Mart ), those are the things keeping the car off your head.

To quote Cousin Eddie, "I don't know, Clark; I don't wanna go sailing down that hill with nothing between the ground and my brain but a piece of government plastic."

Granite 944

There are plenty of "cheap" jackstands out there you can buy, but not ones that will go to a height of 26.5". You sure won't get that with a 2 ton cheapie set. The funniest part of this whole thing is......I normally won't use any jackstands. I normally use concrete and wood blocks. I know I'm much safer that way, especially if the car is up real high. But, I might consider it with something like these 12 ton jacks. Just a personal choice I guess, nothing wrong with that.

Oh, and I hate giving Wal-Mart any of my money anyway. Just because of their business principles.

father2nate

Those 12T stands look good - I would buy them, but the shipping to CA is almost more than the stands . I wonder if I can find that brand locally. I need a set.

father2nate

I think I'll spring for this:

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=46299

dme

12 ton jackstands? You using these for a Porsche or a cement truck? If that is 12 tons per pair then you could jack up...well you could jack up a whole stack of Porsches.
I'd be surprised if you couldn't find something local without shipping cost to meet your needs. But then you would miss the fun of getting a package in the mail.

User 41221

PLEASE do *NOT* use concrete blocks to support your car!!!!!!!!! Granite, I like you, you seem like a nice guy, and I'd like you to stick around for a long time...

Concrete is extremely brittle and can fail with very little provacation. You are safer with your car supported solely by a hydraulic bottle jack than you are supporting your car on concrete blocks. Wood supports, done properly, are safe, but the key is "done properly".

Welded steel jack stands are the only acceptable support for raising your car without the use of a two or four post lift. I have my fair share of cast metal jack stands (the Wal-mart/Northern/Cummings/chinese made cheapies) sitting in the garage (contributions from KCWS members to the garage tool kit) and I am getting ready to throw them ALL away. They are garbage and aren't safe, either. I am not going to risk having one fail and injure or kill one of our members.

Don't take your safety lightly, PLEASE. Spend some money on welded steel jack stands, they will only run you $60 for a set of four and are MUCH stronger and safer. I can't emphasize this enough. I have seen with my own eyes what can happen when a car falls on a person, and I still occasionally have nightmares about it, even tho its been 15 years since I helped pull the car off the guy. He was permanently crippled, by the way.

Regards,

Granite 944

Opps.......looks like I opened a can of worms here.

Scott, I agree with you 100% about those "cheapie" jackstands (especially the chinese copies). They SCARE the crap outta me.......and I don't trust those at all. Welded jackstands are much more reliable. The higher the vehicle is to be placed, the more important this really becomes.

I too have seen just how thin someone's chest can get crushed down to when a car falls on it. Yeah, that memory is at least 30 years old, and is still with me.
I worked as a Millwright/Plant maintenance mechanic at a steel plant for about 15 years, so yeah man, safety can never be taken lightly. You hit the nail on the head for sure when you said "done properly" since the best safety plan, or procedure is useless if not done properly. I thank you tremendously for your comment and concerns! Concrete building blocks are what I use, combined with 2x8 or such blocking with that, and when used in this manner that I do, and I have many times in the past, I truly believe I'm much safer than if I had these cars on jackstands especially if the bottom of the car is 27" off the floor, and its a lot more stable also. However, your right, I probably should not promote this method, because it would be real easy for someone to misuse, misinterperate, or just flat do it with the wrong material.

dme, your right, its a capacity overkill for sure. But, I don't know of any 2 ton jackstands of any kind, that will extend to 26.5", and be safe enough. I've dropped out engines 6 times so far with the bottom of the entire car at least this high. Please let me know if they exist. I'd like to think I always cheat on the side of overkill for safetys sake anyway. I kinda wonder if I should have even started this post now. Thanks again for any and ALL safety concerns and comments, because the original intent of this post is to BE SAFE.

dme

hey Ken, don't pay me any mind. I'm just being a smart a$$. I agree with you that you have to take it very seriously when your betting your life on your equipment and your expertise at setting it up.

Epic2112

What principles?

Granite 944

This is actually for another time and place. But in very,very quick answer, market oversaturation with intent to monopolize, low worker pay and benefits, cheap overseas products due to cheap labor/unfair labor practices.....as a starter. But, I'm not real interested in this subject here on Rennlist, but I did open myself up to it. Maybe in OT.

Zporsche944

theres no union ether

father2nate

Let's save this discussion for another place

So, do you guys know of anyone who has had experience with the Chinese jack stands failing? Not that I would buy them, but in case I have to crawl under a car momentarily supported by said cheap jack stands...