Tech Week - Old Skool Jack Stands

I really liked the drill press as a cutting tool too!

Just a thought on making these adjustable........seems to me one could use a piece of tube pipe close to the inside diameter of the axle tube and weld the channel to the pipe.....drill a few sets of holes 90* to the channel trough in the pipe (minmizes any instability from the pipe "rocking") and one set near the top of the stand. Old time looks and modern function in one place.

Ray

 

Ray,
back when you could find 'em cheap I used to see the screw out of house jack with the appropriate nut welded into the top of the tube occaisionaly. It was a little more work to get em up to length but it was infinately adjustable.

 

porky****** has done it the traditional way with a fishmouth and no welding. In the last 35 years I have ac***ulated 14 pair of jackstands that were cut out of axles more than 55 years ago. Some are Model T and some not shown are the outer ends of the axle. Way back in the '50s, you *might* find someone to cut them for you but it was pretty rare to find a welder at someones house so they were simply fishmouthed. This picture shows a few of mine

 

Too smart!

 

a friend of mine has a pair of those we used em alot his just had a couple fishmouths cut into them ...work great

 

A few years ago, a friend was s****ing out his shop junk and I came away with two sets of Model T axle tubes . I made them into a set of 4 tall jack stands that I've used a lot,
I've also made a set with Model A axle housings that get regular use.

........Jack

 

very informative! Even a dummy like me could do that! Well maybe not! very well done.

 

This dummy made his 15 years ago.

They are taller for holding up a rear end for painting, they also help when lifting a body off the frame.

I made them from the original rear axle of my '46

 

There were several sets of those in the high school autoshop when was in high school in the mid 60's. They were all gone when I started teaching in the same shop during fall of 1978. Good solid stands that don't wobble. We had some that were 3 inch structural pipe welded to squares of 3/8 steel plate with gussets on them that were really stout.

 

Love the idea of the banjo jackstands, and I hate to rain on the picnic. BUT... Bib, I can't begin to express just how dangerous using a cutoff wheel in that fashion is. Yes, I know you got away with it, and others will too... Doesn't make it safe.

The thickness of the tube material has the potential to catch that wheel and shatter it, right about ****** level (or worse). If you're going to use an abrasive cutting wheel, the idea is to hold the tool so the plane of the wheel doesn't intersect your body. This is impossible with it chucked in a drill press. Instead of holding a very light tool, you are now holding (and feeding) a very heavy part; which makes controlling it more difficult.

If you're going to try this method, guys; get out the kevlar and put it on...

 

thanks, ex. never thought of the safety aspect of the procedure. should have. point well taken...jack

 

Safety is always the #1 priority in my shop and I certainly would not promote a technique that is inherently dangerous.

An air driven 1/4" chuck die grinder is capable of unloaded speeds in excess of 20,000 RPM and the discs that are sold for them are designed to handle the centrifugal forces generated by such speeds.

By comparison, the high speed on my drill press is 3,200 RPM. This is well withing the the rating of the discs.

At times like this I wish I had paid less attention to Sharon, my high school's reigning posture queen, and more attention to the teacher in the physics cl*** we shared.

In any case, I do recall that centrifugal force is not linear and that the force generated by an item spinning at 21,000 rpm is not 7 times the amount of the same item spinning at 3,000 rpm.

Is my technique safe? Nothing is 100% safe. But I do think that the risk of a disc grenadeing at this relative speed is remote. And if one does, it will not have anywhere near the energy of one letting loose at the rated speed. Kelvar? Perhaps. But I think a pair of safety gl***es or a full face shield should suffice.

 

Thanks for posting and for all the tips.

 

MY dad has a few sets of these in his shop. This thread is a good reminder to pick some up before he s****s them.

great thread !

 

Awesome idea! And I love the drill press idea!

 

I trust those like I trust my welds

 

Thanks for the positive comments. My submission (this thread) did not make the cut during the last Tech Week. It would have been nice to have won. But the best payback is a thanks or two from the HAMB membership.

I have been working on my shop this Summer and I don't have anything to submit for this round. Hopefully my remodel will be finished and I can get back to hot rodding again. If I do something trick, and I have an idea or two, I'll jump in next time.