HF Jack Stands

Don't wanna start a HF bash up, but . . .

I went to pick up an air compressor last night and while we were loading it, the seller noticed a HF jack stand in the van. He cautioned me and recalled using a set of Chinese-made stands some years ago. Apparently due to a bubble in the casting, one broke. Said that the car fell on him, broke both shoulders and a couple of ribs. He got lucky. Since then he's gone out of his way to source some that are American made at 3x the price and uses those when underneath.

I thanked him for the advice and said that any time I'm underneath something, I put in one to bear and one for a safety. An extra set is cheap insurance.

Thought I'd pass along the anecdote.

Steve

I bought their 7-ton farm jack. The first time I used it was to help lift the utility body of my 1-ton Chevy dually off the frame. The main beam was so soft it bent, permanently. This was just lifting the body! I'd owned it for more than 30 days, so no returns. I threw it in the steel recycling bin at the dump.

I own some HF products, like parts organizers and a powerful magnetic pick-up that's great at finding small lost parts. But I would never use their products anywhere safety is a concern. Never ever.

I've been using the 12 ton stands for many years with no issues. Floor jacks are a different story. I spent money and bought a Hein Werner.

I really wasn't trying to go after HF. My repair shop bought a couple of the steel floor jacks some months back and like them a lot despite beating the crap out of them. I think it's fair to say that performance is uneven at that price. Honestly, I'd safety anything if I could afford it. I probably trust those 50 year old Craftsman stands I got at a garage sale more than anything for sale anywhere.

Steve

I won't trust HF jack stands either, I will use cribbing instead. I have lots of 6x6's and 8x8's.

I always thought these were a riot...

My rule to live by is that I don't use HF merchandise that has the potential to kill me. I love HF, but not enough to trust them with my life.

Gimpy can tell you if I'm under anything in my barn it has jack stands AND the floor jacks still under as well. I sometimes use two sets of jack stands. I saw a car fall on a neighbor once. He was lucky it only landed on his foot. I think I have one set of HF 12-ton and three other sets and two 2.5 ton floor jacks.

August 21st, 2015.

I tend to go with American made Simplex Jacks from the RR car shop in10, 50 and 100 ton sizes for my lifts, as they have a controlled let down and they lock at the end of each click or turn, but then I go for railroad car size blocks and stands, figuring if it will hold 50 tons or so, it'll hold a deuce or a Unimog and I always use 2 to 4 stands, more the merrier.
You can often get them at flea markets around old railroad car shop towns, when they replace the older units with new, the older units are surplused out.


Safety First, Harbour Freight makes great Chinese scrap boat anchors, most everything they make is third or fourth class equipment.

Have a Great Day and a Good Weekend!

I have had good results with Northern Tool.

Gimpy, that's the funniest thing I've seen in awhile, I got a pretty good laugh. The sad part is there is some truth to it though. I can relate to the 148-piece tool set. I got a HF socket set for Christmas, the set had several sockets that were in 64th fractions. Has anybody ever seen a nut or bolt that used a 64th socket? I keep them around thinking someday they may be used for a half rounded nut or something but I haven't found a use yet.

There are some usable items at HF but you've really got to weed through all the junk. There are just some items I buy the best money can buy. Cutting, drilling, impact tools (hammers, chisels, punches, and such), pry bars, and lifting equipment, I'll spare no expense on.

I always try to use wood cribbing to support vehicles. Oak is best for the heavier stuff.

jpg said:

I bought their 7-ton farm jack. The first time I used it was to help lift the utility body of my 1-ton Chevy dually off the frame. The main beam was so soft it bent, permanently. This was just lifting the body! I'd owned it for more than 30 days, so no returns. I threw it in the steel recycling bin at the dump.

I own some HF products, like parts organizers and a powerful magnetic pick-up that's great at finding small lost parts. But I would never use their products anywhere safety is a concern. Never ever.

Click to expand...

I would've told them I'm going to stand out in front of the store and tell everyone walking in about the quality of their products and show them the jack until they gave me a refund. I bet they would change their tune then...

Nothing unsafe here, but goes to show the low quality (as if we didn't already know). I purchased a 30 ton bottle jack from Harbor Freight for use with my deuce (yes, I wanted over kill because I figured it could only actually handle, at best, 1/2 to 1/4 of that!). I have only used it just this year to put on air-assist steering and service all the axles. But the last time I used it when putting spacer plates on the deuce's rear, a pin on the jack linkage failed. Closer inspection revealed it was only a pressed on pin.

A 1.25" cotter pin and washers from Ace Hardware fixed it up easily enough, but it was just a completely unnecessary repair had they used a cotter pin in the first place (like the other pins)...

At work, we will buy cheap HF tools that will be destroyed in the process of the job. They get the work done & then trash them. Higher quality tools might last longer, but the stuff that is being worked on kills them shortly, chemical residue if you gather my drift!

Jack stands & hydraulic lifts come from MSC due to insurance regs & OSHA breathing down our necks!

I'm convinced that unless you buy the absolute top-drawer mfrs, you'll be left down.

Craftsman, for example, is no longer Craftsman. I bought a set of tubing wrenches from them because my buddy's old ones were wonderful. My set didn't even clear the tubing. A $48.00 return. Couple weeks later, HF had the same set on sale for about $8.00. I took a shot. They lasted just fine until one finally gave out due to a hammer. Took it back and the whole set was replaced without batting an eye.

My HF rule: When possible, buy on sale and then buy 2 so you can finish the job before returning the broken one. It's about 60% of the cost of the same thing with Sears, and with them, you'll be given a hard time on returns.

Gee, I don't like this.

Steve

SteveKuhn said:

My HF rule: When possible, buy on sale and then buy 2 so you can finish the job before returning the broken one. It's about 60% of the cost of the same thing with Sears, and with them, you'll be given a hard time on returns.

Gee, I don't like this.

Steve

Click to expand...

That's a crazy rule to have to follow, but when you get through the learning curve (and it works for you), what are you going to do!?

FloridaAKM said:

At work, we will buy cheap HF tools that will be destroyed in the process of the job. They get the work done & then trash them. Higher quality tools might last longer, but the stuff that is being worked on kills them shortly, chemical residue if you gather my drift!

Click to expand...

Quit cooking meth!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

September 7th, 2015.


Or locate serviceable Simplex 10, 10, 30 and 50 ton jacks, or 100 ton screw jacks used from the railroad on E-Bay, at flea markets, farm auctions or second hand stores, make sure that they are intact and in good working shape, and they will not only handle your lifts, they will outlast you and be passed on to your kids and grandkids! Whatever you spend on the older used American made tools will pay you back many, many times over in your working lifetime and by increasing your safety (if used as designed).