Axle stands

[thehomeengineer]

Hi All
I have made these stands after a tyre blowout on a motorway (see photo below).

The standard jack broke when trying to lift my van, which was empty. This is the second Fiat jack that has failed on me. I always carry my hydraulic trolley jack, but on this occasion, this also failed but I was able to pump it up about halfway before running out of oil pressure and travel. I manged to find some blocks of wood to enable me to lift it high enough to change the wheel.

However, with the van being propped up in a precarious position and being buffered by large lorries whizzing by and rocking the van I decided I needed a better stable solution for the future. If the van had fallen of the jack I would have been in all kinds of trouble let alone the safety of myself while changing the wheel.

My solution was to service the trolley jack and build some stands based on the Safe Jack design that would work in conjunction with the jack. The van is then able to be lifted and support by the trolley jack and the stands together. The Stands are a second safety measure just in case the jack was to fail or creep with the weight of the van especially if loaded up. These will also be very useful if working on the van as these give great height when working under the vehicle.

The box section I used was 50mm x 50mm x 5mm and 40mm x 40mm x 3mm and the pins are 12mm diameter

The Safe Jack are very expensive (in my oppinion). To purchase a pair at £280 plus delivery is out of my budget range, so for about £40 of materials and a bit of effort this made for an enjoyable and interesting fabrication project.

Damage to tyre




Unpainted stands at the lowest and highest settings




Completed and painted stands ready for test.


Stand being used






Stand in position.


Thank you for viewing
The Home Engineer

[rebuilder1954]

That is a great solution, lifting the vehicle and stand directly. Excellent adaptation of the concept!

congratulations

Hi All
I have made these stands after a tyre blowout on a motorway (see photo below).

The standard jack broke when trying to lift my van, which was empty. This is the second Fiat jack that has failed on me. I always carry my hydraulic trolley jack, but on this occasion, this also failed but I was able to pump it up about halfway before running out of oil pressure and travel. I manged to find some blocks of wood to enable me to lift it high enough to change the wheel.

However, with the van being propped up in a precarious position and being buffered by large lorries whizzing by and rocking the van I decided I needed a better stable solution for the future. If the van had fallen of the jack I would have been in all kinds of trouble let alone the safety of myself while changing the wheel.

My solution was to service the trolley jack and build some stands based on the Safe Jack design that would work in conjunction with the jack. The van is then able to be lifted and support by the trolley jack and the stands together. The Stands are a second safety measure just in case the jack was to fail or creep with the weight of the van especially if loaded up. These will also be very useful if working on the van as these give great height when working under the vehicle.

The box section I used was 50mm x 50mm x 5mm and 40mm x 40mm x 3mm and the pins are 12mm diameter

The Safe Jack are very expensive (in my oppinion). To purchase a pair at £280 plus delivery is out of my budget range, so for about £40 of materials and a bit of effort this made for an enjoyable and interesting fabrication project.

Damage to tyre




Unpainted stands at the lowest and highest settings




Completed and painted stands ready for test.


Stand being used






Stand in position.


Thank you for viewing
The Home Engineer

[Hammer1963]

Fantastic idea! I like the fact that you can securely adjust the height while lifting the car

[suther51]

This is an answer to an irritation that I have faced at times. On my truck the best place for the jack and the stand is often the same place, makes some sense but not practical. Your stands solves this issue most nicely! Thank you for the post and the idea.
Eric

[Rorschach]

That's a clever idea, I like that. Would be a good solution for jacking my car. It has 4 jacking points on the rim weld, but of course, once jacked, where do you put an axle stand, the jack is in the way. Most of the time I have to suffice with putting on other areas of the rim weld which is not ideal, rarely do I have the car jacked up enough to actually get the stands under the axle.

[Jon]

Clever. I am also reminded of ruxu's Tire Lift and Aligner.

[thehomeengineer]

Clever. I am also reminded of ruxu's Tire Lift and Aligner.

That is a really nice build and nicely finished. If changing wheels regular that is a must have tool.

[DIYer]

Thanks thehomeengineer! We've added your Axle Stands to our Stands and Dollies category,
as well as to your builder page: thehomeengineer's Homemade Tools. Your receipt:

Axle Stands by thehomeengineer

tags: axle, stand, jack

[Papa Bill]

I really like the idea of the round disc that fits into the cup on the jack AND the pin on the jack stand that fits into a hole on the vehicle frame thus eliminating the threat of "slipping off the jack". Exellent job!!!!


oops... double post...

[Jon]

Congratulations thehomeengineer - your Axle Stands are the Homemade Tool of the Week!

After last week's winning Ring Roller, that's two in a row for thehomeengineer!

Like the Superbowl, nobody has ever won three Homemade Tool of the Week awards in a row. Two-in-a-row winners include Brendon in 2015 (Marking Gauge and Dovetailing Bench), mklotz in 2016 (Bench Block Enhancements and Model Cement Mixer), tonyfoale in 2016 (Horizontal Milling Machine and Drum Brake Grinder) and rossbotics in 2017 (once for Tilting Dividing Fixture and Dial Indicator Attachment, and again for Center Punch Guide and Deburrer).

Some good picks from this past week:

Tower Sander by Bellevue Woodshop
Handheld Power Sander by th62
Ball Head DRO Stand by jjr2001
Milling Machine Vise by Vyacheslav.Nevolya
Scribe by Canobi
Rifle Casing Tumbler by garage nut
Portable Bandsaw Table by Downeast Thunder
Overhead Pneumatic Hose Connection by Tuomas
Mill Tramming Tool by TomBuildsStuff
LED Holder by rendoman
Long Boring Head by Canobi
Circuit Board Vise by Don42


thehomeengineer - we've added your tool entry to our All Homemade Tool of the Week winners post.

You'll be receiving a $25 online gift card, in your choice of Amazon, PayPal, or bitcoin. Please PM me your current email address and gift card choice and I'll get it sent over right away.

Here are all of your winning tools:

Claw Clamps by thehomeengineer

tags: clamp

Sheetmetal Former by thehomeengineer

tags: sheetmetal

Ring Roller by thehomeengineer

tags: ring roller

Axle Stands by thehomeengineer

tags: axle, stand, jack