Dad made these in the '50's He's been gone since '72 I'll use them again this weekend Laying under the car with my teenage Son seeing Dad's initials......Priceless
The problem with "cinder blocks," aka concrete masonry units or CMUs, is the orientation that people use them in. When you see them used to build a wall, they are horizontal, with the "holes" running vertically. They are very strong in compression in this orientation. But sometimes people will use them to hold up a car in another orientation...like vertically, or in the other horizontal orientation (holes running horizontally). In either of these orientations, CMUs are NOT very strong in compression, and they can fail, which they do suddenly and completely...ie, not enough time to get out. I am NOT saying to use them at all to support a car -- I wouldn't use them in any orientation -- but that's why they have a bad rap for killing people.
One of my classmates was killed when a car fell on him while I was in High School. I went to Grainger and bought a set of four good forged steel 5 Ton jack stands the next week. I'm still using them 42 years later. I've also got another set of 3 Ton jack stands that aren't quite as tall. Two of these I picked at a yard sale for about $10. Eight stands seems to be the right number for me - I won't get under a car without them.
Well, I do have some nice jack stands but don't have a decent piece of concrete to set them up on (I also have a 100+$$ padded SnapOn creeper that I don't have any smooth floor to use on at the moment. I'm pretty well known as a stickler for having solid stands or blocks under a vehicle when one works on it and hopefully impressed that one thing in the brains of about 500 former students over the 13 years I taught high school auto mechanics. Right now at home out in the dirt in the driveway it is either Genuine Honey Locust 14 inch in dia and 16 inches tall. Or these welded up wheels that one of my buds gave me about 20 years ago. They are a bit tall but are solid and are usually used under my 71 GMC or used to block up a frame when I am welding on it. I also have a number of 4x6, 6x6 and 6x8 wood blocks plus some pieces of 2x10 that get used on occasion. It doesn't matter what you use as long as it is actually up to holding up the vehicle solidly on the surface you have it sitting on. Stands for cement floors, stands on sheets of plywood or wood blocks or rims outside where you don't have flat cement to set stands on. Stands will sink into hot asphalt and tip a rig over, stands alone or stamped steel ramps will sink into dirt especially if it gets wet. Cinder blocks crush all too easily when you set a car on them. Stands on steel grates will kick out from under a rig pretty easily. No matter how or where you set it on stands or blocks take the time to shake the thing on all four corners to make sure that it is indeed solid and won't move around before you get under it. That will be the best way of preventing your buddies from having to post an "oh shit, my bud's car fell on him last night in the shop and he was dead when they found him".
Built these stands about 4 years ago like mentioned in other post great safe way to have car in air plus you can see and work on car at ride height. without the suspension hanging etc. car looks a lil differant now lol And as for getting them down i jack the car under the rear end and let it down to jack stands half way them do front and then do rear again instead of comming down all at once on either end! By profleetline at 2010-11-09 By profleetline at 2010-11-09
I recently brought two, two ton jack stands, and cant for the life of me, figure out how i got away without them untill now. I love them, and will be buying at least two more soon.
Shit i will never go under my car with out my harbor frieght 6 ton jackstands! There cheap and never let me down yet!
made these about 20 years ago,nice and tall , and stable. mainly used under f series fords until i got a 4 post hoist...........
I also use the tire and rim for backup on jack stands, when I was young and dirt poor I used just the spare out of the vehicle under one of the wheels cause I didn't have no stinking jack stands. I didn't have all the good safety equipment... but I planned on living long enough to eventually afford the good equipment.
We used blocks like these to support literally tons of weight in the construction industry...they work very well.
Oh what the hell! finally. i thought i was the only one using wheels. jackstands are ok, but finding quality ones lateley is like finding something that wasnt made in fukin china.
I always use jack stands.Also,when working on a paved driveway,I always first put down a 12"X12" scrap of plywood for a base to keep the stands from sinking into the driveway in warm weather.It not only saves the pavement but when left on stands for a few days I found my truck listing to one side quite a bit from a sinking stand.
Weld 12"X12" 1/8" or 3/16" steel base plates to your jackstands and stamped ramps to eliminate the tipsy on asphalt or dirt. 2'X2' 3/4" plywood squares make good base plates too, handy on the road for jacking too. A friend of mine made up some steel pipe and tractor disc stands to keep his chassis and later the whole car up at working height, bottom disc faced down, upper was up so tires sat in nicely, very stable.
A pair of good floor jacks and a buddy? I have seen those done modular so that you can remove say the top 3 rows then set it down go to the opposite end and do the same. A note on cinder blocks you lay them down just like you would when laying block. The board is to speard the weight evenly over the block. I figure if a cinder block will hold up a house trailer it should hold up my car. it at least shouldn't have half a dozen crumb grabbers running and jumping inside of it. That doesn't mean that you shouldn't use a good well built jackstand but it is a viable option done correctly.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Beaner!!! I've been glad to see a better discussion on this subject than usual. The last four posts, in particular, make some tremendously valuable safety points! In particular: Pork&Beaner: A note on cinder blocks you lay them down just like you would when laying block. The board is to speard the weight evenly over the block. I figure if a cinder block will hold up a house trailer it should hold up my car. . . . That doesn't mean that you shouldn't use a good well built jackstand but it is a viable option, done correctly. NHGearhead: I always use jack stands. Also,when working on a paved driveway, I always first put down a 12"X12" scrap of plywood for a base to keep the stands from sinking into the driveway in warm weather.It not only saves the pavement but when left on stands for a few days I found my truck listing to one side quite a bit from a sinking stand. BoneZ: I thought I was the only one using wheels. Jackstands are ok, but finding quality ones lately is like finding something that wasn't made in fuk in china. It seems to me that almost EVERYBODY agrees that QUALITY jackstands are useful, though not everybody is a dyed-in-the-wool devotee. LOL. But too, a couple of points seem clear, ONE being that jackstands (a) need a backup/redundant support, and (b) jackstands can be downright treacherous on a number of real-world surfaces. Asphalt is not as reliable as solid, level concrete, such as in a garage or level driveway; so a wood base increases safety and reduces (but doesn't eliminate) the chance of a stand keeling over. And at least a few guys on this thread are in the same boat as me: We have to get a car(s) UP in the air and keep it/them there, sometimes for months or years. Right now, I have two long-term projects stored outside, on grass ('cause there's no pavement 'til you get to town 10 miles away). Why? 'cause I'm poor and outside is the only place I've got available. Obviously, jackstands aren't the best support for this situation. They either sink-and-keel OR just get stolen. So, I have both vehicles securely elevated (as far as possible, due to the "dew point"); they sit on a combination of concrete blocks, wood stackables (what somebody called box-cribbing stands) I made, plus steel rims where appropriate. If one system were to fail, there's a backup. I only use real concrete blocks, as they're several times stronger than cinder blocks; but, I only place them UPRIGHT, just as Beaner said you'd do for any building foundation. That's how they are molded to be strongest. They're not made to be strong lying on their sides -- so, just doesn't make sense to place them that way. Tried it once when I was a kid, and once when I was standing AWAY from the car, one shattered, and without anybody shaking the car. I went and jacked the car back up, set the blocks upright, and have NEVER had another one break again, particularly once I started adding wood to distribute the weight sitting on each wheel. That was 40 years ago. So, jackstands ARE great in many situations, especially with as wide a base as possible, and if made super-strong by yourself or a friend whose welding skills you can trust. But the other systems mentioned should be open options -- sometimes just as backups, sometimes instead of stands (RR ties, solid wood blocks, steel wheel rims, even inflated tires and, yes, concrete blocks). My feeling is that I try and use horse sense to pick the right thing for the particular situation. And some plywood or other solid, flat planks to set jackstands on, a safety PLUS.
If you run out of jackstands every spring- why dont you try finishing up one of your winter projects...... rick
Jackstand are like 2 footitus when you own a boat. You know, if my boat was 2 feet longer life would be perfect!! I started with 4 jackstand, but 2 more would be better. I now have 8 but sometimes 2 more would be a perfect!
For me , I use both N A P A and Snap - On exclusively........... I don't have anyone to be a pullin a car off me . scrubba
i dont use concrete blocks to work under cars but i use them to hold up things that i will not be laying under, i have worked in a block plant making 3500 blocks every 8 hours, my job was the cuber, that means i checked and stacked all the blocks, blocks are made to building code standards unless they are seconds, then they will have small cracks which will not be a problem in a non-load bearing job, like a retaining wall, what truly makes a block strong is the fact it sits in a bed of morter spreading the load out for the length of the block, any uneveness can cause the block to fail, not always but sometimes, another point to remember is if the guy in the batch plant was out drinking all night the blocks that will be made that day could all be crap, you may not be able to tell by looking but their strength could be way down. the sound of a block machine running has been etched into my brain for life http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_RCBOeRUuI
Budd, thanks for your experience. (As I said, this is a more thorough discussion than usual on this SAFETY-related subject -- and that's good.) When I use concrete blocks (NEVER light cinder blocks), I put two, side-by-side and rest the car then on a sturdy piece of flat wood. If I need to take it higher yet, I run two more at a 90-degree angle, plus the wood. Then, I use a redundant backup, so that IF anything fails, the worst that happens is you have to find a new rocker panel, quarter-panel, etc. And you just say, SHIT! and go get a beer and thank God you planned for taking some extra minutes to block the car/truck up so that -- in the worst-case scenario -- your butt is still ok. Anyway, as said before, ALL the devices we've discussed in this thread do have their places. And, though QUALITY jackstands are perfect for situations where you have concrete to place them on, there are other situations (surfaces) that require something else, as well -- or INSTEAD of jackstands. I give my POV here because I have read all my life about guys getting crushed under cars. Then, I worked for 20 years in health-care and social service. If I were scared of being called a jerk in front of the whole HAMB family (that was a pla on words!), then I'd shirk my duty to SAY what I feel can save the lives of guys I'll never even meet in person. I consider them my HAMB bros, old or young (but especially the impulsive young guys! Sorry, doods. LOL) If you use horse sense and choose the right things and TAKE THE EXTRA TIME, nobody needs to die or be disabled. There are just some areas wherein safety should come first. And jackstands alone can't always do it all.
Right on, Ed. I have known guys who used only bumper jacks. I've known or heard of guys using only HYDRAULIC floor jacks. Well, after enough years, even a 10-ton hydraulic will have the rubber Os wear out to the point where (if you forget to jack them up a tad once in a while) the SOB leaks down to where it can lower the car/truck on your chest or head. But, I think Ed's specifically asserting to use GOOD, name-brand equipment you know (be it jackstands, hydraulics, whatever). I don't know where Harbor Freight equipment is made, but they seem to have gotten mixed reviews on this thread. Each guy has to be his own judge. It's your life.
I have a bunch of jack stands. Four under each project car. My wife says that if I were to finish a project before buying the next one I won't have to buy so many stands.
I use 2-4 stands. If possible I prefer to only jack up one end and even then I will often put 4 stands under there. One pair is slightly shorter at some settings so it may not be touching the frame if they are both up front, but it is there in case the other ones give out. I put the jack stands under the frame and when I finished putting them there I leave the floor jack in place. And before I get under the car I try to push the car over and really put my shoulder into it. If possible I will put the wheels under the frame. It depends on where I am working under it though. And right now I have the wheels out getting ready to sand and paint them. I never would use cinder blocks. They ain't that much cheaper than jack stands. I would consider wood cribbing. I know how stout wood put together right can be. I built a weight bench about 11 years ago that I have never seen bend one iota. And I have loaded it up with 700+ pounds just to see. I have roughly 8-9 stands I think, but I only use 2 pair that often. They are under my caddy right now.
I had a pair of cheap steel ones fold up on me taking an axle out...axle kicked into the stands and my sedan delivery fell on me and broke my arm...since then I only use quality jack stands and a backup...if the axle hadn't of still been under I would've been dead...the spare tire well was resting on my chest...also another thing to think about don't do this when your home alone...I did my family was out of the country and I was trapped under a car with no phone not good...luckily I managed to get out if not I definitely would've been dead...this is a very good topic to discuss there's a lot of problems with a lot of this stuff especially the Chinese junk
Be safe guys. I had my 40 Ford tudor body fall off a old 50's bumper jack and land on my left hand in my garage when I was younger and dumber, it took 47 stiches to fix that mistake! I have learned to take extra safty steps to make sure to prevent stupid accidents, hind sight has twenty-twenty!
I built myslef a couple of drive-on ramps out of 4 foot lengths of 6" x2" pine standing on their edge about 8 inches apart with more 6 x 2 pine pieces screwed across them to make a solid ramp. I also use house bricks, not cinder or concrete, but old baked clay 8" x 4" x 3" bricks, stacked 2 wide on top of one another, one pair lying one way, the next ones across them, and so on until I get the stack high enough to get under the car, then put a piece of timber over the top of them too. When I take a wheel off I lay it half under the car to act as an 'emergency' stop, and I always leave the jack in place too. I only work on level concrete driveway or garage floor, and use park or first gear, handbrake on and wheels chocked too. I don't want to end up flattened by my own car! Cheers, Glen.
The Jalopy Journal
