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Making your own jackstands

xj92

xj92

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Junction City, KS
I've got a bunch of extra 2"x2"x1/8" angle laying around and I need some taller jackstands, so I'm going to make some. I'm planning on just a standard design, 4 legs, flat steel at top with a small lip welded on 2 of the sides, angle connecting all the legs at the bottom. Any pointers or tips from anybody that's made their own? I realize it's not rocket science but if anybody has small pointers to make them stronger, safer, or easier to build, let me know. TIA.

By the way, they will be non-adjustable, probably around 20-24" tall.
 
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you can make them adjustable by using some pipe (or thick walled tubing) as a center support. Then drill a couple of holes through it, use another smaller diameter pipe to fit through the main pipe and weld your perch on top of the smaller pipe. Drill several holes through the smaller pipe. That way you can slide a big bolt through the pipes and have an adjustable jack stand. I have made several this way, but I don't know if i would use such thin angle iron to make it out of. 1/4" will be overbuilt but safer.
 
Do you guys that are saying it's not worth the risk and it's your life even know how to weld? How hard is it to get a good weld and build something that is structurally sound? (that's a rhetorical question) I'm not concerned with the safety aspect because I have every confidence I could build something safe. My concerns are the height and the cost and the materials I already have available. How many people use cinder blocks because their jack stands aren't tall enough but would be too scared to build taller jack stands on their own? Anybody have anything useful in answer to my first post? The Craftsman stands is a good suggestion, but I would be using them at their maximum height all the time, making it less stable than at a lower height because of the narrow base.
 
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exactly. i bought 6 ton stands and i still need another 12 inches to support my frame for an axle swap. just keep the base nice and big.
 
what about adding too your existing stands? seems like adjustability would be easier. i would add too the existing legs then build a "frame" connecting the four new legs. the minimum height would be just under the axle tubes
 
yotaparts said:
what about adding too your existing stands? seems like adjustability would be easier. i would add too the existing legs then build a "frame" connecting the four new legs. the minimum height would be just under the axle tubes
Click to expand...


I built extension bases for mine,they store better and can be used for other things!I also put some old tire tread on the bottom to eliminate skidding and scratching my epoxy floor.As XJ92 said safety "shouldn't" be a concern if you know what your doing!
 
RCP Phx said:
I built extension bases for mine,they store better and can be used for other things!I also put some old tire tread on the bottom to eliminate skidding and scratching my epoxy floor.
Click to expand...

I like this idea. Just a trapezoid shape, flat top with a lip on the edges to keep the stands from sliding off? They'd be even more useful without the lip as far as multi-purpose, but it seems a lip would be safer. Have pics or more info?
 
No pics, but your right on the idea,just an unfinished pyramid!I have a lip as you spoke of but its only a 1/4" high!
 
For those of you still not convinced that your welding jackstands will work, see if you can get into a local DRMO government surplus auction; heavy equipment and aviation often use some tall jackstands that will more easily reach the underside of a lifted Jeep. For the record, I've got the bigger 6-tons as well and they seem awfully inadequate for my little Heep...I doubt they'd touch with a rig on 37s...
 
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