Homemade jack stands. Sketch or good to go?

Not exactly sure what I’m looking at here.

 

I love this!
My dad had a similar set up to drive the Accord and Miata up on to change the oil; super simple, cheap, easy to store and SAFE

 

I love them too! Nothing really there that can "fail" as long as it's lined up properly.
Here's the rough dimensions of them...

 

Natural selection about to run its course in this thread.

 

He has a flimsy scissor jack holding up his car while he’s underneath it.

 

More concerning than even that, to me at least, is that he chose to crawl underneath the car in a public parking lot. Legs out in the aisle and everything. It's an uncontrolled traffic environment. I guess it's better than working under a car that's stranded on the highway, but honestly not by much. A 3 mph collision will result in the same melon squash as a 60 mph.

You folks place a much larger trust in society and nature than I do.

 

I'm in the camp of, those are damned strong, stronger than most here realize.
But, they aren't stable. The base needs to be wider. Wood, against the frame of our trucks is less likely to slide than the steel of a jack stand. If you're not getting under the vehicle, and you're leaving the wheels and tires on, you'd be fine. Even if the truck fell off, you still have room under your truck to not be crushed.
Again, they need a wider, secure base.
If you've ever seen riggers raise a large, heavy piece of equipment, they use wood as support, not big jack stands. Wood is very strong from a compressive load standpoint, you just have to be considerate of the design and intended use.

 

Yeah that’s a valid concern as well. Lots of things wrong with that picture. I thought about giving him some constructive criticism lol but I’m feel like he would have told me to F off.

 

If this thing starts to tip the only thing holding the outriggers in place are the 2 screws on the sides of the outriggers; those metal brackets will do squat for that. If you put a piece of plywood on the bottom and linked all 5 pieces of wood it would be a lot better. Also I can't tell how good your cuts are or how long and what type of screws those are. The flusher everything is and the better it will be.

I would still go with metal jack stands over wood ones as they'd be less bulky and I wouldn't have to worry about them being prone to as much damage over time (water and loading the main portion along the grain and causing splitting would be my 2 main concerns.) The only way to adjust the height on these wood stands is to add shims on the bottom... and that opens up a whole new can of sketchiness.

 

Strength wise they are fine. It comes down the the overturning moment which is a function of geometry indicating how far the stands would need to tip before toppling. Would need to know the specific geometry to calculate. The height to base footprint looks a touch on the small side. In pinch I'd use them without hesitation. Personally I'd notch the saddle to center the load and maximize the the overturning moment. The way the Plan B support legs are attached doesn't add much...just the four the screws per side...the straps are nothing more than a week hinge. Jacks stands are generally a better choice, but I doubt many smaller jack stands, 2 ton types, have any better overturning moment and are in fact less strong axially.

 

long thread. I have a set of jack stands with a smaller foot print than the OP's wooden ones. I agree with this dude...and he used "overturning moment", so I assume he's cracked opened a few books in his past.

I avoid any surface that isn't pancake flat and level to begin with. and in my youth, I would clear out everyone and jiggle the vehicle.

 

I will have to agree with most here, there are some area that are ok to save money in and not others. Safety is one of those areas to not skimp. From first hand experience of responding to multiple calls where people have be squished when the car fell on them while working on it, there is usually not a good outcome. All in the name of saving some cash. But, to each their own, I know I would not trust my life to some wood screws.

 

Lol it’s from another thread a member posted on here. I think the title was “sketch or good to go”.

 

Do you know the guy or something?

 

bonus marks for using GRK screws but no

 

DIY Safety/jack stands

Why risk injury or heaven forbid your life

Store bought stands are inexpensive and need to pass SAFETY testing standards

All joking aside
You're irreplaceable

 

just curious to why you are putting so much effort into these wood jacks? Those braces wont do squat when its tipping over.

 

From an engineering standpoint there is a reason why steel is used for jack stands and not wood. Wood is not known for being able to sustain pressure and ultimately will shatter.