Bottle Jack Useful Accessory Build (Or - Bye, Bye High Lift!)

[NashvilleTJ]

Wanting to experiment with this a bit more, I made a quick pocket-drilled jig for my small router, and carved away.

This stuff is not easy to mill - it wants to melt if you are not careful with the cutter speed and movement.

But here it is - the base of the jack sits flush with the top of the ribs. Now to think through some methods to hold it down.

 

[NashvilleTJ]

Here in the PNW if I need a block to float a jack or prop something up I just whip out the chainsaw and make something on the fly. Why carry something when the forest will provide!

-Mac

So Mac, you carry a 30 pound chain saw instead of a 3 pound block?



Just kidding - I know you usually carry your saw. By the way - that thing is a monster (just watched your snow / stuck / nearly ran off the cliff video). I've got a 75cc Jonsered with a 3' bar. You know how much I love heavy duty power tools...

 

[macleanflood]

So Mac, you carry a 30 pound chain saw instead of a 3 pound block?

Absofuckinglutely!

And an axe, wedges, chaps, small battery saw, Silky folding saw...

Mostly I don't trust plastic. And I absolutely hate when it breaks and I spend an hour on the ground picking up all the pieces.

I think the plywood idea was pretty good.

-Mac

P.S. Nice saw! My 28" tucks just behind the front seats...36...did you cut a hole in the side or do you have it outside?

 

[macleanflood]

Now to think through some methods to hold it down.

How about some small stainless threaded rod... through the plastic base sides on either side of the jack secured with nylocks?

-Mac

 

[Wildman]

I did. This is what they have. The spring loaded locking pin looks interesting. The sub plate to hold it in,. not so much.

https://safejacks.com/products/universal-bottle-jack-stabilizer

I have the same ARB base so that was what made me think about it. And yes the sub plate is a little much.

 

[TheBoogieman]

@NashvilleTJ, I used to have a Bud Light bottle jack. I think they were discontinued/boycotted not long ago. Very flexible, but offensive to some.

 

[Wildman]

Absofuckinglutely!

And an axe, wedges, chaps, small battery saw, Silky folding saw...

Mostly I don't trust plastic. And I absolutely hate when it breaks and I spend an hour on the ground picking up all the pieces.

I think the plywood idea was pretty good.

-Mac

P.S. Nice saw! My 28" tucks just behind the front seats...36...did you cut a hole in the side or do you have it outside?

Anything more than a 18" to 20" bar IMO is too much for EDC in the Jeep. But there are times I've wished I had a 24" or 36" bar also.

 

[macleanflood]

Anything more than a 18" to 20" bar IMO is too much for EDC in the Jeep. But there are times I've wished I had a 24" or 36" bar also.

This was driving to work the other day after an ice storm. 42" tree. Got lucky and two guys from a local tree service pulled up behind me...unloaded their skid steer.

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-Mac

 

[DaveF]

I'm also giving some thought to Ricky's comment about a base to add stability / anti muck-sink.

As I mentioned I've had this high-lift base for almost 20 years, although I have not carried it in the rig for many years as it is a bit bulky.

View attachment 495355

The jack actually fits nicely between the top rails of the base, and would require only a little clearance-ing for the release valve.

View attachment 495356

So I'm giving some thought to how to secure it to the base for use, but make it easy to remove. Any thoughts?

The downside is that it weighs three pounds, and is a bit bulky - although the scalloped design of the side rails makes it not too bad. My thought is that a steel plate strong and large enough to work would likely weigh much more.

Do you think it is worth pursuing?

View attachment 495354

I use one of these bases for my bottle jack... just ground down around the valve... has worked great for the last couple years, and it's light

 

[Andy-WhiteTJ]

There is a lot of interesting ideas in this thread but the one take away I get from all this is that @NashvilleTJ has one clean and extremely organized shop. Cheers to you @NashvilleTJ . My mind wants to be that organized but my time says no. Maybe now that I am retired, I can get to some of that organization skills I had at work.

 

[NashvilleTJ]

There is a lot of interesting ideas in this thread but the one take away I get from all this is that @NashvilleTJ has one clean and extremely organized shop. Cheers to you @NashvilleTJ . My mind wants to be that organized but my time says no. Maybe now that I am retired, I can get to some of that organization skills I had at work.

Thanks. I get a bunch of good-natured ribbing about being OCD (I even ribbed myself earlier in this thread), but I never, ever spend time looking for something - and I have a tons of tools - and to me that actually saves a lot of ime.

Congrats on retirement, Mr. White.

 

[B1Toad]

I try to keep my shop as organized as possible but I always seem to have multiple projects going on at the same time, right now I have 4 going on with 2 waiting for parts. Then tomorrow I have to find room for some 24 foot steel tubing, I'll probably slide it under the motorhome till I get started on that project. It helps to have several large work benches/tables so when waiting for parts on one project you can just move to a different work area for the next project.

Being retired doesn't necessarily mean you'll have all kinds of spare time, if you're the type who always stays busy it will continue into retirement.

 

[Rut Row]

If you can find your tools all the time then you aren't old yet. I'll bet 15% of my time is spent searching for the tool I just laid down.

 

[hosejockey61]

So I'm giving some thought to how to secure it to the base for use, but make it easy to remove. Any thoughts?

I would reconsider and use a wood base like somebody else mentioned. Using the high lift base means the jack has to go in one spot. If your terrain isn't perfect, it won't work. If you use a flat piece of wood, you can move the jack where it needs to be while still allowing the base to make the greatest contact with where it will fit on the ground.

 

[hosejockey61]

If you can find your tools all the time then you aren't old yet. I'll bet 15% of my time is spent searching for the tool I just laid down.

I just did that yesterday looking for my shop vac extension tube. Leaned up against one of my post jacks and couldn't find it for 20 minutes even though I knew it had to be in the shop. I looked under the welding table three times

 

[B1Toad]

I just did that yesterday looking for my shop vac extension tube. Leaned up against one of my post jacks and couldn't find it for 20 minutes even though I knew it had to be in the shop. I looked under the welding table three times

I've done that with my safety glasses and finally found them on top of my head.

 

[steelhd]

I've looked into a few coating methods that would provide rust prevention, but not add thickness to the parts. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Maybe bluing? Does that provide rust prevention?

On the firearm finishing product track possibly cerakote or a similar product? Or for a posdibly crazy out of the box idea maybe creating a layer of surface rust then using phosphoric acid to produce an inert iron phosphate coating?

Edit - a better and non-hillbilly process for phosohate conversion coating ... parkerizing.

 

[NashvilleTJ]

I would reconsider and use a wood base like somebody else mentioned. Using the high lift base means the jack has to go in one spot. If your terrain isn't perfect, it won't work. If you use a flat piece of wood, you can move the jack where it needs to be while still allowing the base to make the greatest contact with where it will fit on the ground.

I get your point, HJ.

I look at the base as having two purposes. One, anti-sinkage. And two, and in my view more important, stabilizing the jack. The only way to do that well is to attach it firmly to the base. A flat block of wood accomplishes purpose one, but not two.

Attaching a larger base to the bottle jack will greatly improve the stability - the 8-ton jack I’m using has a pretty small base, and at the lift heights I’ve given it would be pretty unstable by itself.

I think I’ve come up with a cool way to attach it to the base which I’m working on this morning. I’ll post up in a bit to see what you think.

 

[NashvilleTJ]

On the firearm finishing product track possibly cerakote or a similar product? Or for a posdibly crazy out of the box idea maybe creating a layer of surface rust then using phosphoric acid to produce an inert iron phosphate coating?

I’ve looked into cerakote, but that will not work on raw steel. It has to be galvanized as I understand it. I’ve use cerakote on aluminum, and it works great.

Interesting idea in the rust and phosphoric acid. Would that add thickness?

 

[Shank]

I’ve looked into cerakote, but that will not work on raw steel. It has to be galvanized as I understand it. I’ve use cerakote on aluminum, and it works great.

Interesting idea in the rust and phosphoric acid. Would that add thickness?

Cerakote should adhere well to properly blasted steel.