A jack is a device that no driver can do without when repairing their car. It is needed to lift loads to a small height. It should be stored in the trunk of a car or in a garage. When purchasing such a device, you need to pay attention to the load capacity, which should be as high as possible, as well as the universal functionality. Many car enthusiasts prefer a hydraulic jack, which you can build with your own hands. But before that, you need to study information on how to make a homemade car jack with your own hands at home.
Types of jacks
There are three main types.
Mechanical jack. The car is lifted by pressing the handle. They are used quite rarely because they require some physical effort. The advantage is that they take up little space;
Hydraulic jack. Similar to the first option, but here you need to apply less physical force. All processes for lifting a car are carried out using liquids;Pneumatic jack. Lifting is carried out thanks to compressed gas. Does not require any physical effort.
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Best device design
Your future homemade car jack must have a certain design. A two-post mechanism (there are options with an electromechanical or electrohydraulic drive) is used throughout. The first consists of a threaded shaft with a supporting nut. The shaft rotates via an electric motor with a gearbox.
In the second case, the shaft is replaced with a hydraulic drive. And also the scissor lift has proven itself well in business. Special levers act as “scissors”. The load is lifted by hydraulic drives with electric motors. Each design may be suitable for your specific use conditions. Any installation considered turns out to be quite difficult to build such a car lift for a garage with your own hands. After all, even when creating a motorized lift, difficulties arise, and here the task becomes much more complicated.
Important Safety Points
You must be prepared for the fact that creating a useful system (a homemade garage lift) will be associated with significant financial costs and difficulties in manufacturing. But the main thing is the need for strict adherence to safety rules. Among them:
- eliminating the risk of injury during device manufacturing;
- ensuring reserve load-bearing capacity of equipment;
- creation of locking mechanisms.
The last point deserves special attention, because such devices will protect against the consequences of emergency situations. It is better to anticipate them and regularly check the condition of the shaft and nut with an electromechanical drive, and for electrohydraulic equipment it is important to check for damage to the cylinders and hoses.
Rack jack
The stability of this type of jack is determined by the strength of the fixation and the supporting platform.
To make it, take 2 pipes and welding. The finished product should resemble a stripped-down pyramid. After this, take a steel sheet, half a centimeter thick. Cut out 2 jack bases.
Drill a hole at the top and weld a nut there. You also need to drill a hole at the bottom. After this, insert a spiral there for rotation.
You can make small repairs and upgrades to this jack yourself. Install the cable, and it will serve as a winch if necessary.
These options are the simplest when making jacks with your own hands. Let's hope they will help you solve your pressing problems. No nail, no rod for you.
Main stages of work
The next step is to weld a half-inch pipe with a stud to a plate that is welded to a circle.
A nut must be welded in the upper part of a section of 30*30 mm profile pipe. Then a bolt is screwed into it.
Next, the author bends a piece of half-inch pipe at the edge. We cut out part of the pipe, and then flatten the edge with a hammer. The author welds a ½-inch thread to the other edge of the pipe.
The resulting handle will need to be welded to a metal circle. The seam must be tight and of high quality.
At the bottom of the circle, it is necessary to weld two sections of a 20x20 mm profile pipe, each 120 mm long.
Photos of do-it-yourself jacks
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How to choose a pneumatic jack?
Due to their design and powerful lifting capacity, air inflatable jacks can be used for any type of vehicle: from a passenger car to a powerful SUV or heavy construction equipment.
In addition to the air jack, it is also convenient to use a rolling hydraulic jack. The criteria for choosing the best inflatable jack for a particular car are quite simple:
- price category - pneumatic jacks have not been a new product on the automotive market for a long time, and therefore their cost is not something exorbitant: any car owner will find a quality option affordable for their budget;
- The color range of air jacks is different - from standard black and gray to red, yellow, and orange, which are clearly visible in any road conditions;
- only the use of high-quality rubberized materials, characterized by super strength and wear resistance, will allow the pneumatic jack to serve for a long time and reliably - cheap models with a thin chamber surface will quickly become unusable;
- when choosing a tool, the lifting height of the car body is important, which can be guaranteed by a specific jack model - usually up to half a meter for tire mounting or up to 0.75 m for rigging work (when using a compressor unit);
- When choosing an air jack for a specific car, you should make sure that the lifting capacity of the tool is significantly higher than the weight of the car: for a regular passenger car, the lifting capacity of an air jack should be about two tons; for minibuses, Gazelles and other light-duty vehicles, it is recommended to choose a jack with a higher lifting capacity (up to 3-5 -ty tons);
- Another important selection criterion will be the ground clearance of the car - this value should be sufficient to accommodate the air jack in a deflated state;
- For all-weather use, you should make sure that the air jack is designed to work in both hot conditions and winter frosts - in addition, such universal jacks are usually equipped with anti-slip pads that allow the tool to be used on snow and ice surfaces.
Remember that only a high-quality pneumatic jack will allow you to do the job quickly and comfortably and make it safe: durable materials are not afraid of cuts and punctures, the cameras are reliable, the hoses are sealed - such a tool will last a long time.
It is quite possible to make an inflatable jack (including a rolling one) with your own hands; for this you will need:
- a suitable pneumatic cushion (for example, from a truck);
- a wooden stand or metal frame attached to the bottom of the pillow, which will not allow the hose to be pressed, and at the same time will take up part of the vehicle’s ground clearance;
- The inflation hose can be equipped with compressor valves to allow air to enter the cushion and/or release compressed air from it after completion of work.
An additional convenience of a homemade pneumatic jack is that its parameters can be easily adapted to a specific car, and also provide protection for the painted surface of the car body from damage and scratches.
Advantages of an air jack
Pneumatic car jacks must have certain performance characteristics, for example, be compact and mobile. The main advantages of a pneumatic device are the following:
- Raising the structure requires a relatively short amount of time. Typically this takes about two minutes.
- High load capacity significantly expands the scope of application of the mechanism. Most models have a load capacity of about 2-5 tons.
- The lifting height is more than 50 cm. This indicator is quite enough to replace the wheels. Some models are designed for rigging work; they are characterized by a lifting height of about 70 cm.
- There is no need for periodic maintenance. This is due to the fact that there are no mechanical elements that can wear out.
- High reliability of the design.
- There is no need to apply a large mechanical load.
- Possibility of use in field conditions.
- The stability of the mechanism during its use due to the large support area.
The pneumatic rolling jack is characterized by the fact that it is quite easy to use. Its design features allow you to quickly lift a car or other device.
The main characteristics of a pneumatic jack that you should pay attention to when choosing
Do-it-yourself workplace organization
There are a number of specific features that you need to look for when purchasing an air cushion jack. These usually include load capacity, article number, pick-up height, hose length, presence of spikes and structural stability
The lifting capacity of a car pneumatic jack must necessarily be several times the weight of the vehicle. For passenger cars, it is advisable to give preference to a hydraulic design with a load capacity of at least 2 tons.
The most important characteristic when choosing a lifting mechanism is the pick-up height.
If the car has low ground clearance, is very stuck in the snow or in a sewer manhole, then using small indicators of this parameter you can easily lift the car. Experienced motorists advise buying devices with a pick-up height of up to 100 mm.
Pneumatic jack design
In addition to the main characteristics that you should pay attention to when purchasing an air spring, there are several parameters that have practically no significance:
- working stroke;
- pressure gauge;
- availability of mats included;
- mechanism color.
As for the lifting height, for most lift models this parameter reaches 500 mm, and this value is quite enough to lift a vehicle in order to replace a broken wheel.
The design, which is intended not only to lift machines, but also to carry out rigging work, is distinguished by a large lifting height of up to 700 mm.
