Turning Scrap Wood Into Solid Jack Stands

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Andy Rawls - In this video I'm creating a couple of jack stands for my Toyota Tundra truck and to help out with the Airstream (Argosy) restoration.
Disclaimer: these have not been officially tested and are not intended to be used on a motor vehicle. If you should choose to build these you must use them at your own risk.
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[@jackfntwist]

If that wooden dowel fails, someone is toast. I'd use a metal one.

[@fungames24]

Half toast. The base section will ensure the car doesn't come all the way down.

[@jackfntwist]

@@fungames24At minimum a broken nose if you're lucky

[@oldcarnutzs2886]

I use tree stumps, when working in the garage. They are the most solid stable jack stands I have ever used.

[@johndoe1765]

NOT ONLY ARE YOU SAFE ,BUT YOUR ALSO VERY SMART TO USE TREE STUMPS.

[@kd2239]

I like that

[@AndyRawls]

FYI - I will never put my truck back on two of these like this again, just had to see if they were strong enough aaaaaand they were!! UPDATE: I think people have forgotten how strong wood is, it's been used to build large buildings, ships, bridges, etc. The comments below have actually stirred some interest in getting these tested to failure to prove their strength. I think it would be surprising! I would never climb under my truck with these and if you choose to build them use them at your own risk, obviously they haven't been tested in a lab.

[@JOEDHIGGINS]

I guarantee that these are as tough as anything you can get for $50. The compressive strength of maple is in excess of 6ksi (not sure what you used for your uprights, but looks a bit like maple). The only 2 potential weak points are: the pin (though eyeballing the gap width, I think you exceed a 3x safety margin based on avg shear strength of hickory), and the gap between the stand channel and the upright. If the upright can rotate to any significant degree, it can concentrate stresses in places you don't want them, but shimming the gap would solve this. If you went to a steel or even aluminum pin, you would totally solve that weak point. The only remaining area that might possibly still be an issue would be how it dealt with a bending stress on the upright perpendicular to the pin's axis (in other words, bending 90 degrees out to the hole in the upright. This would really only be an issue if you have a lot of slop in the pockets or if you tried to put the truck on jack stands while it was parked on an incline. Assuming your pockets are tight and you replace that pin, you are far better off with these than cheap HF or amazon stands.

[@ApexWoodworks]

By replacing the wooden dowel with a metal one (even a pipe), you'd vastly increase the shear strength of that section.

[@themoppie1000]

I work under cars, and would happily trust those to hold up your truck. Quick tip if your going to be using them regularly, put a leather strap handle on them. Most metal stands have cut outs for cost saving, but they also make for great hand holds to hook them out from under a vehicle, lifting them up etc. A couple of leather straps, or even bits of rope could work the same on these ones.

[@spark9040]

how do you test fatigue? repeated stress? humidity? water? I'm not an engineer, but it seems like there may be more factors than just how much weight they can hold until they fail.

[@JOEDHIGGINS]

@@spark9040 Sure, but all of those are relevant to all other jack stands. Humidity ins't likely to cause any meaningful loss of strength, All of his glue joints have so much surface area that unless they visibly separate (and even then, maybe not) they are going to be the strongest part of the build. Whatever he made the upright out of has a compressive strength in the thousands pf pounds per square inch, so assuming he inspects his tools for cracks or damage before use, those 4" uprights could hold a balanced load of many 10s of thousands of pounds each. The compressive strength of the base is many times that. Since the front of his truck only weighs a couple of thousand, and it is split between two stands, he may have a safety margin on everything but the pins of 100x or more. The pins themselves and any gaping is the only potential issue, and with minimal gaping, a .44 inch pin would give a 3x safety margin on a 6k lb load, per stand, based on average values. So that is 18k for a failure load on a pin with 1/4 the strength of the (nominal) pin that he used. This all assumes rigid bodies, which these aren't really, which is why the gaping could be especially important. That all being said, the pin is where I would design a failure point in this tool, because a pin failure would likely cause only a partial collapse of a single side, and probably somewhat gracefully. If your argument is that the stands you can buy for 50$ are well engineered with good QC, I have had two sets of stands (new, from different mfrs) I have had to re weld before their first use because the welds were just surface welds with no penetration that had already separated by the time I got them. So fail on QA as well. I would trust these over most jacks I have seen. As with all things, inspecting tools that your life depends on prior to using them is a good idea.

[@keithspencersr.6806]

Those are the most beautiful jack stands I have ever seen

[@StephenCoxfixit]

Those are by far the most well built and beautiful jack stands I've ever seen! Great job as usual Andy!

[@92camarodragcar73]

Plus they can't kill you like the harbor freight ones

[@marcuscicero9587]

suitable for framing but not for worry free support. a little ball bustin to Texas who I have nothing but the ultimate respect for

[@deniseallen-blake2557]

It's was so awesome to watch you work in your workshop. I know you have been doing this a while, but you sure look very natural doing this kind of work. Thank you and God Bless ❣️🙏❣️

[@TomokosEnterprize]

That joiner/planer is something else,. You have the shop wonderfully fit out bud. I would work under these.

[@torinhalsey6313]

Well built and beautiful. Cool project.

[@markn.reprisal9472]

Brilliantly constructed...or not, I wouldn't crawl under there !!!

[@pcka12]

Mark N. Reprisal why not wood holds up trees, and trees can be very heavy!

[@trystanjego]

I'm a cabinet maker student from France and it's always a pleasure to see your qualitatives videos, good job 👍🏻

[@cqpadovani]

Wow!! You are a true artist!!

[@CoCoSWISS1]

Just some fast math from an old memory - so better check it, but the stands are strong enough. Remember how he selected the wood for the dowel - straight grain, no defects, etc. That and the flush, cross-grain design are ideal for this type of shear. I can't remember the wood he used or its shear strength, but if it was an aluminum rod each stand could hold almost 9,000 lbs. If it was the same steel used for trailer hitch pins the number climbs to 32,000 lbs.

[@jefflawson7543]

I loved this idea

[@Ian_S]

Next Episode: Turning Scrap Wood Into Crutches.

[@johndoe1765]

OR A VERY GOOD LOOKING MATCHING CASKET.

[@jeffstorey9147]

Or a wheelchair!

[@marcuscicero9587]

I love this guy, but I ain't buyin that 7/8 in. hickory dowel. be careful Texas

[@antolinpena3750]

Nuena combinacion de carpinteri y Mecanica Automotriz Gasias.😊 frof

[@Terrythemaker]

Andy, every time I watch you I pick up a little tip 👍 like the glue spreader.

[@dunaiden9858]

Of course you make a car jack look amazingly beautiful 😆

[@paulkane4791]

Should send your boots to the youtubers Trenton and Heath for a rebuild. Would be a cool cross over

[@jessjulian9458]

That is the nicest set of Jack stands I've ever seen. Good job.

[@bibleandbibs6407]

Nice work!

[@mauriceryton]

Nice jack stand totally one of a kind. That bandsaw is a workhorse and cuts so nicely. You did a great job of rebuilding it which is paying off big time now. You did it correctly at the front end to gain the benefits when completed and using that bandsaw.

[@rajmonhw]

Great idea till a less then capable Carpenter builds them on a budget!

[@btrswt35]

Yeah, you know someone will try this with 2x pine from the home center and it won't work the same. Simple cribbing would be much safer.

[@johnlyons1037]

Next investment needs to be a harbor freight 3 ton floor jack!! You wont regret it.

[@markstrickland8736]

Beautiful work. But I would trust steel over glued wood.

[@MercuryWagons]

I love your ambition! Harbor freight sells jack stands for $4.99 BYGO lol. I'm not bitching at all. I love all you videos. Keep up the great work!

[@MercuryWagons]

BOGO my bad

[@JerryDLTN]

I remember buying hydraulic car jacks from Sears about >15 years ago to lift a 1986 Jaguar XJS V12 and crushed two of them...I think just the engine was 800 pounds. I decided to build ramps out of stacked 2x12s

[@JDeWittDIY]

I would not get under a car that was sitting on $4.99 jack stands. Some things just aren't worth it.

[@diegudr]

If you have a $10,000 band saw you might be able to afford a pre-made $35 pair of jack stands

[@randomnonsense_1]

Can I come down and pick through your "scrap" pile? 😁

[@dietrichnsons]

I love projects like this! Awesome work! 🤠

[@loudfast1261]

interesting. curious to know how long would these last integrity wise. looks bespoke.

[@donaldtrabeaux5235]

Awesome job Andy

[@terencevasquez]

Hey Andy, the next time you put a bit in the chuck tighten it, then lock it by turning back you'll feel it go back about an 1/8". Trust me its a game changer. Their are 3 types of chucks, one with a key, and two that are keyless. One of the keyless you just twist to tighten the other you twist to tighten then go back just a bit youll feel it go back but not loosen.

[@Eric-469]

Everyone here worried about the wood failing. I'm more worried about Andy losing a finger 14:11 lol I think it would take a lotttt before failure. Nice project, man.

[@64bry]

Super rad on Monday someone stole my jack and stands out of my car I was super bummed out but seeing this made me happy thank you Andy

[@TheThriftyWoodworker]

Put a few coats of Polly on them and put them in an art gallery. Much safer and more profitable.

[@robewalk2]

A win-win Andy. You cleared up some scrap wood and saved yourself $50.00. Well done during these trying times. I hope you and yours are healthy and safe and I look forward to your next episode. Cheers from an old retired coot living in Tennessee.❤️👍😷🍻✌️

[@johnbaughman7281]

Idk if you watch fireball tool but he made a really cool guard for the big bandsaw he got. And a cool counterweight. Maybe a collaboration could be had for a guard for yours or something.

[@JereHOTmiah]

Would love to know what the actual shear strength of a 7/8th hickory dowel is now.

[@Scrmnegl77]

doublestink this is maple but if it’s a similar hardwood you could likely hold 2 trucks... www.agriculture.purdue.edu/fnr/faculty/eckelman/documents/d196912c_000.pdf

[@Bill_N_ATX]

They’ve built buildings that have been standing for centuries using pins like these. Lot more weight than the front of a pickup.

[@mikemiller8170]

I looked it up. The shear strength of hickory varies from about 1000 - 2000 psi depending on a bunch of things including species, moisture, and grain orientation. It's been a few decades since I had to do these maths in kolidge :-) but with two sides of the pin equally distributing the load (hmmm...) a 7/8" diameter hickory pin should be able to support 1200 - 2400 pounds per jack. And that's with no Factor Of Safety (hmmm...). Obviously Andy lucked out since if it was only 1200 pounds per jack the Tundra would have sheared the pins. A mild steel pin would be the answer... something else would fail before a steel pin. Somebody mail Andy a couple - quick! :-)

[@CMAenergy]

You can be guaranteed it is considerably less then vertical. see my written above it's very unsafe to even use it horizontally or suggest doing this

[@fugenfuller-rp1fu]

That jointer part was pretty scary.

[@justinhildebrand1543]

Next time on home carpentry; Making a coffin for the guy who climbed under the truck.

[@TheVonifasio]

Looks great 👍 it might also look good torched

[@justinb618]

Where do you get your pants? They seem sturdy but still well fitting??

[@anriroze11]

Steel, some welding, done. But looks kinda cute in wood. ;)

[@anriroze11]

Oh no by making an edit to fix my grammar, Andy's heart fell off :(

[@AndyRawls]

Haha!!! Here you go👍

[@anriroze11]

@@AndyRawls Hahah thanks man :)

[@bruhmerica8609]

Awesome! Now make a floor jack 😂

[@TrailerTrashtoTreasure]

I don't know anything about anything but when my husband saw that band saw he grabbed my leg and said 'oh my God' so good job I guess 😅

[@chrisnorton2837]

Was nervous for you seeing all of that weight put on two little points of the maple legs. My question was why cut points? Could be unsafe. If this was my project, I think I'd wrap some steel around the base, hoops like a barrel. But... nice looking stands nonetheless. 👍

[@rl848]

what kind of jack is that? very interested

[@pughconsulting]

I made some really nice wood ramps many years ago and still use them all the time. They probably could hold up a house. As for wood jack stands, I'll pass.

[@tomrausch7014]

Harbor Freight Recalls Jack Stands That Could Suddenly Collapse

[@mathiasschnuderl5337]

With the point made for needing a belt! Ever made a wooden belt buckle?

[@BruceAUlrich]

Because you can! Ha ha

[@KiranKumar-fw3cb]

Andy have you ever done steam bending on a project

[@hammerdownwoodworkingtracy3679]

It looked like your fence was moving when you were edge jointing those pieces. Just letting you know.

[@maryblaylock6545]

Two hundred years ago the Salt Lake Temple was built using timbers and wooden pins and wet horse hide strips for its innards. It went through an earthquake recently. The trumpet from the statue fell off. There are buildings that are quite old being held together with wooden pins all over the world. I don't claim to be an expert. I'm not sure about the glued together base.

[@lint2023]

Nice looking and obviously strong enough. What orientation of the grain would give the strongest structure?

[@adkchip1]

Against it of course

[@stoffes]

incredible how strong wood is

[@resistresist9871]

I need to buy the tools to make it too

[@seanobrien7169]

Those are actually much stronger than the cheapie stamped steel ones you get at the box stores. I would leave the jack under at least one side with no slack though. I always use two floor jacks along with the jackstands.

[@waynep343]

if you want to make something of wood... make some tandem axle wheel wedges. so you can lock the wheels together by putting the wood wedges with a piece of all thread thru the middle . if you have to laminate them.. use epoxy not wood workers glue and use steel fasteners thru them. i wonder if you have enough wedge pieces you cut off the wooden jackstands to assemble into tandem wheel wedges. Those wooden jack stands will look beautiful under the trailer.

[@JaapTreinkaap]

Next vid: Turning Scrap Wood Into A Belt

[@Lokomandatheinsane]

Those wooden snakes id see ad a kid came to mind, with how good of a craftsman Andy is im sure he could troubleshoot up a flat version to use as a belt if he felt inclined

[@bluegill2030]

Wow!!!! No way would I trust the weight of a car to some wood! Good luck with that..... talk about living on the edge

[@camus6208]

Food for thought. You probably acquired additional subs when you started the airstream. The episodes seems to generate lots of views. You have the data. Might be the right time to generate more episodes instead of cutting down. Ad biz has restarted.

[@trevorholland7]

Just always throw your tires up under the truck in a area your not working and if you can stack them so if it falls it’s that much less it’ll fall

[@Cyberpuppy63]

That aluminum strip is a tripping hazard.

[@jimmyfish632]

I was gonna get up and fix my car but then I got high

[@DaasmangiDIGBYHoleong]

you have guts

[@biker1.088]

That’s not scrapwood Haha 😂

[@renebechandreasen5642]

Damn cool. I Will trust them to save me. 😊

[@Connor-wv6ln]

What kind of boots do you wear?

[@raymondbloomer7024]

Will look great when used with trailer

[@michaelgawne4363]

Bud.... those pillars bent. When wood bends like that it retains a memory and that causes them to weaken. Just make cubes out of 3/4” plywood with layers of glue and screws. Will never crack or deform.

[@Server0750]

#dontdothisathome!

[@jamesconner8275]

Please, never get under that truck with wooden jack stands. Steel pins would make an improvement, but even then never get under the truck.

[@wileycoyotesr8623]

It appears to me the hickory pins are supporting most of the vehicle weight. Is that true?

[@mckenzie4003]

It'd take a semi to break one of them.

[@potassiumchloride2542]

Metal jack stand are made of material that are meant to be use on the jack itself, most of the time the metal bend before breaking. Wood doesnt bend much, you never know when they will fail, the could just split half anytime.

[@melissaconlen453]

do more trailer videos

[@patrickradcliffe3837]

Looks good. The only changes I would make is putting one inch metal bands around the bottom of the base and the top of the base, and the top of the post. That way your not totally relying on grain boundary strength to hold it together. Finally a metal pin instead of wood and I would trust them enough to work under them. Bit extensions work great for drilling really deep holes.

[@substandardabuse6028]

They look good. In my opinion it really doesn't matter how much you spend on steel jack stands there is still a chance that they may fail. Taking proper precautions and inspecting any tool before use will reduce the risks of failure and injury. If you do the same with these I'm sure that they will last as long or longer than any of the imported crap that's out there. My butthole clenches everytime I use my steel units... One just never knows.. . Take care...

[@seanobrien7169]

Use floor jacks in conjunction with the jack stands. Jack the car up, put the stand under, lower the car on the stand then take the slack back up in the jack without lifting the car off the stand. I use two floor jacks and two stands to lift the whole front or rear.

[@niklas1904.]

nice

[@jacques-mauricemiron199]

In realty, all the weight is on the little stick... looks not verry safe

[@atropiperio]

That's what I thought. That is not safe. And he should not make this video .people are gonna die

[@tdgdbs1]

I first saw wooden jackstands in Kathmandu under a bus; of course life is cheap there and no OSHA

[@Rico-Suave_]

The pin should be metal

[@minitrucker007]

I use wood jack stands all the time but I would never get under it with those. I use this kind. It keeps the wheels in the slots and will keep it from moving. I have watched car guys use these for year under project cars. kzbin.info/www/bejne/l3TUl3uinsx3ibM

[@levihoenholt7400]

Good

[@richcartwright889]

They would look excellent in man's cave classic car garage especially if you had a woodie. It is about a week's wave worth of scrap wood in the UK. I hold on to scrap ply.

[@plomblybutbad]

ayyyye, 4 view gang

[@jackthomas5935]

make a skateboard please

[@hakamrauf1924]

The dowel is atrong,not broken....

[@jeffro221]

Great work, but NEVER get under any vehicle (or the trailer) with these supporting it. I think these might be ok for ONLY your trailer (or something as light) as long as you never get under it, and won't mind any damge to the trailer if it then falls. Getting smashed from using these would make a classic safety fatality report.

[@breakingthegrain3425]

C'mon man, gloves on a drill press?

[@jamesmoreno4155]

People who say this wouldn't work or is too dangerous are the same people who use a cut down 4x4 as a spacer on their jacks. #hatersgonnahate

[@browndog9402]

Awesome jack stands, i can never find something to make out of my scrap. IT just acumults and then i burn the cheaper stuff.

[@lilBugger35]

Rip

[@elliottpack9786]

And for his next video! his obituary.

[@shackman9566]

I don't know Andy?

[@adkchip1]

Please don’t take this wrong, but you scared the crap out of me working that wood over the jointer. One slip and it coulda been hamburg for hands

[@ilazieboii]

Cheaper to just buy them

[@GmBizzleZz]

Quality as usual 👍 who cares about $50 production quality materials when you just hand crafted one of a kind heirloom jack stands?

[@tinkls57]

I'd rather get under these. Then those stamped sheet metal ramps. Even if the pins break. At least it's got that massive chunk of wood that makes up the base to catch it

[@CMAenergy]

I disagree with using that horizontal pin WHY? Because wood when used across the grain has no strength That is why the second narrows bridge fell and killed many construction workers back in the 50's or 60's - Can't remember the exact year They placed the dun-age horizontally under the web of an I beam supporting the supporting bents - instead of doing it properly using it vertically, this allowed the web of the I beam to fold under pressure and down everything came WARNING DO NOT USE THAT SYSTEM WITH PINS THIS IS AN UNTESTED SYSTEM FOR THE ACTUAL weight of the BREAKING POINT OF THAT HORIZONTAL WOODEN PIN. VERTICALLY SUPPORTING WOOD IS MUCH STRONGER THEN ANY WOOD HORIZONTALLY USED AS IT WILL CRUSH.

[@Keithmwalton]

Dude I’m no safety sally, but I’ve been injured on a jointer and I was cringing around 0:43 haha maybe it looks closer on camera

[@Keithmwalton]

Whoa then you’re slipping head first into the cutters haha. You’re just trying to give me anxiety now

[@rustyaxelrod]

I caught that too. Made my butt tighten up a little.

[@tomtruesdale6901]

Your truck is unworthy or those stands, 4X4 blocks maybe but not the stands. They would look great under a classic car. Just kidding you did a great job on them and they will be great for working on the trailer.

[@smplyizzy]

Get a floor jack and stop using that factory jack. Save it for when you might get a flat, etc.

[@smplyizzy]

That set up is not “simply safe”!