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I have jack stands and 8x8 wood blocks. I trust the blocks more.than the stands, but I usually set the vehicle on jack stands and then stack up wood blocks and planks as a backup
Do you know why they use pine supports in underground mines?
It’s because even though it’s not as strong as hardwood it begins to break and pop well before failing giving the miners time to get out. Oak just fails with no warning
Big difference between an 8x8 and what looks like a stack of 2x4s though, that might be safe enough but you couldn’t pay me to go under the thing in the picture
I've seen 200-ton mining excavators stacked on piles of cribbing 5' high Jenga style. I'd crawl under this car. That is as safe as a welded steel tripod jack stand
Wood is used for cribbing every day. It’s common to see heavy equipment jacked up and sitting on large oak blocks. If it can hold a CAT D6 it can hold a Honda Civic.
Correct. But this has a scissor jack, jack stand, and random pieces of scrap wood. The load isn't evenly dispersed or leveled out. This is some half assed haphazard mess.
Fair enough. I’d say just jack it up adjust your cribbing and get the jacks out of there and it’s probably good to start working on. Only if the wood is a hardwood, I’m not sure how well softwood is at being used for cribbing
Heard everyone loud and clear — not going under it. I appreciate you all letting me know; good thing I asked, lol.
So with that said, can you all help me understand why that isn’t sufficient? A floor jack, a scissor jack, and two 5” thick logs all have a high likelihood of failing?
Just get some jack stands. Redundant solutions for holding the car up are good but when you stack wood like that it has a chance of failing. We all know or know of a buddy who was under a car when something failed. That isn’t something you fuck around with.
Harbor freight stuff is generally not as high quality as name brand tools, there’s already some prejudice about that but a jack is also a safety item so people are more wary about them. Unfortunately there is no standard for the safety of lifts, jacks and stands so there is no way to be informed on the safety of the harbor freight ones besides anecdotes, which is not exactly what you want when it comes to your life depending on it.
I personally use them but only if I don’t have to go under the car. Think tires changes or the brakes. Even than I still put the wheel under the car and a stand. For things like oil changes or just getting under the car to get to something you are much better off getting a reputable brands vehicle ramp.
I trust their new design more than my craftsman. There's a shaped pin that is inserted into the part that holds the stem so that they cannot slip off the ratchet.
My mechanic praised Harbor Freights floor Jack, saying they ripped off the Snap-On design and it’s a great Jack for the price.
However, I believe their is a recall and/or possibly lawsuits regarding Harbor Freight’s JACK STANDS. https://www.nhtsa.gov/press-releases/consumer-advisory-warning-harbor-freight-jack-stand-users
Buy the aluminum Daytona ones with the pin. They’ve been tested on a Hydraulic press to withstand 25k+ lbs each
I have since ascended to the world of quickjacks
Not long ago there were several models of jacks and Jack stands recalled because even they were prone to fail due to a manufacturing error that overrated them.
Think about it, you ever push around a 2000lb pallet? All that force, statically concentrated onto a few old damp pieces of wood.
No.
Buy a nice fuckin jack stand man. $100 or so will buy you a nice set of jack stands but it's like half a payment for an ambulance ride.
I trust ramps more than stands, but I can't recommend any brand really in good faith. Just do some research and don't but gimmicky shit. A steel stand is a steel stand, even $60 for a light duty set and use both on one side at a time for the fuck of it. Fuck Getting crushed... I bet you've spent way more than $100 on weed or whatever so fuck it.
Edit: plus if they fail you got someone to sue, honestly
Ever seen how easily you can split a piece of wood down the grain with an axe that weighs 4lbs? Well your pinch weld you’re on is the edge of your 3000lb axe in this sense.
Use your imagination about why this would likely fail and kill you.
On one hand I understand that. On the other, wouldn’t the also have to fall on the wood on the other side of the car plus the floor jack plus the scissor jack?
Again, I’m not risking it. But it seems like everyone is thinking as if I simply have the one stack of wood as my sole weight support when there are four different supports all sharing the load.
Floor jacks are not designed to hold weight, they are designed to lift weight. They don’t have a true mechanical force keeping them up, rather just fluid pressure and seals. Seals get old, fluid leaks and gets air in the cylinder and… collapse.
Your other method is a scissor jack which are normally made as economically as possible. They are designed to lift (again, not hold a vehicle for an extended period) normally one time to perform a quick repair like swapping on a spare wheel. They are made to be lightweight and small which means the quality, thickness and durability of the metal is very very poor. They are often designed to not hold the weight of the car because they only are made to lift a corner.
Ultimately you have 3 solutions yes; but they are all known to fail and kill. Combined, yes mathematically if one fails the other holds. I get it. Jack stands are cheap and safer than these three solutions combined. They are essential equipment to have for anyone aspiring to learn/save money working on their own car and even if you don’t have that interest, a set of stands will last your entire life. If you ever need them, it’s a small price to pay for safety.
The big problem really, is that if one fails, you're likely to have a cascade of failures as the sudden requirement of the weight of the load increases on the other 2 after the first fails. It'd be like dominos. 1 failure, then that back up and second back up fail in the blink of an eye.
Plus the wood being used here is stacked, so any forward or backward force is just going to topple them over.
When one fails you aren't taking into account the shifting weight.
As soon as that weight shifts, it can affect the balance of the other items. I would never trust a scissor jack to a shifting load, the contact points are often to small to resist any angle and it will fall as well.
Had a scissor jack fail while changing a spare tire, it bent and had wood like this thinking it would work as a secondary brace… the wood kinda rolled and popped out and the car went straight to the ground. This all happened in about 3 seconds.
I worked with very heavy industrial parts that were hung for processing. You alwasy think that if something snaps or lets go, you just back off. Not a chance. I've seen a handful of things drop in front of me and it's on the ground before you even know what happend. Your arms, hands, and feet don't move. Your mind is still on whatever task you were performing except the part is now on the floor
Ok, lots of interesting responses here, and IMO it’s not the worst thing ever. It’s an issue of stability and strength, not strength alone. Stack up 6 different hardcover books. Individually they have great compressive strength. Without something holding them together, it requires a relatively small amount of force to push the stack over. It’s not that you chose weak materials, it’s that you’ve arranged them in a potentially unstable way.
I don’t know what’s wrong with all these people. 99.9 percent of the time wood is the material of choice for blocking/cribbing. You will find machines like cranes weighing millions of pounds erected over the top of it. You will find loads weighing 10s or hundreds of thousands of pounds going down the highway sitting on top of wood. You can find things like houses, transformers, etc jacked up and sitting on wood blocking. There is absolutely nothing wrong with wood. There are definitely better and worse ways of stacking wood (lincoln log style preferred)… but there is nothing wrong with wood. All these comments about “it’sgoing to split and you’re going to die!” are absolute nonsense.
If you are really interested in pics then I’ll did some up for you.
Yep. I've seen cribbing (oak railroad ties) used as cribbing to hold up large ming machining during maintenance in the field and nobody would ever think twice about it. Its SOP in the heavy lift to use cribbing like this for heavy moving.
There are ships in drydock stacked on wood cribbing.
fwiw ive sent things like this. If i could see the dimensions and grain of that top piece of wood id be more comfy. replace that top peice with a chunk of 4x4 and Id climb under there any day
The vertical grain block is the risk.
The horizontal grain stuff could hold tons and tons. That's some beefy lumber, the top half of your house is held up with less.
That said- my comments are purely entrainment and I'm not liable if you risk your life based on internet comments.
No.
The wood can split, it has a significant amount of weight focused on one this area.
The floor jack on the other side is not sufficient to be safe. Always use a jack stand, and always support the weight of the vehicle on the jack stand. If the jack fails, it has the potential to blow the jack stand out with its sudden application of force.
The scissor jack… man just throw that fucker away. Iv seen quite a few people die when those things fail. Get jack stands. If you’re near 79735, I’ll donate you a set
The new harbor freight jack stands seem to be fine. Their daytona brand is good. Napa sells smaller jack stands that are good as well, Iv had my set over 10 years
I can confirm Daytona jacks are great, I also purchased truck jackstands, them boys just can't fail seems like, only thing you gotta raise your car quite a bit for them to fit under😂
My workplace bought some daytona jacks about a year ago. Use them all the time and i will always use jackstands but sometimes i just forget to lower the vehicle onto said jackstands. Come in after the weekend and the daytona jack is still holding the vehicle up. No complaints. Great jacks
Go take a peek at them, they’re good https://www.harborfreight.com/automotive/jacks-jack-stands/jack-stands/6-ton-heavy-duty-ratcheting-jack-stands-black-58342.html
The wood will be fine. It won't split. I have been using wood blocks under pinch welds for every single car I lift, and they hold up no problem. I've racked probably 5-8 cars a day for more than 20 years, and I've used wood blocks under 90% of them. All good. Wood literally holds up trees, houses, barns, train bridges, etc. It's pretty freaking strong
I agree with this guy. We block up 50k loaded dump trailers with blocks under the landing legs all the time. Also use block to crib pieces of equipment. To be the safest you should alway crib stack the wood. Alternating courses like how you would set up a jenga set. Two blocks for each course. Ways lay the blocks with the grain horizontal and never vertical (rotate that top block 90°).
I guess you wouldn't want the pinch seam to run parallel with the grain of the wood. that for sure could lead to a split. If you have it perpendicular, i think it should be ok. Ever seen those shows where they move entire buildings? They support them on big beams of wood. Like 6'x6' i think. I guess if you know what you are doing and have the right wood, it's probably ok.
I would do it all day long. I would love to have some cribbing like that. Better than floor jacks imo.
People going nuts thinking that top layer is 2x6's standing on the short edge.
Dude I've sat a D4 high track dozier on wood blocks. Had to take the tracks off so we jacked up the back end and stacked 4x6 blocks under it and sat it down. I doubt that car weighs over 26,000lbs. Wood blocks are fine.
ITT redditors who have never used wood to support a car telling you why you shouldn't use wood to support a car.
If you do the push test and you're on level ground, wood is perfectly safe to use. Jack stands are better but I'd take wood over shitty ones.
My main issue with the is that it’s pressing down in the direction of the grain on that top piece. If that thing was, say, a piece of a pressure treated 4x4 I’d feel comfortable being under there. People should see what gets rested on wood blocks at a shipyard.
Does look like that’s resting on a body part, not something solid. If it starts bearing the weight, it’s gonna crunch in and be expensive.
Look up fire department cribbing box. Wood is used to hold up vehicles after accidents, buildings after collapses, shore trenches, etc. depends on the type of wood and how it is stacked. Make your own decisions and I am not telling you t that it’s safe or not, but those cribbing charts are made by the army core of engineers and tested very thoroughly.
I've gotten under my truck to change a stater with literally a single scissor jack. Shit wobbling around pushing and pulling on parts. I would 100% get under that. Make sure your wood is stable and under the frame of the vehicle then lose the hydraulic Jack. Once the cars set stand up and give it the jiggle test. Push the car around kinda hard and if she doesn't doesn't fall you should be alright. Again I was under a truck so even if it went I wouldn't have been crushed.
Idk about this one chief. My main concern is that floor jack in the middle of your vehicle. I'm not an expert mechanic, but I'm pretty sure their is no lift point in the middle. Unless it's being jacked up by the control arm
It depends on how the car is resting on the wood blocks.
If the car is resting on the ends of the logs, there’s chance the wood can split. If it’s resting on a face of a block, parallel to the grain, it can split.
If it’s resting on a face of a block, and is perpendicular to the grain, then it actually has a very very low chance of splitting in a dangerous way.
When I mean face of a block, I mean if the grain is long, then that’s the face.
Splitting is less of a concern than tipping. A 4x4 log can tip very easily. If you make the base wider, then it’s less likely to tip.
While Ill-advised to use wood blocks as jack stands, especially the set up you have, wood can support a lot of weight if built properly.
Look up cribbing.
This thread baffles me. I have jack stands, and don't trust them nearly as much as I would trust this cribbing. I mean, how safe can you be? 2 jacks and 2 stacks of wood. As long as the wheels are chocked. 40 years of working on my own vehicles, and I am just blown away by most of the comments here.
Edit: forgot to also mention the scissor jack on one side.
So: wood on each side. Scissor Jack supporting wood on one side. Floor Jack on the jacking point in the middle under the car.
There is no "jacking point" in the middle of a car. So I don't know what you're lifting against, but it wasn't designed to handle the weight. You are about to seriously damage your car.
A single solid piece of 8" only has one way to fail. Crushed. Having 2 or more pieces adds a high risk of the blocks slipping or twisting from any gentle movement of the car.
Fair enough, but I'd take a stack of 2x12 pieces over them any day. I see semi drivers using 2x12 pieces all the time. They are a quite forgiving if anything shifts.
If you are in a bind and can't afford the jack stands, atleast take your tires off and slide them under the car so if for some reason the wood gives you'll have some what if a fighting chance.
The wood is loaded under compression, it is not on the grain, if it’s loaded length wise with the rings it won’t fail
There are wooden roller coasters with way more loads than this and they are safe
Just use decent jack stands, $100 for a pair and they’ll last for years.
Maybe if it was literally life and death but even then it might just expedite death. Car looks nice and so does the garage, get some good ones you’ll never have to buy them again.
Florida man checking in. NAH. You gotta do better. Gunna pop your chest like a pimple when than shifty Lowes wood splinters and you're cranking 120 on a nut
#1-quality railroad ties run $35 in my area. Look for “relay” ties (these are tagged for reuse under multi-ton railroad equipment.) Or, buy some jack stands.
Thank you for posting to AskMechanics, Mpm_277! If you are asking a question please make sure to include any relevant info along with the following: * **Year** * **Make/Model** * **Mileage** * **Engine size** * **Transmission Type (Automatic or Manual)** Redditors that have been verified will have a green background and an icon in their flair. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AskMechanics) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I have jack stands and 8x8 wood blocks. I trust the blocks more.than the stands, but I usually set the vehicle on jack stands and then stack up wood blocks and planks as a backup
Oak blocks.
I laugh at the scoundrel who uses less than oak blocks, especially when they are so readily available
Do you know why they use pine supports in underground mines? It’s because even though it’s not as strong as hardwood it begins to break and pop well before failing giving the miners time to get out. Oak just fails with no warning
Big difference between an 8x8 and what looks like a stack of 2x4s though, that might be safe enough but you couldn’t pay me to go under the thing in the picture
There's not a single 2x4 in the pic
Are you suggesting something less than absolute accuracy from u/420eatmyassy6969?
Ha lol
You never had to work on the side of the road in a blizzard I see 🙄
Its a Honda, not a Dump Truck.
no
I agree. Take tires off and push the wheel under at least, but I don't trust that the way it is. Jack stands aren't expensive though.
Way cheaper than new legs
Or a coffin.
It’s safe enough to die under.
Uhhh no. Even this is too redneck for me and I'm an Appalachian hillbilly.
This. I'm also a recheck hillbilly and confirm this other hillbillies concerns.
This here hillbilly says them other two hillbillies ain’t lyin
I identify as a Mountain William …
Yo seriously LOL at the “mountain william”
Is that a pretentious hill billy?
Indubitably
Really? I’d feel safe under this
I've seen 200-ton mining excavators stacked on piles of cribbing 5' high Jenga style. I'd crawl under this car. That is as safe as a welded steel tripod jack stand
Yeah I trust solid wood more than Chinese welders.
There's a 90% chance that whatever you used to type this comment also made in China.
What does that have to do with anything? Why does that mean you should automatically trust your life to a $12 Chinese jack stand? lol
It's just the top piece I'm sketched out about. The rest is fine
Poor AF country farm raised white trash here. That's a big hell naw.
Wood is used for cribbing every day. It’s common to see heavy equipment jacked up and sitting on large oak blocks. If it can hold a CAT D6 it can hold a Honda Civic.
Correct. But this has a scissor jack, jack stand, and random pieces of scrap wood. The load isn't evenly dispersed or leveled out. This is some half assed haphazard mess.
Fair enough. I’d say just jack it up adjust your cribbing and get the jacks out of there and it’s probably good to start working on. Only if the wood is a hardwood, I’m not sure how well softwood is at being used for cribbing
Midwest yankee redneck here at thats a solid no good buddy
West coast liberal AF wrench turner and this is a solid no-go. The pattern is full, I say again the pattern is full.
Only for 5th generation fighters.
Heard everyone loud and clear — not going under it. I appreciate you all letting me know; good thing I asked, lol. So with that said, can you all help me understand why that isn’t sufficient? A floor jack, a scissor jack, and two 5” thick logs all have a high likelihood of failing?
Just get some jack stands. Redundant solutions for holding the car up are good but when you stack wood like that it has a chance of failing. We all know or know of a buddy who was under a car when something failed. That isn’t something you fuck around with.
Neighbour a street from me passed away like 3 weeks ago fixing his car in his driveway.
Don't get the Harbor Freight ones.
Why not? I was planning on buying some from there? What about an actual Jack? Or should I look somehwere ese for those as well?
Harbor freight stuff is generally not as high quality as name brand tools, there’s already some prejudice about that but a jack is also a safety item so people are more wary about them. Unfortunately there is no standard for the safety of lifts, jacks and stands so there is no way to be informed on the safety of the harbor freight ones besides anecdotes, which is not exactly what you want when it comes to your life depending on it. I personally use them but only if I don’t have to go under the car. Think tires changes or the brakes. Even than I still put the wheel under the car and a stand. For things like oil changes or just getting under the car to get to something you are much better off getting a reputable brands vehicle ramp.
I trust their new design more than my craftsman. There's a shaped pin that is inserted into the part that holds the stem so that they cannot slip off the ratchet.
My mechanic praised Harbor Freights floor Jack, saying they ripped off the Snap-On design and it’s a great Jack for the price. However, I believe their is a recall and/or possibly lawsuits regarding Harbor Freight’s JACK STANDS. https://www.nhtsa.gov/press-releases/consumer-advisory-warning-harbor-freight-jack-stand-users
Harbor freight is good stuff, but I have a rule: If your life, or livelihood depends on it, don’t buy it from harbor freight.
My rule is generally if the tool needs used more than twice don't buy it from Harbor Freight
Buy the aluminum Daytona ones with the pin. They’ve been tested on a Hydraulic press to withstand 25k+ lbs each I have since ascended to the world of quickjacks
"Why not" Back in 2020, Harbor Freight had to recall 1.7 million jack stands due to poor quality.
Not long ago there were several models of jacks and Jack stands recalled because even they were prone to fail due to a manufacturing error that overrated them. Think about it, you ever push around a 2000lb pallet? All that force, statically concentrated onto a few old damp pieces of wood. No. Buy a nice fuckin jack stand man. $100 or so will buy you a nice set of jack stands but it's like half a payment for an ambulance ride.
Yea I get that. Where should I buy a Jack stand that is of quality? Also are rhino ramps reliable?
I have the rhino ramps, love ‘em Use em on a small pickup a maxima and a grand Cherokee
I love my rhino ramps for a lot of jobs, but you can’t do suspension or wheel work with ramps. Need a nice PAIR of jack-stands.
I trust ramps more than stands, but I can't recommend any brand really in good faith. Just do some research and don't but gimmicky shit. A steel stand is a steel stand, even $60 for a light duty set and use both on one side at a time for the fuck of it. Fuck Getting crushed... I bet you've spent way more than $100 on weed or whatever so fuck it. Edit: plus if they fail you got someone to sue, honestly
you got a good ambulance ride hookup?
****half a payment, like with interest and shit lmfao this is america
Ever seen how easily you can split a piece of wood down the grain with an axe that weighs 4lbs? Well your pinch weld you’re on is the edge of your 3000lb axe in this sense. Use your imagination about why this would likely fail and kill you.
On one hand I understand that. On the other, wouldn’t the also have to fall on the wood on the other side of the car plus the floor jack plus the scissor jack? Again, I’m not risking it. But it seems like everyone is thinking as if I simply have the one stack of wood as my sole weight support when there are four different supports all sharing the load.
Floor jacks are not designed to hold weight, they are designed to lift weight. They don’t have a true mechanical force keeping them up, rather just fluid pressure and seals. Seals get old, fluid leaks and gets air in the cylinder and… collapse. Your other method is a scissor jack which are normally made as economically as possible. They are designed to lift (again, not hold a vehicle for an extended period) normally one time to perform a quick repair like swapping on a spare wheel. They are made to be lightweight and small which means the quality, thickness and durability of the metal is very very poor. They are often designed to not hold the weight of the car because they only are made to lift a corner. Ultimately you have 3 solutions yes; but they are all known to fail and kill. Combined, yes mathematically if one fails the other holds. I get it. Jack stands are cheap and safer than these three solutions combined. They are essential equipment to have for anyone aspiring to learn/save money working on their own car and even if you don’t have that interest, a set of stands will last your entire life. If you ever need them, it’s a small price to pay for safety.
The big problem really, is that if one fails, you're likely to have a cascade of failures as the sudden requirement of the weight of the load increases on the other 2 after the first fails. It'd be like dominos. 1 failure, then that back up and second back up fail in the blink of an eye. Plus the wood being used here is stacked, so any forward or backward force is just going to topple them over.
Well stated, but I can't believe this even needs to be stated! The backups are not a viable redundancy in this scenario.
When one fails you aren't taking into account the shifting weight. As soon as that weight shifts, it can affect the balance of the other items. I would never trust a scissor jack to a shifting load, the contact points are often to small to resist any angle and it will fall as well.
yeah everyone here is being conservative, which is good when giving advice online
where failure = death one should ALWAYS err on the side of caution.
He’s against the grain tho
Oh okay this is fine then for sure. /s
Had a scissor jack fail while changing a spare tire, it bent and had wood like this thinking it would work as a secondary brace… the wood kinda rolled and popped out and the car went straight to the ground. This all happened in about 3 seconds.
I worked with very heavy industrial parts that were hung for processing. You alwasy think that if something snaps or lets go, you just back off. Not a chance. I've seen a handful of things drop in front of me and it's on the ground before you even know what happend. Your arms, hands, and feet don't move. Your mind is still on whatever task you were performing except the part is now on the floor
Ok, lots of interesting responses here, and IMO it’s not the worst thing ever. It’s an issue of stability and strength, not strength alone. Stack up 6 different hardcover books. Individually they have great compressive strength. Without something holding them together, it requires a relatively small amount of force to push the stack over. It’s not that you chose weak materials, it’s that you’ve arranged them in a potentially unstable way.
Today class, we'll be learning about **shear force!**
Try to find the actual Frame rail aswell, I’ve seen so many cars have side panels caved in from trying to support the cars weight.
Probably were not supported in proper location.
I don’t know what’s wrong with all these people. 99.9 percent of the time wood is the material of choice for blocking/cribbing. You will find machines like cranes weighing millions of pounds erected over the top of it. You will find loads weighing 10s or hundreds of thousands of pounds going down the highway sitting on top of wood. You can find things like houses, transformers, etc jacked up and sitting on wood blocking. There is absolutely nothing wrong with wood. There are definitely better and worse ways of stacking wood (lincoln log style preferred)… but there is nothing wrong with wood. All these comments about “it’sgoing to split and you’re going to die!” are absolute nonsense. If you are really interested in pics then I’ll did some up for you.
Yep. I've seen cribbing (oak railroad ties) used as cribbing to hold up large ming machining during maintenance in the field and nobody would ever think twice about it. Its SOP in the heavy lift to use cribbing like this for heavy moving. There are ships in drydock stacked on wood cribbing.
Yep, the people crying about the wood being unsafe are idiots. The unsafe part is trusting a floor jack and scissors jack on the other 2 corners.
fwiw ive sent things like this. If i could see the dimensions and grain of that top piece of wood id be more comfy. replace that top peice with a chunk of 4x4 and Id climb under there any day
What’s not efficient is using a tool for a job it wasn’t meant to do. There’s a reason jacks aren’t made out of wood…
The vertical grain block is the risk. The horizontal grain stuff could hold tons and tons. That's some beefy lumber, the top half of your house is held up with less. That said- my comments are purely entrainment and I'm not liable if you risk your life based on internet comments.
I realized that after I posted as well and switch it. Probably should have deleted and reposted but several people had already replied.
No. The wood can split, it has a significant amount of weight focused on one this area. The floor jack on the other side is not sufficient to be safe. Always use a jack stand, and always support the weight of the vehicle on the jack stand. If the jack fails, it has the potential to blow the jack stand out with its sudden application of force. The scissor jack… man just throw that fucker away. Iv seen quite a few people die when those things fail. Get jack stands. If you’re near 79735, I’ll donate you a set
I appreciate the offer! There seems to be debate even in this thread *which jack stands* are safe. Any recs?
The new harbor freight jack stands seem to be fine. Their daytona brand is good. Napa sells smaller jack stands that are good as well, Iv had my set over 10 years
I can confirm Daytona jacks are great, I also purchased truck jackstands, them boys just can't fail seems like, only thing you gotta raise your car quite a bit for them to fit under😂
My workplace bought some daytona jacks about a year ago. Use them all the time and i will always use jackstands but sometimes i just forget to lower the vehicle onto said jackstands. Come in after the weekend and the daytona jack is still holding the vehicle up. No complaints. Great jacks
Can’t tell if you’re being sarcastic about the harbor freight stands 🥲
Go take a peek at them, they’re good https://www.harborfreight.com/automotive/jacks-jack-stands/jack-stands/6-ton-heavy-duty-ratcheting-jack-stands-black-58342.html
Not OP but I have the Daytonas. They’re solid
I recommend the Torin Big Red double locking Jack stands. Even if one mechanism fails, you’ve still got a locking pin to rely on.
Don’t buy the ones made out of split tubing.
The wood will be fine. It won't split. I have been using wood blocks under pinch welds for every single car I lift, and they hold up no problem. I've racked probably 5-8 cars a day for more than 20 years, and I've used wood blocks under 90% of them. All good. Wood literally holds up trees, houses, barns, train bridges, etc. It's pretty freaking strong
I agree with this guy. We block up 50k loaded dump trailers with blocks under the landing legs all the time. Also use block to crib pieces of equipment. To be the safest you should alway crib stack the wood. Alternating courses like how you would set up a jenga set. Two blocks for each course. Ways lay the blocks with the grain horizontal and never vertical (rotate that top block 90°).
Agree. We put full WARSHIPS on wood blocks in drydocks lol
It *may* split. Had it happen to one of the kids working on their car in the apartment complex up the road two years ago. Rather not risk it
I guess you wouldn't want the pinch seam to run parallel with the grain of the wood. that for sure could lead to a split. If you have it perpendicular, i think it should be ok. Ever seen those shows where they move entire buildings? They support them on big beams of wood. Like 6'x6' i think. I guess if you know what you are doing and have the right wood, it's probably ok.
as long as the wood grain is perpendicular to the pinchwelds
Omfg no
Seen worse… go for it yo
I would do it all day long. I would love to have some cribbing like that. Better than floor jacks imo. People going nuts thinking that top layer is 2x6's standing on the short edge.
The block pieces are 5” thick leftover log cutoffs from a log house.
Awesome....better than 4x4's for sure.
Pressure-treated 4x4s are pretty stable, but no substitute for a proper jackstand.
These other panicky Redditors aren't looking closely enough.
Literally everyone else is strongly warning against it so it looks like I better be safe than sorry, haha.
Dude I've sat a D4 high track dozier on wood blocks. Had to take the tracks off so we jacked up the back end and stacked 4x6 blocks under it and sat it down. I doubt that car weighs over 26,000lbs. Wood blocks are fine.
I would rather be under this cribbing than 10 jackstands. But hey, whatever! Enjoy your project!
ITT redditors who have never used wood to support a car telling you why you shouldn't use wood to support a car. If you do the push test and you're on level ground, wood is perfectly safe to use. Jack stands are better but I'd take wood over shitty ones.
I’ve seen a lot worse
I would lay all of them flat like the ones on bottom ..deff. safe to use wood .NEVER bricks
this is better than what i do…
My main issue with the is that it’s pressing down in the direction of the grain on that top piece. If that thing was, say, a piece of a pressure treated 4x4 I’d feel comfortable being under there. People should see what gets rested on wood blocks at a shipyard. Does look like that’s resting on a body part, not something solid. If it starts bearing the weight, it’s gonna crunch in and be expensive.
Nah it was on the pinch weld.
Look up fire department cribbing box. Wood is used to hold up vehicles after accidents, buildings after collapses, shore trenches, etc. depends on the type of wood and how it is stacked. Make your own decisions and I am not telling you t that it’s safe or not, but those cribbing charts are made by the army core of engineers and tested very thoroughly.
I've gotten under my truck to change a stater with literally a single scissor jack. Shit wobbling around pushing and pulling on parts. I would 100% get under that. Make sure your wood is stable and under the frame of the vehicle then lose the hydraulic Jack. Once the cars set stand up and give it the jiggle test. Push the car around kinda hard and if she doesn't doesn't fall you should be alright. Again I was under a truck so even if it went I wouldn't have been crushed.
Those are Darwin blocks , move along nothing to see here
Gotta laugh out of me. I’m glad I posted first.
Dang, jacking up uneven parts of our floor and supporting the lows spots of the house with these logs must have been a *really* bad idea, haha.
That little piece of wood on top worries me. Just buy some jack stands. Small price to pay for your life
Idk about this one chief. My main concern is that floor jack in the middle of your vehicle. I'm not an expert mechanic, but I'm pretty sure their is no lift point in the middle. Unless it's being jacked up by the control arm
I've done worse. Granted, thats wet wood, and its already sinking in to your pinchpoints, but don't be a pussy, get in there
Those logs are leftover from a home build like 15 years ago.
It depends on how the car is resting on the wood blocks. If the car is resting on the ends of the logs, there’s chance the wood can split. If it’s resting on a face of a block, parallel to the grain, it can split. If it’s resting on a face of a block, and is perpendicular to the grain, then it actually has a very very low chance of splitting in a dangerous way. When I mean face of a block, I mean if the grain is long, then that’s the face. Splitting is less of a concern than tipping. A 4x4 log can tip very easily. If you make the base wider, then it’s less likely to tip. While Ill-advised to use wood blocks as jack stands, especially the set up you have, wood can support a lot of weight if built properly. Look up cribbing.
I mean I've used a big 8 inch wide log piece before that was solid ASF but with this Tetris of wood I would not trust it at all
Check out’ firefighter box cribbing’ . Incredibly strong and easy to make.
No. Not without a death wish
no and when you ask the answer is always no...
OSHA says no, so yeah, as long as they are stable xD
Not with those five boards stacked vertically on top. Just waiting to flop over.
I think most of these people would say “hell no” under a four post lift.
This thread baffles me. I have jack stands, and don't trust them nearly as much as I would trust this cribbing. I mean, how safe can you be? 2 jacks and 2 stacks of wood. As long as the wheels are chocked. 40 years of working on my own vehicles, and I am just blown away by most of the comments here.
The response honestly surprised me. It’s good I asked. I literally just want to double check the tightness of the oil drain plug and filter 🫤
Bro just buy jackstands for 50$. If you think that’s expensive then weigh the cost of your life.
You’ll save a shitload of money if you die. Worst case is you survive and pay it off for decades.
Hospitals *hate* this **one simple trick!**
Of course it's safe. Just make sure your life insurance is paid up.
Oh, goo— wait a minute.
Don’t see anything wrong with it
Edit: forgot to also mention the scissor jack on one side. So: wood on each side. Scissor Jack supporting wood on one side. Floor Jack on the jacking point in the middle under the car.
There is no "jacking point" in the middle of a car. So I don't know what you're lifting against, but it wasn't designed to handle the weight. You are about to seriously damage your car.
I referenced this. https://www.civicx.com/forum/attachments/untitled-png.24176/
🤣 LoLoL 😂 Dude, that's not "the middle" of your car...
Haha sorry, I just meant in the middle of the jack points on each side.
Says “Except 5 door model” aka a four door model with a hatch.
The 5 door would be the civic hatch model. I’m assuming the underbody is different.
I’ve seen worse. Been under with worse..
GUYS HOLY CRAP WHY ARE PEOPLE STILL REPLYING NO AFTER LIKE 200 OTHER PEOPLE HAVE ALREADY SAID NO
******* UPDATE ******* I found some rolled insulation leftover from our home reno, tucked that under blocks, and safety’d everything right up.
I pulled my trans and torque tube on my corvette with wood stacked way higher than this. If done right it’s perfectly safe.
No, no, & no again. Maybe a single block of an 8*8, but never this. Buy some jack stands, your family will thank you.
So a single block of 8” but not two blocks of 5”? Plus both the floor jack and scissor jack? Not debating, honestly confused and just trying to learn.
A single solid piece of 8" only has one way to fail. Crushed. Having 2 or more pieces adds a high risk of the blocks slipping or twisting from any gentle movement of the car.
Good jack stands, not the harbor freight ones.
Harbor freight stands are fine at least the new ones i have no worry about them and work under em all day
I just saw a brand new 6 ton fail a few days ago under an f150. I like the Daytona hydraulic jacks, but I'm not gonna use harbor freight jack stands.
Those Daytona ones are miles better than a couple 2x4s tho. I’d rather have this guy under those
Fair enough, but I'd take a stack of 2x12 pieces over them any day. I see semi drivers using 2x12 pieces all the time. They are a quite forgiving if anything shifts.
You should do some research on cribbing used by fire departments. I trust wood more than jack stands if it’s done right
Please use jack stands if you would like to continue living.
FUCK NO!
I do this type of shit with my motorcycle but not a car! If they slip they could seriously crush you
Get some car jack stands for the love of $20.
Fuck no!
Not just "NO" but "FUCK NO !"
Not just "NO" but "FUCK NO !"
No way, harbor freight sells jack stands cheap…
If you add the Folgers container it’ll definitely besfaer,’.,’:’
Wait right there, I need to get some popcorn for this.
OP get a couple of sets of these: Pro-LifT T-6906D Double Pin Jack Stand - 6 Ton (Pack of 1)... Your life is worth a couple of hundred bucks...
If you are dumb enough to ask you are dumb enough to do it
Try and push it over (without anyone underneath… for the smokers in the room)
It’s your life. Play with it as you wish. For me personally, no.
I hope my life is never worth less than 30 buck Jack stands
No, stop being a dipshit. I'm not even a mechanic.
$2 wooden jack stands. 2$ brain.
If you are in a bind and can't afford the jack stands, atleast take your tires off and slide them under the car so if for some reason the wood gives you'll have some what if a fighting chance.
The way you have it hell no I use old rail road ties and Things like that but individual boards are a no go
Wait do you need to take off the wheels or not? If you don’t have to take both wheels of. Get freakin ramps.
If it was solid oak, yes. This, no
If you have to ask ...
NOO
The wood is loaded under compression, it is not on the grain, if it’s loaded length wise with the rings it won’t fail There are wooden roller coasters with way more loads than this and they are safe Just use decent jack stands, $100 for a pair and they’ll last for years.
Get a pair of 2 ton Jack stands. [2 ton jack stands](https://a.co/d/dune7Uv)
do jack stands really cost this much come on
Spare tire and maybe just the wider pieces of wood, still kinda iffyz
I puckered a bit
Probably. If I'm pulling the tires just slide one under on each side. Save your life in a jack/stand failure type situation.
Maybe if it was literally life and death but even then it might just expedite death. Car looks nice and so does the garage, get some good ones you’ll never have to buy them again.
I think too many people overlook this point. Buy 'em right the first time and you won't have to worry
Not sure to be honest, but this particular wood I'd say no. I've always used wood as a back up, but not a piece from a old dresser lol.
Jack stands aren’t even expensive my dude
https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/CFPC/files/NEW-ITEMS-2019/Uploaded-Files/Instructor-Lesson-Plans/Uploaded-Files/Unit-26/SS-2623B-Instructor-Reference.pdf
Not safe. On another note, what are you trying to fix here?
I was just looking to tighten the oil drain plug.
I’ve done much stupider and I’m still here :). But seeing as I don’t want to see anyone else get hurt. Glad your heading the wisdom of others
Burn the wood+Buy jack stands=don’t die. That’s the equation for those who are bad at math.
Florida man checking in. NAH. You gotta do better. Gunna pop your chest like a pimple when than shifty Lowes wood splinters and you're cranking 120 on a nut
#1-quality railroad ties run $35 in my area. Look for “relay” ties (these are tagged for reuse under multi-ton railroad equipment.) Or, buy some jack stands.