Date:         Tue, 4 Mar 2003 08:57:59 -0600
Reply-To:     Stan Wilder <wilden1@JUNO.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Stan Wilder <wilden1@JUNO.COM>
Subject:      Jacking a subject
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

Long before the Automotive World became so closely associated with the
word JACK, Railroading, Construction and the Industrial World used a
racheting or screw driven mechanical lifting device known as a, drum roll
please... JACK. They worked quite well but many people didn't care for
the jerkity-jerkity jacking action going up and down on the Ratchet Jacks
or the endless, screwing around and around action of Screw Jacks, so when
hydraulics came along these beasts were forgotten... Or were they? Well,
eh, not exactly.
Not exactly, indeed! Rachet and Screw Jacks have been around for over 100
years and are doing quite well today, thank you! They are not pretty,
effortless to operate, brightly colored or glamorous enough for China to
'knock off', but if you want a tool that damn well might last you the
rest of your life with hardly any maintenance or upkeep - They still make
the beasts today and one might be your cup of tea.


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A Little Bit About Them

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Two particularly attractive features of rachet jacks are their DOUBLE
lifting points and their stroke. You can usually move a load either from
the very top of the jack, normally about 15 to 20 inches high and lift
about 10 to 13 inches further. Or, rachet jacks feature a little TOE
extended alongside of the jack usually about 2 inches off the ground and
you can lift off of that 10 to 13 inches. Lifting a massive, low
clearance object such as a CNC machine is almost impossible with a
hydraulic jack but a rachet can do it all day long, off it's TOE.
Millions of Screw Jacks are all over the place and most people are not
even aware of them! What do you think those little adjustable leveling
devices are underneath your refrigerator or washing machine? Or, the next
time you roll up the window in your car - Guess what that is?
But aside from lifting a few pounds of glass or even a refrig, thousands
of heavy duty, industrial strength Screw Jacks are used every day, day in
and day out for construction, mining, agriculture and applications too
numerous to list. And of course, one of their most popular uses - To
level a sagging floor...

There is also a not often heard about device that converts a ratcheting
pump action into a screw lifting action and goes by the trade name of
Superjack, but we'll just call it a Ratchet/Screw jack.
They're quite popular in the heavy duty steel fabrication world -
Shipbuilding, Storage Tank Construction and such where a jack needs to
work in any position, can take a little weld splatter and won't be
affected by weather.