STRR wrote: ↑Sun Nov 11, 2018 8:11 pmJacks and jack stands? When my life depends on one of these, I am going to be very careful in what I choose. I know there are many people who are very satisfied with these but I haven't heard any reviews by someone who was injured. Is that good or bad? Does it mean there aren't any or does it mean they don't get published?
Yes, nobody who died when their car fell on them have left a negative review of the jacks or stands.
I’ve never regretted buying high quality tools even though the purchase price may have stung a little at the time especially here in New Zealand). I’ve also bought some cheap tools, usually with a lower standard of quality. It all depends on what tool I’m buying and how it will be used.
If I’m assembling the engine on my M3 then I’m glad my torque wrench is a Warren and Brown but not worried that my angular torque wrench is a cheap Chinese thing. The precision of a cheap angular torque wrench is the same as an expensive tool.
This just my view.
I've got HF stands and they've been fine. I got 2 of the 6 tons for normal truck work, and 2 of the 12 tons just for height because I work on desert trucks and rock crawlers, so common stands are well short of functional, not to mention wanting the wider base. But as with anything from HF or the like, I estimate a de-rate of 30-50%. First time I used them, I vigorously jerked and rocked the vehicle to the point the base was started walking. Just trying to break them or see if anything popped or looked sketchy before getting under them. No problems found, still using them some 10+ years later. However, I would certainly examine carefully (regardless of manufacture) before using. And where possible, I usually leave the jack or tire underneath as a safety catch, you never know.
But now I don't use them as much since I got a 2 post lift (bad knees made it a requirement).
We don't have HF in the EU, but I did buy a pair of heavy "5 ton" noname mystery jackstands, probably about the same thing.
They're just lumps of steel; there's little to fail in them. I set my 4 ton tractor on them without a worry.
When I was a pro mechanic I bought expensive tools, but I didn't have many. Now I do a much wider range of work, mostly amateur. If I bought Professional quality today, my annual tool budget would be exhausted before I got much done.
My torque wrench is snapon, my jackstands are Chinese. I have a 1" Chinese socket set too, it's not pretty but I can use a 3' cheater pipe and get the wheels off the tractor while it rests on those stands.