My Monthly Dumb Question Coupon

Most I think, but you have to orient the pump at the bottom so it gets a proper gravity feed from the coaxial reservoir.

Works fine. Put the pump down.

Ernie taught me how to modify a standard bottle jack to work upside down. One of these days I'm going to write it up.

Grant

First off, if it's upside-down, how do you get the fluid to flow from the coaxial reservoir to the pump. Second, why would you want to operate it upside-down???

I feel rejected. No one knows why I want to use it horizontally?

Various reasons and situations to use it upside down. BIG difference between the area of the base and that of the top of the piston. And sometimes you just can't move what's there, so the big end HAS to go up.

Besides, if Ernie says he can do it, I'll put my buck on Ernie.

Steve

You want to use it upside-down in a hydraulic press, so you can thread the top in and out. Makes much more sense than welding a piston to the bottom of an H-arm and pushing that whole arm down.

You have to figure out which hole in the base (this is on the inside) is the fluid intake. Then you tap that hole for a piece of hydraulic tubing which sticks way to the other end of the reservoir. Then it sucks it up through the hydraulic tube just like soda through a straw. That's how.

The guy who bet on Ernie wins. As usual.

Grant

If you're using it for a press, you spend the extra few $ and get the chinese port-a-power type hand pump and cylinder and mount the pump at the side of the press along with a pressure gauge, just like a good Enerpac press.

You tell me. Band tensioner on my band mill

OK, I'll bite. Why do you want to use it horizontally?

To widen the space between two pilasters that have settled, making the wrought iron gate bind. When I have the two pilasters separated to the proper width, I will put in a decorative horizontal to keep them apart.

Steve

If you haven't figured it out yet, horizontal should require no mods, just place it pump side down and go. Pump down should make the little rubber fluid fill plug on the side of the main barrel point up.

Totally upside down, yeah, I'd just use a Porta-Power cylinder with a separate pump. No sense spending $1000 of your time modifying a $25 disposable jack.

-->--

Ah - but the knowing how! surely that's worth something too!

Grant

I also use screw jacks in conjunction with bottle jacks to raise things. I'll use them this year to replace the square posts on my cabin porch with real tree trunks. They're trick to raise something an inch so you can change a post, or hold up the entire porch while replacing supports. And just plain mechanical advantage of the screw head of a concrete form support to widen openings. Hydraulics is just infinitely easier.

Steve

Yall dont be forgetting the current version automotive scissor jacks. They sit low, can have a wide jacking range and are damned cheap at the pick a part. Some even have lifting hooks already built into them

And you can spin them up and down with a pretty plain jane drill motor, and they work in any position.

Ive got bottle jacks from 1-50 tons Ive got PortaPowers from 2-15 tons

I use the range of scissor jacks Ive modified more than anything else.

With a bit of enginuity , you can modify them to push, pull, lift and lower.

I use them on the welding bench a LOT.

And the best and fastest way to get through a chain link fence is still the old fashion bumper jack.

Ive even used bumper and scissor jacks to straighten axles.

You can pick up a pretty good assortment of them from wrecking yards for a few dollars each

Gunner