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Harbor Freight

Discussion in 'Shopping & Sales' started by John Brunner, May 27, 2022.

  1. Don Alaska

    Don Alaska Supreme Member
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    I was given one of those jacks by a guy who was being transferred to Hawaii for helping clean up his stuff. I don't use it often, but it can be a lifesaver when you need it. I try to shop at Harbor Freight and Tractor Supply when I travel as we don't have those here and the shipping makes buying online not practical. To buy stuff though, it has to fit into a suitcase and the sum total needs to be under 50 pounds.
     
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  2. John Brunner

    John Brunner Senior Staff
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    Yeh,I was thinking that most of the advertised uses could be effected with my front end loader or 3 point boom bar. But I think there will be things I can still use it for...and I bet it will develop more torque (or pressure) than my tractor hydraulics.

    I got the 6' one, plus some misc stuff I can't live without ;)
     
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  3. Don Alaska

    Don Alaska Supreme Member
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    You can also get the jack into places your tractor can't get to.
     
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  4. John Brunner

    John Brunner Senior Staff
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    I have some small pine trees in a tight area i was hoping to pull out without having to back my truck up there and rip them out with a chain.
     
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  5. Don Alaska

    Don Alaska Supreme Member
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    I was using my jack today rebuilding part of the chicken enclosure that partially collapsed when we were in Missouri. I couldn't get the tractor in there.
     
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  6. John Brunner

    John Brunner Senior Staff
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    When the chilly burns off this morning, I'm gonna unbox it and play with it. I watched a couple of videos of guys pulling stumps with it. They were interesting, but I had hoped to see some more creative uses for it.

    I hope I did not make a mistake in getting the 6' model versus the 4' model. I think the 6' will be more versatile. And I'm not gonna be carrying it around with me.
     
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  7. Don Alaska

    Don Alaska Supreme Member
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    I have a 5' type, so it is in between. I have never tried to use it to pulled stumps. When I was using mine in the chicken enclosure, it wasn't working well and I was puzzled. I discovered the lube on the pins was frozen. A couple shots of WD-40 resolved it and everything then was fine. I think most of the stumps I need to pull would be too big for a jack. I need an excavator or just to let them rot.
     
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  8. John Brunner

    John Brunner Senior Staff
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    I was impressed by a couple of the stumps some guys pulled. But there was also a lot of SawzAll action going on with the roots.

    I was reading about keeping the thing lubed, but if that stuff freezes, it's time to go inside!
     
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  9. Yvonne Smith

    Yvonne Smith Senior Staff
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    Might you be able to burn them out, @Don Alaska ? When I lived in North Idaho, I had a large stump that was left over from an earlier logging operation. It had started to rot somewhat, but would have been there for years to come.
    I put a little kerosene on it and started a fire and watched it closely as it burned its way down through the stump, never letting it get to be enough of a fire to catch anything else on fire.
    It burned slowly for maybe a day or so, and clear down into the roots, so that they were all burned out as well.

    I only tried it that once, and with no experience at what i was doing, but it worked really well.
     
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  10. John Brunner

    John Brunner Senior Staff
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    So did it burn to the ground, or did that just make it easier to extract?
     
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  11. Don Alaska

    Don Alaska Supreme Member
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    I have tried that several times, but it has never worked well for me. If it isn't in the way too much, I now let them rot for a while, then dig them out with a thing I designed for my little tractor.
     
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  12. Yvonne Smith

    Yvonne Smith Senior Staff
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    Yes, it burned the stump out completely, and left holes underground where the largest roots had been. The ground was actually a little warm several feet out from the stump, so it had burned quite a lot underground.
    I then worried about that, and flooded the hole completely with the hose several times so that it soaked into the ground really well and made sure that there were not any hot spots underground.
     
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  13. John Brunner

    John Brunner Senior Staff
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    For those who have never heard of a Farm Jack...

    [​IMG]

    I forget where I first read of them.

    You can use them to:
    -Jack up farm vehicles (mine is rated to 5,000#, which is 2.5 tons)
    -Wrap chains around tree stumps, posts, etc and use the jack to pull them out of the ground
    -Tie a chain to a stuck vehicle with another chain to an anchor (tree, etc) and use the jack to pull the vehicle out
    --You can use this method to lift heavy stuff
    -Turn the tabs around and use it as a clamp
    -Get under buildings (chicken coops, etc) and life them to effect repairs and to level them

    Mine is 6 feet tall.
     
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  14. Don Alaska

    Don Alaska Supreme Member
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    And for those in snow country, you can jack a stuck vehicle if you have a tough one, and deliberately push the jack over to get the tires out of ruts.
     
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  15. John Brunner

    John Brunner Senior Staff
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    That's a great idea!!! Pushing the vehicle over would be all-too-easy. I was already thinking that I'd put a torpedo level to the thing to make certain the pressure was exerting straight down if I ever used it as a traditional jack.
     
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