Good price for axle stands?

blastman

I have a trolley jack but I didn't get axle stands with it. I want to buy a pair of stands and was wondering if anyone knows somewhere selling them at a good price. Annoyingly, a lot of places only seem to sell them with a trolley jack. There's a pair in Argos for €30, but I thought I'd see if they could be had for less anywhere else. I know Lidl and Aldi sometimes do offers, but I'm fed up waiting. Any suggestions?

Seth Brundle

did you try ebay?

blastman

Nope, not yet. The weight means that they'd have to be very cheap as postage would be ridiculous.

Interceptor

Check with Vinny Byrne or someone who stocks Sealey stuff - its used by the trade and I bought a set of 5 ton axle stands for €55 a while ago. I bought a jack and stands from Argos two years ago but the jack died and the stands are cr*p...

Axle stands are safety equipment - you get what you pay for and I would suggest you reconsider your budget and get something which won't drop your Skyline on your head.

'c

ds20prefecture

Try J & S in Dun Laoghaire - 01-2806514. I bought a set of 4 2 tonne stands there for €50, if memory serves.

lomb

Interceptor wrote:

Check with Vinny Byrne or someone who stocks Sealey stuff - its used by the trade and I bought a set of 5 ton axle stands for €55 a while ago. I bought a jack and stands from Argos two years ago but the jack died and the stands are cr*p...

Axle stands are safety equipment - you get what you pay for and I would suggest you reconsider your budget and get something which won't drop your Skyline on your head.

'c

yep, dont think id b trusting my life on a lidl axle stand.
buy the very very best imho, and use cavity blocks in case the worst happens and the yoke collapses.

Rovi

lomb wrote:

...and use cavity blocks in case the worst happens and the yoke collapses.

At the risk of appearing to 'not get the joke,' I REALLY hope this this IS a joke! :eek:

Anyhow, it's well known that a stack of housebricks is much better




NOT! :eek: :eek: :eek:

.

fletch

Rovi wrote:

At the risk of appearing to 'not get the joke,' I REALLY hope this this IS a joke! :eek:

Anyhow, it's well known that a stack of housebricks is much better
.

I don't get "the joke"

Seth Brundle

fletch wrote:

I don't get "the joke"

I didn't even see one, never mind get it!

JB123

Interceptor wrote:

Axle stands are safety equipment - you get what you pay for and I would suggest you reconsider your budget and get something which won't drop your Skyline on your head.

lol good one

Blitzkrieger

I got two sets of 2tonne axel stands from Aldi for €13 each and they're grand. It's always nice to have something as a backup just in case though...

Rovi

kbannon wrote:

fletch wrote:

I don't get "the joke"

I didn't even see one, never mind get it!

I was referring to lomb's 'advice' about using "cavity blocks in case the worst happens and the yoke collapses."

I don't know if lomb was joking or serious when saying that, but trusting your life to concrete blocks in the event of a vehicle falling off of axle stands is very risky, and that goes double for cavity blocks and housebricks (as I 'jokingly' suggested).

Concrete blocks and bricks can support enormous loads as evidenced by the size of buildings constructed from them.
But (and it a BIG 'but'), they are designed to carry these loads over the entire surface of one side, and to be supported by the entire surface of their opposite side. They are brittle and will crack or crumble if subjected to a point load, particularly if they are loosely sat on an uneven surface.

A car falling off an axle stand will stand a good chance of striking a concrete block hard enough to crack or even crush it. I know cars have been and will continue to be sat on concrete blocks for years, but that's not the same thing as it falling on to them. It's still bad practice and you won't find me tempting fate by trusting my life to concrete blocks.

Good quality axle stands (conforming to BS AU 223a:1995 or similar) are cheap insurance when working under heavy stuff. Your jack is for lifting the load and the axle stands are for supporting it. Provided they are used correctly, there is no need for extra supports.

Work on level ground, apply the handbrake and chock the wheels to remain on the ground. Jack the vehicle and position the axle stands so they are level and square to the vehicle and the ground, so that the saddles at the top of the stands locate into some part of the vehicle that won't allow them to slip or move, and so that they won't kick out or lean over when the load is lowered onto them.
Lower the vehicle onto the stands and check the whole thing for stability with the jack still in position. If the rig is in any way shaky or unstable, re-assess what you're doing and the equipment you're using.
Be aware of how the centre of gravity of the load will move if you remove a heavy component- if you remove the engine or gearbox will the load shift and possible become unstable?

People are killed and maimed every year by falling vehicles, don't become a statistic!
Do it right or don't do it at all.
Your next of kin won't be happy having to put 'he saved money on cheap axle stands' on your headstone!


.

blastman

Interceptor wrote:

Check with Vinny Byrne or someone who stocks Sealey stuff - its used by the trade and I bought a set of 5 ton axle stands for €55 a while ago. I bought a jack and stands from Argos two years ago but the jack died and the stands are cr*p...

Axle stands are safety equipment - you get what you pay for and I would suggest you reconsider your budget and get something which won't drop your Skyline on your head.

'c

If only I had a Skyline to drop on my head....

Interceptor

I watched with horror as a mate worked under a Mondeo which was lifted off the ground at the front on just a trolley jack. I was just about to start nagging him when one of the neighbours kids wandered by and started maypoling around the release handle.... Scary stuff - and could have given him a nasty squelch.

'c