Fancy old mechanical floor jack project

[don long]

I found this old jack on the internet a few weeks ago and bought it. The previous owner was willing to ship it to me.
It arrived mounted to a piece of pine 12" long and 5" wide wrapped in a black plastic bag and the handle wired to the jack and shrink wrap about an inch thick holding it all together. It took me a while to get the jack out but I was pleasantly pleased to get it in such good condition.
I wish that I had snapped a couple of shots of the jack before I started working on it today.


Here is the jack after spraying it with a release agent





The wheels are frozen to the axles and being held on with cotter pins that are not willing to come out so I had to cut them off with my die grinder and heat up the axles and beat them apart



The nuts on the sides of the jack were frozen too so with heat and a little persuasion they finally broke loose but the sides are still frozen in place so a soaking overnight I'm hoping it will loosen up

 

[The Cobbler]

in for this restoration. Cool!

 

[LXCam]

YOU find all the cool stuff Don. I can’t wait to see how you finish this one.

 

[Provincial]

If you had a Blackhawk Porta-Power, it would make the job easier!

 

[JjKk40]

That is one badass jack! Hoping to see the resto as well! Nice score!

 

[thehorse13]

I'm surprised that I don't see a can of Kroil somewhere on that workbench. This looks like a fun one to watch so I'm in for the ride like everyone else. I have to say that I love the mechanical look of this beast.

 

[ndnchf]

Very cool find. I'm going to get popcorn, then get comfortable and watch this project

 

[4xdog]

Looks like something a steampunk Formula 1 team might use. Very nifty. Looking forward to seeing this project, Don.

-- Don

 

[ChefRex]

Very cool, watching!

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I've seen smaller geared, ratcheting Elite jacks at fleas, but never this model.

Famous marketing line: "All RELIABLE jacks are red, but not all red jacks are RELIABLE!"

Your favorite color, Don.

 

[paulsomlo]

Good luck finding a seal kit for that!

 

[don long]

Welcome aboard Cobbler
I hope it doesn't drag out too long

Thanks LX
I was happy to find this one. I looked at it for a couple of weeks because the seller had a pick up only on the listing. I finally contacted him and begged him to ship it and he agreed.

Provincial
I'll have to look thru my junk I might have one LOL

Thanks JjKk

Thanks Horse
Hope you enjoy the ride. I'm not familiar with Kroil But this stuff from Lucas oil was free and they are here in town.
The look of the jack hooked me too.

ndnchf
Enjoy the popcorn

Don
I'm glad to know that you are here

Thanks Rex
Enjoy

Paul
That's a good challenge

Hey Lugnutz
I'd like a copy of that advertisement to go with the jack
Nice find Thanks

THANK YOU ALL

 

[don long]

So I went to work on the jack for a short time today and decided to do a little electrolysis but my bucket was too small so I had to build a bigger one.
I found a rolling trash can that works well. I needed to add some metal to the inside of the can so I found some 3/8 all thread laying out in the yard and thought it would work well for the sacrifice. I cut 10 2' pieces of all thread then cleaned up the threads on the wire wheel so I could spin a couple of nuts on them. I placed each one in the vice and heated up a small spot with my acetylene torch and bent one end to 90 degrees. Drilled holes and bolted them to the trash can. Ran bailing wire around the allthread to connect them together. Suspende the jack and filled the can with water and soda. Hooked up my battery charger and called it a day. 1 hour later the trash can looks like this

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Nice electrolysis rig!

 

[Ole Slewfoot]

And once the water evaporates, the rust can go straight to the curb for recycling

I found some chunks of graphite at a yard sale to use for electrodes, and it makes a lot less of the funk...doesn't work any better though.

 

[Farmer J.]

Plenty of electrodes in that rolling electrolysis tank, it's bubbling up nicely and should give a good even rust removal.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Hey Lugnutz
I'd like a copy of that advertisement to go with the jack

That was from page 253 of the January 1928 issue of the American Exporter, linked here. But you may be able to find even better ads or other periodical material. Use Google Books. Search on 'Elite Reliable Jack'.

This logo, which appears on a lot of other ads, is pretty cool...

 

[c1504]

That thing is so cool! Out of curiousity, where did it come from? I saw one just like it at a swap meet in Spokane Washington not too long ago. I wanted it but didn’t have the room for it

 

[bonneyman]

So I went to work on the jack for a short time today and decided to do a little electrolysis but my bucket was too small so I had to build a bigger one.
I found a rolling trash can that works well. I needed to add some metal to the inside of the can so I found some 3/8 all thread laying out in the yard and thought it would work well for the sacrifice. I cut 10 2' pieces of all thread then cleaned up the threads on the wire wheel so I could spin a couple of nuts on them. I placed each one in the vice and heated up a small spot with my acetylene torch and bent one end to 90 degrees. Drilled holes and bolted them to the trash can. Ran bailing wire around the allthread to connect them together. Suspende the jack and filled the can with water and soda. Hooked up my battery charger and called it a day. 1 hour later the trash can looks like this

Go big or go home!

Looking forward to this resto.

 

[don long]

Go big or go home!

Looking forward to this resto.

Yep Bonneyman
I'm ready for some bigger projects now lol

Nice electrolysis rig!

Thanks Tool guy
It took me longer to think out the build than it took to buils the tank

And once the water evaporates, the rust can go straight to the curb for recycling

I found some chunks of graphite at a yard sale to use for electrodes, and it makes a lot less of the funk...doesn't work any better though.

Slewfoot
I hear that the gunk is good for the garden

Plenty of electrodes in that rolling electrolysis tank, it's bubbling up nicely and should give a good even rust removal.

Yes Farmer
It worked out well. I left the jack in over nite and it was a snap to take apart today

That was from page 253 of the January 1928 issue of the American Exporter, linked here. But you may be able to find even better ads or other periodical material. Use Google Books. Search on 'Elite Reliable Jack'.

This logo, which appears on a lot of other ads, is pretty cool...

Lugnutz
Thats great that you did the research on my jack Thank you

That thing is so cool! Out of curiousity, where did it come from? I saw one just like it at a swap meet in Spokane Washington not too long ago. I wanted it but didn’t have the room for it

504
I found it on Ebay in Ohio. I payed $35.00 for it and much more to get it shipped

 

[don long]

So I pulled the jack out of the trash can this morning, gave it a bath in clean water, blew it dry and started taking it apart.
It came apart like a roast that had been in a crock pot all day.
After a shot in the blast cabinet each piece got ground down to get rid of all the casting marks.







By the end of the day and spending a while figuring out how the jack goes back together, this is how it sits



I want to put it together a couple of times before I paint anything. It will also help me decide what should be polished or chromed and what parts need to be painted a secondary color to the red of the jack.

 

[Ole Slewfoot]

Slewfoot
I hear that the gunk is good for the garden

I have seen some very nice roses fed with old machine shop shavings, so I wont argue.

 

[thehorse13]

The reason I never use one of these tanks is because of the frothy goop that remains at the end of the derusting process. If I can convince Mrs. Horsey that this stuff is great for flowers....hmmmmmmmmmm...

I find that taking an excessive number of pictures up front really helps me out when I go to put something back together. I remember this as far back as my early teens when old school restoration guys had a cork board with actual Kodak prints tacked on there which documented their builds.

This jack looks great already. There is a unique satisfaction when you have all the parts laid out and they look factory fresh. I instantly got that feeling when I looked at the last few pictures. Fantastic work as always.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Thats great that you did the research on my jack Thank you

I was curious. As I've said, I've seen the name on smaller models at fleas before.

 

[ndnchf]

You are making great progress. Will you repaint in the original color? I doubt this had any chrome. That didn't come into regulay automotive use until the early 1930s. Not likely used on a utilitarian tool like this.

 

[don long]

You are making great progress. Will you repaint in the original color? I doubt this had any chrome. That didn't come into regulay automotive use until the early 1930s. Not likely used on a utilitarian tool like this.

No I'm not a purest I like things shinny and bright. I've decided to paint the jack back a bright red and polish a few parts to set the ******** and also give the workings of the jack a light brown color to accent the mechanics of the jack.
I did get the jack put together using all the parts (feel pretty good bout that) and can now see haw the colors will go together along with the shinny polished parts.



Now it's time to disassemble it and start getting the parts separated for the different processes needed to get color on them and polish what will be shinny.
I started with the axles. because I had to grind off the cotter pins on the shafts to get the wheels off, I redrilled the pin holes and because I don't like the looks of the cotter pins I threaded the holes and will put button head polished stainless bolts in them with polished washers to hold the wheels on the jack. Then I put the axles in the lathe and while spinning I ground the axles smooth and polished them to a chrome shine.

Here is a before and after shot




Both of them are ready




Tomorrow I hope to get primer on some of the parts.

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Those polished up nice!

 

[ndnchf]

Its going to be a beauty when done!

 

[ndnchf]

In some ways your jack is similar to the old winch I restored for my jeep.

 

[don long]

Those polished up nice!

Thanks old tool guy
I think they will show well when the jack is all together

In some ways your jack is similar to the old winch I restored for my jeep.

Thanks ndnchf
I agree those old guys were pretty clever with what they designed and used back in the day

 

[don long]

No primer today, but I did work on the jack all afternoon and got a couple of pieces ready for primer and made some decisions on what to polish up and what to paint.
I worked for a couple of hours getting the main gear polished and ready to paint the area that didn't get polished







Here is the pile of sand paper that I went through today working on the jack parts



These are the parts that will have all or part of the piece polished. Thy are 1/2 way there tonite

 

[don long]

More grinding and polishing and finally the parts hit the spray booth for the first coat of primer.
Some of the parts will have some polished areas and some painted areas on them so I've done all the polishing first then a little masking and they were ready for primer. Other parts will just be shinny like chrome and they are done as well

Polished, masked and ready for primer



Polished parts that don't need any color



All the parts that got primer are hanging on the parts tree



Next step is a lot of sanding because I like the pieces to look like a car finish when done (that's all I know)

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Wow!

 

[thehorse13]

That pile of worn out sanding pads really hits me. I typically fill up an old 30 gallon grease barrel with burned up materials whenever I want a new car shine. Fantastic work as always.

 

[don long]

Thanks Old tool guy and Horse.
That pile of sand paper was only the first half of what I burned through polishing up the cast pieces

 

[toolmiser]

I've got an old one that I should get after also. One of the wheels is missing and that is my excuse.

 

[don long]

Good luck finding a wheel toolmiser

 

[bonneyman]

Thanks Old tool guy and Horse.
That pile of sand paper was only the first half of what I burned through polishing up the cast pieces

So, you own stock in the sandpaper company, right Don?

Beautiful work so far.

 

[don long]

More work on the jack today. I sanded down the primer with 150 grit paper then put all the pieces back into the booth and gave them a second heavy coat of primer, trying to fill in the few pits that I couldn't grind out. I'm very happy with the way these pieces are turning out. I've increased the size of the next picture to show how smooth the edges of those pieces are now after a boat load of grinding and sanding on them.

 

[Ole Slewfoot]

Splitting the shovel handle for a steel insert to make it a giant version of a 'perfect handle' screwdriver might be fun.