Harbor Freight Sheetrock Jack

[Chaz]

Anybody have one?
I've got a lot of rock to put up in the new shop, and I could buy the HF jack for what it'd cost to rent one at the local rental center..
It looks like an OK item. Anyone use one?

 

[scott37300]

I have one that looks really similar, bought it off ebay for around 150 shipped around 6 years ago. Just did a search on ebay and looks like they are going for around 175 shipped now. I have used it a bunch of times and it has more than paid for itself. When I bought it everyone said to rent one because I won't use it much, I hate renting stuff. I've used it a bunch of times and have lent it out to friends for a case of beer a bunch of times. They are not as nice as the ones the pros use everyday but those are around 3 times the price. And this one will get the job done and you will be glad you have it. Plus you are not in a hurry to finish to get the rental back in time, you can take your time and finish when you want. And if you want I"m sure you can sell it on craigslist for 1/2-3/4 of what you pay for it when your done, I chose to keep mine and glad I.

 

[reptilezs]

i have used a similar cheapo one. it is not as sturdy as a pro one. it rolls ok but you cannot run over wires and what not. the crank works decent, i recommend lubing it so it works better

 

[cabman]

I got a cheap one for $167 shipped from amazon it was heavy 99lbs but works great lifted 1/2" 4' x 12' with 9' ceilings. I looked at HF the one I got looks the same like it was made in the same factory in China. The pro grade ones are nicer but spending $250 extra for a tool that I will only use a few times did not make sense to me.

 

[dwm]

I'm with the others. The only real drawback versus a more expensive one is that you won't be able to work as fast because it won't roll over stuff on the floor with sheets loaded and it's not as stable. But it'll get the job done and is orders of magnitude better than hanging sheetrock by hand with a buddy or two or being rushed to return a rented jack.

I haven't used the Harbor Freight one, but I had a cheapo many years ago for remodelling work and had no problem using it. The brake didn't work very well on mine, so I replaced the casters with casters that had brakes. Wasn't a real problem with sheet(s) loaded, but it wanted to move when I was trying to load a sheet on it.

 

[don-vee]

I just borrowed the same one from my friend 3 months ago to sheetrock a 12ft vaulted ceiling. Not pro-grade, but definitely made the job go much smoother than without. If I couldn't borrow his anymore for some reason and had to get my own for another job, I'd buy it.