HoldenHR1966
Member
It is with great Pleasure that I announce the re-Birth of a 1940s BLACKHAWK S-23.
It has been a difficult birth as it needed:
1. Micro welding of Unijoint arms that link the hydraulic mechanism to the lifting handle yet still be small enough to pass through handle collar passage.
2. Two Re-threads of large supporting wheels bracket bolts when the threads were crossthreaded and appearing beyond repair.
3. A completely NEW lifting arm designed on 8mm steel plate then waterjet cut and welded together with removed tube spindles from old lifting arm re-grafted in. (difficult engineering reconstruction). Extra 8mm plate cross braces were welded in to stop Jack warping and twisting at extended height of lift. The original was welded out of alignment and was also twisted due to incorrect usage.
4. Hydraulic resealing of leaks of Jack plungers with a $200 Kit that was only at best 40% relevant.
5. The painting and MIG tacking of arms was the least intellectually arduous.
6. The lifting height appears to be just over 19inches or 485mm.
The result is the Jack with new improved lifting arm can support not the original 1.5 Tons but now 2 to 2.5 Tons conservatively according to independent Hydraulic experts.
Extra detail can be found on an earlier garage post called wrongly called "blackjack".
An extra photo is in attached images of the Blackhawk S-23 Curb Jack before restoration.
Total cost of restoration doing nearly everything myself $550.00. Add to that about two months of work... Mammoth project because so much was wrong that couldn't be seen until it was pulled completely apart....
I was told many times during this project that the restoration was too difficult to do and that seemed to give me extra satisfaction every time I overcame odds that were stacked against me! To be told by Hydraulic Engineers that I have restored to original appearance yet made it stronger and better than it was New, has given me great satisfaction.
Note Bene: for the S-17 and S-23 aficionados you will note it is a single spring return, and that the rear wheel support bolt comes from the TOP not the side as seen in 1950's Blackhawk product catalogue literature.
I notice comparitively it is a very heavy Jack when I lift it or move it around, but in its favour I love the original colour and the styling of the Jack is simply Gorgeous when compared to modern Jacks.
It has been a difficult birth as it needed:
1. Micro welding of Unijoint arms that link the hydraulic mechanism to the lifting handle yet still be small enough to pass through handle collar passage.
2. Two Re-threads of large supporting wheels bracket bolts when the threads were crossthreaded and appearing beyond repair.
3. A completely NEW lifting arm designed on 8mm steel plate then waterjet cut and welded together with removed tube spindles from old lifting arm re-grafted in. (difficult engineering reconstruction). Extra 8mm plate cross braces were welded in to stop Jack warping and twisting at extended height of lift. The original was welded out of alignment and was also twisted due to incorrect usage.
4. Hydraulic resealing of leaks of Jack plungers with a $200 Kit that was only at best 40% relevant.
5. The painting and MIG tacking of arms was the least intellectually arduous.
6. The lifting height appears to be just over 19inches or 485mm.
The result is the Jack with new improved lifting arm can support not the original 1.5 Tons but now 2 to 2.5 Tons conservatively according to independent Hydraulic experts.
Extra detail can be found on an earlier garage post called wrongly called "blackjack".
An extra photo is in attached images of the Blackhawk S-23 Curb Jack before restoration.
Total cost of restoration doing nearly everything myself $550.00. Add to that about two months of work... Mammoth project because so much was wrong that couldn't be seen until it was pulled completely apart....
I was told many times during this project that the restoration was too difficult to do and that seemed to give me extra satisfaction every time I overcame odds that were stacked against me! To be told by Hydraulic Engineers that I have restored to original appearance yet made it stronger and better than it was New, has given me great satisfaction.
Note Bene: for the S-17 and S-23 aficionados you will note it is a single spring return, and that the rear wheel support bolt comes from the TOP not the side as seen in 1950's Blackhawk product catalogue literature.
I notice comparitively it is a very heavy Jack when I lift it or move it around, but in its favour I love the original colour and the styling of the Jack is simply Gorgeous when compared to modern Jacks.
Attachments
Last edited:
Impressive rebuild