walker floor jack restoration

[fireman164]

This is a all mechanical floor jack the pat. date is 1922 not sure when it was made, this is the day I picked it up, it was rusted and frozen solid.

 

[fireman164]

This is a all mechanical floor jack the pat. date is 1922 not sure when it was made, this is the day I picked it up, it was rusted and frozen solid.

starting the tear down

 

[fireman164]

Here someone screwed a nut and bolt through the back of the main bar that runs through the jack , not sure why its not possible for it to go that far through

 

[fireman164]

This gear is the heart of the jack

 

[fireman164]

soaking off the rust

 

[Fyrme]

Looks good! Lets see some more progress!

 

[fireman164]

finally got it completely dissasembled, notice the mail arms are bent I am guessing someone overloaded it at some point in the last 80 yrs, I had to use new steel, didnt want to but it was bent bad enough that the jack looked funny

 

[fireman164]

new arms , then had to duplicate the channels

 

[fireman164]

went to several fastener places to find the rivets that are recessed into the channel, no one sells them anymore so I had to get creative

 

[fireman164]

Then I decided I didnt like the weld so I found regular hex head screws and countersunk the steel, then heated the stud coming through the back side to semi liquid and smashed them in the arbor press. Then welded the hex head closed and ground them down

 

[fireman164]

parts masked off and ready for blasting and powder coating

 

[fireman164]

parts back from the powder coaters , I went with the closest color I could find to the walker blue, the only pics I could find of this jack were in black and white, the thing that makes me wonder if it was ever a color is the tag riveted on the side that says " Clean with gasoline and re-oil every 30 days to keep it on the job". Guessing also back then gasoline was their solvent

 

[fireman164]

Here are the roller bearings out of the front wheels, the second pic shows new hardware and roll pins for the wheels

 

[fireman164]

The old pic I have has a logo down the side that says "walker roll-a-car 740" so I had a sign shop make me up a set

 

[fireman164]

This is where I am with it as of tonight

 

[theoldwizard1]

I really like the look of the shiny nuts on that blue background. I also love the lettering !

Is the load on the nuts (not the bolts or pivots) low enough that you can use stainless ?

 

[fireman164]

The jack is rated at 5000 lbs , the bolts I used are zink plated, stainless would have cost alot, and i will probably just use this for a conversation piece.

 

[Fyrme]

Very nice work! Were the bolts for the rear caster plates mounted threads out originally? Looks awkward that way. The effort you've put into this thing is awesome. I don't know if I would have ever put that much time in it.

 

[sam_i02]

Beautiful work! Very motivating

 

[slow chevy]

Gorgeous.. awesome to think that things mechanically can stand the test of time like that.

 

[fireman164]

Very nice work! Were the bolts for the rear caster plates mounted threads out originally? Looks awkward that way. The effort you've put into this thing is awesome. I don't know if I would have ever put that much time in it.

Yes , which I thought looked backwards too , would have looked a lot better the other way but I was trying to stay original as possible

 

[fireman164]

Beautiful work! Very motivating

Thank you sir , I figure it's probably one of the earliest floor jacks before hydraulics took over. So I figured I'll have a small piece of history

 

[fireman164]

Gorgeous.. awesome to think that things mechanically can stand the test of time like that.

Walker made these for auto shops , I'm guessing the quality would be much like snap on or Mac is today , but for sure made in USA

 

[fireman164]

found these on ebay they look to be originals, if you look close all the nuts are facing to the ouside of the jack, notice the date on the ad 12-12-1929. I would love to know what exact year these were made.

 

[Jeff Ivers]

That is looking really good. Can't wait to see the finished product.

 

[fireman164]

That is looking really good. Can't wait to see the finished product.

Thanks ! Me either

 

[realvc]

That is one nice jack.
Congrats. on your restore job.

 

[bwane]

gorgeous!

 

[Sweet Old Bill]

Great job in progress. As with everyone else, I am looking forward to seeing you post a completed project photo.

What is the diameter of the lift pad? Curious to see how it relates to the hydraulic Walkers. Thanks again for posting & restoring the Walker.

 

[Mr onetwo]

Great looking job!These old jacks are very cool!

 

[fireman164]

Beautiful work! Very motivating

thank you!

 

[fireman164]

Great looking job!These old jacks are very cool!

thank you, yes sir they are cool, never thought I would love old USA made floor jacks and vises in my life time but thats the case

 

[fireman164]

Great job in progress. As with everyone else, I am looking forward to seeing you post a completed project photo.

What is the diameter of the lift pad? Curious to see how it relates to the hydraulic Walkers. Thanks again for posting & restoring the Walker.

thank you, looks like the lift pad is 4-5/8'' square ish give or take a 1/16 th

 

[fireman164]

gorgeous!

thank you sir!

 

[fireman164]

That is one nice jack.
Congrats. on your restore job.

thank you! it is very rewarding but Im finding that most people think Im crazy for restoring an old jack and vises, glad for garage journal, my kind of people!

 

[johninct]

I am pretty sure that I have that same jack. My father bought it used in the 1950's. It was our go to jack until I bought a used Snap-On YA 700 for $100.00 at an auction in 1992. Mine is still in great shape and is all original but when I painted it, I painted it red 20 years ago. I had the red paint around and I didn't know that the original color was blue. I have to say I think it is easier to jack up the same car with the mechanical jack than with my Snap-On YA700. That jack has the star wheel to quickly raise the saddle up and you can lower the car one notch at a time or let the car jack itself all of the way down. I like to see the handle swinging fast as the car comes down. The only reason that that jack is not still my go to jack is that I sometimes need the lift height of my Snap-On YA700. My YA700 is down right now but I am not worried because I have my old mechanical jack. Oil yours up good then use it. You won't be disappointed!!!

 

[fireman164]

I am pretty sure that I have that same jack. My father bought it used in the 1950's. It was our go to jack until I bought a used Snap-On YA 700 for $100.00 at an auction in 1992. Mine is still in great shape and is all original but when I painted it, I painted it red 20 years ago. I had the red paint around and I didn't know that the original color was blue. I have to say I think it is easier to jack up the same car with the mechanical jack than with my Snap-On YA700. That jack has the star wheel to quickly raise the saddle up and you can lower the car one notch at a time or let the car jack itself all of the way down. I like to see the handle swinging fast as the car comes down. The only reason that that jack is not still my go to jack is that I sometimes need the lift height of my Snap-On YA700. My YA700 is down right now but I am not worried because I have my old mechanical jack. Oil yours up good then use it. You won't be disappointed!!!

Have you posted yours on here ? I saw a red one, very cool that you have and still use !

 

[Turbo1Ton]

Very nice work. I like the effort you put in to complete the rivets in the channels on the main arms.

You and Thomas have me twitching to get one of these old things. I don't need any other projects right now. Guess I need to get off my **** and finish a few so I can start some new ones!!!

Heck, I just realized we are neighbors! I'm down south in BA.

Jeff

 

[johninct]

not yet, I have to get some help using a digital camera.

 

[1930artdeco]

Nice job on the resto! It is the older version of mine. Oh, PM sent.

Mike