Toe-Jacks: recommendations?

Spud · Nov 20, 2022

Been looking at used toe-jacks at auctions for a while now. What brands can get under machines with the least clearance? What are some good brands? How would you rate railroad-jacks? Have you'll ever used one of those small enerpac pancake jacks to jack a machine up?

How do I delete thread, because I just noticed there are older threads asking the same question?

tomjelly · Nov 21, 2022

simplex, enerpac, otc, for hydraulics, simplex mechanical rail jacks, Simplex also makes hydraulic rail jacks like these "powr claw" ones:

TJH109 Heavy Duty Hydraulic Toe Jack 10 ton Cap 9 Stroke Simplex POWR CLAW 812761021138 | eBay

10 TO RIGGING JACK READY TO WORK. (pipe handle used in last photo demonstration not included). ASK for full res photos, video of operational testing, etc. photos may have distortion, are for general scale only.

www.ebay.com

dalmatiangirl61 · Nov 21, 2022

My $100 china special toe jack is still working just fine, if doing commercial work every day that $1500 one above might be a better choice. I need about 1/2" to get mine under a machine.

tomjelly · Nov 21, 2022

Yes, and I think even some regular hydraulic bottle jacks might be able to be modified with a plate on the bottom and up front under the moving shoe without too much trouble to work like this one:

https://www.tksimplex.com/en-sx/toe-jacks/heavy-duty-toe-jacks/TJH10A

dalmatiangirl61 · Nov 21, 2022

tomjelly said:
Yes, and I think even some regular hydraulic bottle jacks might be able to be modified with a plate on the bottom and up front under the moving shoe without too much trouble to work like this one:

https://www.tksimplex.com/en-sx/toe-jacks/heavy-duty-toe-jacks/TJH10A

That is how the china special is designed.

Spud · Nov 21, 2022

dalmatiangirl61 said:
My $100 china special toe jack is still working just fine, if doing commercial work every day that $1500 one above might be a better choice. I need about 1/2" to get mine under a machine.

No commerical stuff. Just to lift stuff I buy at auction. Usually the stuff is already on blocks or a pallet but occassionally the machines are just sitting on the ground..

Garwood · Nov 21, 2022

There's no "one" toe jack. Takes a collection to move any machine. All machines are different. Main problem you encounter with toe jacks is the body hitting part of the casting so the toe can't get close enough where you need to jack.

Mechanical railroad jacks are really fast and superb when you must employ several jacks at the same time. Each stroke is same-same across all jacks. Mechanical jacks are really good at lifting machines with cast ledges between 3" and 30" off the ground. Mechanical jacks will lift and move way more than they are rated for. 15 ton jack will break 3/4" B7 allthread holding a 40K lb machine to the floor with a 265 lb guy on a 10' handle. Mechanical jacks work at any angle. They are really good at pushing stuff across the floor and locking shit from sliding in your pickup bed.

The itty bitty $89 5 ton toe jack gets used more than any other in my shop just because it weighs nothing. But don't dare overload that little toy, it'll kill you.

Yes, enerpac pancake cylinders are lifesavers. So are wood and steel wedges.

TheOldCar · Nov 21, 2022

My import TEMCo has been amazing so far. Just a 5 ton on the toe, 10 ton on top. Impressive fit and finish, too.

J Gilles · Nov 21, 2022

TheOldCar said:
My import TEMCo has been amazing so far. Just a 5 ton on the toe, 10 ton on top. Impressive fit and finish, too.

I've got the same one and it is better than I expected for the price. The swivel handle is fantastic.

rdenney · Nov 22, 2022

dalmatiangirl61 said:
My $100 china special toe jack is still working just fine, if doing commercial work every day that $1500 one above might be a better choice. I need about 1/2" to get mine under a machine.

Same for me.

Rick “but 1/2” ain’t always low enough” Denney

Dan from Oakland · Nov 22, 2022

If you just need to get a machine up to get a bar under it, get a few steel wedges. A small sledge and a few wedges work really well- they come in different sizes. Lots cheaper than a toe jack too!

rdenney · Nov 22, 2022

I have an 8-foot steel pry bar that will lift my lathe high enough for the toe jack. But I was putting the lathe on a skid and needed more height.

Rick “moving day this week” Denney

Farmer Phil · Nov 23, 2022

Some pancake jacks and wedges are never taking up too much space. Toe jacks I find aren't needed that frequently when you have those things in your inventory.

Richard Rogers · Nov 30, 2022

GKS Perfekt is my very favorite. Costly, but the best I know of.

Spud · Dec 2, 2022

Richard Rogers said:
GKS Perfekt is my very favorite. Costly, but the best I know of.

A while back there was a pair of Jung (German) toe jacks at auction in Pa. Went for over a $1000 , which is a decent deal considering how much they cost new, but it was still too much for me.

jccaclimber · Dec 2, 2022

rdenney said:
I have an 8-foot steel pry bar that will lift my lathe high enough for the toe jack. But I was putting the lathe on a skid and needed more height.

<Picture snipped>

Rick “moving day this week” Denney

I've had to put my Bridgeport on 4x4's a couple times to move them. While maybe easier with a toe jack, I wouldn't buy one for an occasional move.

-Pry bar to get it high enough to be on 3/4" plywood. In my case "pry bar" was a 1/2" steel rod sticking out of a 3' piece of black pipe because it's what I had. Another pipe or a 1" piece of hardwood scrap for the fulcrum.
-Same pry bar with a 2x4 fulcrum to now get a a 2x4 under the corners.
-Repeat on the back.
-Throw another 2x4 under your fulcrum and go up another layer to fit the 4x4s.

If you need a lever longer than 3 feet you will want a helper to shove the blocks under for you.

I wouldn't want to move a large shop this way, or a 20k pound machine, but for something like a garage sized lathe or mill it works just fine.

gbent · Dec 3, 2022

I've got the Enerpac Flat-Jacs and the short travel makes a pile of steel shims a necessity. The shims need to be 1/8 to 1/16 less than the jack travel. But for anything short of 10 tons, my lifting bar and several wedges are much faster. I recently moved a 7 ton K&T 30' by myself with just a prybar, wedges, blocks, and rollers. You need rollers and solid blocks that match the lift height of your bar. For me, that amounts to 1 1/2 rollers and 1 3/4 blocks. For more height, you can put your lifting bar on wedges or shims.

Pine need not apply. You need hardwood wedges, mine are walnut 'cause thats what I had for a small log. The wedges are about 6:1.

Doozer · Dec 9, 2022

Rees jack youtube

eKretz · Dec 12, 2022

For lighter machines, I actually like an Enerpac spreader. They can get in to a very small space, but are only good for about 2,000 pounds, so tilting up a 4,000 pound machine to get blocks under is easily possible. I block up, then stuff the skates under. Good for occasional moves and potentially useful in other situations. For somebody doing rigging and moving, better to get a toe jack.

BTW Doozer, you could easily re-cut those grooves with a carbide endmill... I've even done that on old pipe wrench jaws!

cyanidekid · Dec 12, 2022

Spud said:
No commerical stuff. Just to lift stuff I buy at auction. Usually the stuff is already on blocks or a pallet but occassionally the machines are just sitting on the ground..

what machines are you buying? if its not big stuff you probably don't need one.
I've moved a few machines, watched a bunch more being moved by pros. I've never needed a toe jack, and I can't recall seeing one used on anything small (under 3T or so). could have used one on a few occasions, but a heel bar and some dunnage gets stuff up, and a J bar or just blocks under the heel, and keep going till its high enough for some wheels. takes a few minuets, no big deal.
if you have one day to clean out a place with 20 CNCs, well that's different, better bring some gear.

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