deadend
Hot Rolled
- Joined
- Aug 18, 2007
- Location
- Nashport. Oh
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I have read, in some rail jack descriptions, that there's no "let it down easy" on rail jacks... it's just "one step" from up to (slamming) down. Is that true for all brands? Or was it a (craigslist) seller describing a malfunctioning or improperly-operated jack?
Chip
"Rail" jack is a daisy-picker term applied to anything that came from the railroad. People who work for the railroad know these Duff-Nortons as "car jacks" since that was their use... also made by several other companies, such as Buda.
The track dept. uses something they call "track jacks". The tall ones look generally the same, with one important difference... there is no UP-DOWN lever. Instead, there are a couple pins on the side of the pawl; to lower the jack you raise the handle and move the lower pawl to a position where it will force the upper pawl out of the rack, then lower the handle and the jack drops all the way at once. Very handy for the intended use, which is to raise the track to tamp stone under the ties; when that's done you can drop the jack quickly all the way to the bottom to reset, without having to jack it down. Really sucks if you've used it to lift something you'd rather not drop
Dennis
I have read, in some rail jack descriptions, that there's no "let it down easy" on rail jacks... it's just "one step" from up to (slamming) down. Is that true for all brands? Or was it a (craigslist) seller describing a malfunctioning or improperly-operated jack?
Chip
I understand how they work, my lever that is used to switch from up to down will not lock in, in either position. I have tore it apart doesn't look like anything is missing or worn out?
The picture you posted is the same jacks I have. There's no problem going up or down easily. If you want to drop the jack you can pull the lower pawl into position to drop the jack all the way, but it's a simple operation to lower the load in total control by disengaging the lower pawl from the rack, going up one notch, taking the load off the upper pawl, pulling the upper pawl back until it clears a tooth and lowering the load onto the next tooth in the rack. Sounds complicated, but doesn't take more than a couple seconds in use. Takes longer to run the handle up and down than it does to operate the pawls.
I'd rather have the right jack for the job.
Dennis
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