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Home made jack pad for Model S

D.E.

Uncorked
Oct 12, 2016
721
930
Ann Arbor, MI
I’ve posted before but I made wooden ones. I used maple. There are several types of “maple”, the one I used is “hard maple”. It’s the same wood that’s used for bowling alleys. It’s strong, tight grained, no knots, and is very nice to work. It isn’t expensive. I used sized dowels for the pins. Home Depot, Lowes, most hardware stores, carry an assortment of dowels.

Odd as it sounds, “hardwood” does not mean the wood is harder than “softwood”. Hardwood refers to any wood that comes from deciduous trees, those that shed their leaves. Softwood refers to evergreens. This means balsa, one of the very softest woods is classified as a hardwood. It’s crazy.

I put a pad of rubber between the wood and the car to protect the car’s plastic lift pad. I used a piece of inner tube. Overkill, I’m sure but since I was at it... Rubber bands around the wooden pins will keep it in place if the pin fit is a little loose.

That claim about the high voltage wires in the rails and magnets on a lift pad is absolutely absurd. There’s no problem with small magnets. Either he doesn’t understand the science or he does understand and is making false claims. Either way doesn’t inspire confidence.

If you look at the drawing on the first page of this thread, you’ll see that the pad’s pins are not centered on the long axis. If you make one using this drawing it makes a difference which way the pad is inserted. It’s good to write “outside” on the edge that is away from the center of the car when properly inserted.
 

Chito307

Member
May 12, 2020
6
3
Streamwood
Has anyone ever thought about doing this? But a little wider in the center to accommodate a normal jackstand? Have been debating on trying this out.
 

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emmz0r

Senior Software Engineer
Jul 12, 2018
1,150
925
Norway
A friend of mine came over help me swap tires on the S. We took a mitre saw and cut a small ,thin rectangle of wood to fit between the jack and the car. It was cut across the grain, not along it. Worked perfectly and that thin rectangle lasted for all 4 wheels.

KISS - keep it simple stupid :D
 

AWDtsla

Active Member
Mar 3, 2013
4,262
3,952
NE

Yeah the amount of tension and shear force placed on those ugly welds is scary - clicking through the video discovered they've ALREADY been redesigned. No kidding huh?

Why we're on the topic - I cringe at the the 3d printed parts and wood in this thread surviving any shear force, should it happen. I've had a 3d printer for 4 years now - and I cannot bring myself to print these little bundles of death. The Model 3 pads seem even worse. Doubling up on the jack pad so the teeth don't provide too much force to the car is good enough.
 

D.E.

Uncorked
Oct 12, 2016
721
930
Ann Arbor, MI
Yeah the amount of tension and shear force placed on those ugly welds is scary - clicking through the video discovered they've ALREADY been redesigned. No kidding huh?

Why we're on the topic - I cringe at the the 3d printed parts and wood in this thread surviving any shear force, should it happen. I've had a 3d printer for 4 years now - and I cannot bring myself to print these little bundles of death. The Model 3 pads seem even worse. Doubling up on the jack pad so the teeth don't provide too much force to the car is good enough.

You probably don’t need to cringe at all wooden ones. These are solid, cheap to make, and stand up well. The wood in the weight supporting pad is hard maple. Bowling alley lanes are made from hard maple. It is tough, strong, and works well.
upload_2020-6-22_15-47-12.jpeg
 
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Gixx1300R

Member
Dec 30, 2017
666
1,165
orlando
FYI- here is some data

load ratings are based on surface area and cross grain load capacity. Standard tables are based on the load capacity of Douglas Fir or Southern Yellow Pine, the most popular cribbing materials. They have a cross grain capacity of 500 PSI.

4X4 equation:

3.5inX3.5inX500psi=6125 pounds per contact zone (round down to 6000)
So: 2X2 box crib = 24,000 Lb. 3X3 box =54,000 Lb.
 
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Chito307

Member
May 12, 2020
6
3
Streamwood
FYI- here is some data

load ratings are based on surface area and cross grain load capacity. Standard tables are based on the load capacity of Douglas Fir or Southern Yellow Pine, the most popular cribbing materials. They have a cross grain capacity of 500 PSI.

4X4 equation:

3.5inX3.5inX500psi=6125 pounds per contact zone (round down to 6000)
So: 2X2 box crib = 24,000 Lb. 3X3 box =54,000 Lb.

Worked great!
 

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