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Larry,
I,m a cabinetmaker and I do all my own installations. When I started, I bought the T-Jack; what a disappointment. I never took it to the job site. The T-Jack unit is too light duty for most cabinet installations. In fact, I wouldn’t trust it to support any of my work while I turned to grab a level or screw gun.
I ended up fabricating one of my own that works on exact same principle as the T-Jack. However, mine starts with a 3/4″ plywood base foot approximately 9″X16″. The base pipe is 1″ Sch. 40 galv. pipe flanged to the base plywood. The threaded rod is a full 1″ course all-thread, 48″ long (which fits nicely in the 1″ pipe). The drive nut has three 4″ long stems welded to it. The top plate is a piece of 1/8″ thick steel 6″ X 12″ with a rubber-backed plywood base fastened to it which measures approximately 9″ X 12″.
You need to keep in mind that wall cabinets can sometimes weigh 70 to 80 pounds. My jack has performed great over the last few years. The only drawback is that there is no quick-adjust feature on the drive nut.
Good Luck!
Anthony
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I have a cabinet jack that is about 35 years old. I'm thinking of having a machinist friend make up a few of them to sell to other contractors. This helper makes it possible for one man to hang wall cabinets by himself. If anyone is interested e-mail me at: [email protected]
I'm just seeing if anyone would like life to be easier [and I like easy].
*There's a commercial product out there, T-Jack I think, adverties in FHB and in some of the catalogs. You might want to check their pricing before plunging ahead.I thought of making some up for my DIY job last year. The hardware turned out not to be that cheap, so I scratched my head and came up with a quick and dirty set up: made up a 2x4 ledger to be screwed to the wall studs to support back of cabinet; attached a old, heavy 3" butt hinge to it and another 12-14" piece of 2x to the other side of hinge so that a 'leg' could be swung out to support the front edge of the cabinet.It worked pretty well for single handing the installation.
*There is the T-jack and also the Gil-lift which cranks up and holds the cabs at the right height. Both have ads in back of FH.Kevin
*T-jack and Gil-lift are a little pricy. I'm going to see if I can do a little better [the American way] on price. L. Siders
*Larry,I,m a cabinetmaker and I do all my own installations. When I started, I bought the T-Jack; what a disappointment. I never took it to the job site. The T-Jack unit is too light duty for most cabinet installations. In fact, I wouldn't trust it to support any of my work while I turned to grab a level or screw gun.I ended up fabricating one of my own that works on exact same principle as the T-Jack. However, mine starts with a 3/4" plywood base foot approximately 9"X16". The base pipe is 1" Sch. 40 galv. pipe flanged to the base plywood. The threaded rod is a full 1" course all-thread, 48" long (which fits nicely in the 1" pipe). The drive nut has three 4" long stems welded to it. The top plate is a piece of 1/8" thick steel 6" X 12" with a rubber-backed plywood base fastened to it which measures approximately 9" X 12".You need to keep in mind that wall cabinets can sometimes weigh 70 to 80 pounds. My jack has performed great over the last few years. The only drawback is that there is no quick-adjust feature on the drive nut.Good Luck!Anthony
*Anthony, This old cabinet jack I have is built quite strong. One of the draw backs is its weight. All pipe is sch. 40 and the jack screws are 1" standard pitch.I'm thinking of going to an alum. alloy to lighten it up a little.The slowness is a little bit of an inconvenence. The quick adjustment feature would be a plus in raising it up to near 54". I have extentions for the higher cabinets. I'm thinking of going to acme threads on a smaller screw. Thanks for the tips. L. Siders