I hate it when the jack stands fold up!

A Darwin Award candidate.

Jack stands? Who needs 'em. 

Harbor Freight Recalls the Jack Stands Meant to Replace the Recalled Jack Stands

Here's a blurb recently released by Road & Track:

..."Back in May, we wrote about a selection of Pittsburgh brand three- and six-ton jack stands recalled by Harbor Freight because of a manufacturing defect that could cause them to collapse under load, potentially causing injury or death. Customers were asked to return the stands in exchange for a gift card, and affected units were pulled from shelves. Now, Harbor Freight has had to announce a second recall, covering the new jack stands that many folks purchased to replace those covered by the initial recall. In a customer email sent today by Harbor Freight owner and founder Eric Smidt, the company revealed that a "small number" of the replacement Pittsburgh three-ton jacks stands suffer from a welding defect, and, like the original batch, could fail while supporting a vehicle. (The initial recall from May had to do with insufficient ratchet tooth engagement, attributed to excess wear in the dies used to manufacture the stands). Smidt says the welding defect wasn't discovered in the initial investigation, and the affected model (SKU 56373) has since been added to the list of recalled stands"...

I am unable to tell if the recall is voluntary. But to not have quality control checks to see if your tooling is wearing out on a product that your life depends on seams weak to me. Or to have checks that you do every 3,000,000 parts or so is also no good.

Well put. I too am a professional auto refinisher. I use only SATA and Iwata spray guns. In fact, my clear coat gun (Iwata) was purchased in 2002.I've only upgraded my SATA guns to comply to EPA demands and the fact that color has changed enough over the last several years to justify  the newer equipment.

When talk turns to the price of parts and equipment, the discussion usually gets around to professional quality vs. home use. I'll always remember what a professional photographer friend once told me. We both had purchased very similar Nikon 35mm SLR cameras. In fact, to my eye they were identical save for the "XP" script on his. He told me he paid something like $1800.00—this was years ago. I said, "Man, they saw you coming. Mine only cost $400 bucks. You should have never mentioned you were a professional. They probably assumed your company was paying the bill and sold you the, wink-wink, professional model, the one with the "XP" on the side." I said, "I'm sure they're identical cameras—show me one difference." He said the difference was on the inside. Sheesh, that's what every salesperson says.

My friend asked me how many pictures I take in one year. I said, "A lot, maybe 3 rolls per week, times 52 weeks, that's 156 rolls a year! Bet you didn't know I took so many pictures, huh?" He said, "Some days I take 156 rolls before lunch." What I learned from that conversation was that professional quality isn't always baloney. I also learned not to always buy the professional model. I don't need to buy a German-made $5000.00 Baileigh drill press if realistically I only drill 5 to 10 holes a year. On the other hand, I was helping an elderly neighborhood lady install a couple of kitchen cabinet doors the other day. She said, "You needn't bring over a thing, dearie. I have everything you'll need here for you." After her $2 dollar Pick-N-Save screwdriver chipped the blade on the 3rd twist and every single one of the impossibly shallow Phillips screws stripped, I went home for my 40-year-old Craftsman tools and a handful of decent fasteners… that's when the hinges began to break. So, as in most things, the sweet spot is usually in the middle.

Appreciate the heads up Howard. I also received the news of this in a Hemmings e-mail. Seems I have 4 of these that will need to be exchanged. They held my Mini up for about 3-4 months while I was under and beside doing inner and outter sill replacements. Never an issue. I also have a 3 ton floor jack that serves me well too. Again, no issues. It is good to know HF gives a damn. Seeing as how the only options for anything not priced too the high heavens is Lowes, or Home Depot. The tool truck guys are just insanely over the top price wise.

I've been using a Harbor Freight aluminum jack for 20+years (bought back when they were mainly mail order with no local stores.) I also have their 3 ton low profile jack purchased 4+ years ago, no issues.

A recall is not good, but it also means the company is in business for the long haul and is standing behind their products. If they were a truly shoddy company, they wouldn't issue a recall - they'd just let it go, and if they got sued and lost, go bankrupt instead. Name a quality company that has never issued a recall.

In fact, I know of a major U.S. manufacturer of commercial passenger airplanes that resisted and fought very hard not to issue a recall and fix for one of their most popular products. They (and hundreds of passengers and their families) really regret that now...

Thanks for the heads up. 
This is one reason that Harbor Freight lift/support devices scare me.  Zip ties, OK.  A cheap flashlight, OK. Anything that is one time use, OK.  But Hyd jacks or jack stands?  I'll pass.

I taught HS shop - welding and sheet metal. The junior/ senior project was making 4 x 8, dropped axle, tilt bed, tag along trailers. We sold them, occasionally a wheel assembly would fall off. We would have a laugh and weld it back on. We made a lot of useful things like log splitters, outdoor furniture, log holders ring type. They were really fun days. The students really enjoyed coming to class.

They put me in the high school "academic stream". No shops. We studied Latin. 'nuff said.
Where's the " I'm envious" emoji when you need it?

I would be really mad if I was dead because I was following the exact correct procedure when working under a car! Worn out manufacturing tooling, so that's how they make em cheaper!

As things change I'm amazed at what we did years ago. I did all the metal shop I could in high school. Each year
I was the one who designed and built the year end project. One year we sold jack stands. I still have a set, maybe
the prototype. The last year I did a mini bike and we sold frames. That was 51 years ago. May be to many lawyers
today. Steve (CTR)

Harbor Freight Jack Stands Recalled for Risk of Collapsing

https://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/buying-maintenance/a32600586/harbor-freight-jack-stands-recalled-for-risk-of-collapsing/

URL: https://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/buying-maintenance/a32600586/harbor-freight-jack-stands-recalled-for-risk-of-collaps