Do they make bottle jacks to use horizontally? (2026 Update)

fred.flintstone · 2012-08-08T19:11:33+00:00

I never gave a second thought to using bottle jacks in any position,until I tried to use one on it's side, in other words, jack somethinghorizontally. The jack did not function. I grabbed another jack andfound the same problem. I researched this, and found that these jacksare not meant to be used on their sides, and learned the reason, whichis all because the fluid must be on the bottom to operate.Now that I fully understand how these jacks work and their limitations,I'm still looking for something to move heavy objects on a horizontalplane. These uses may be to move a small shed a foot back, because thatonce small tree has grown large and is touching the overhang. Quiterecently I was putting plywood sheets in an attic and laid down 8 or 9sheets, only to discover that they should have gone a few more inchestoward the rear of the house. They were not nailed, so they could stillbe moved. The thought of putting a jack against the front rafters andmoving all the sheets at once came to mind, but I knew that was notpossible due to the limitations of these jacks. Therefore, what couldhave been a simple task to jack these sheets over by 3 inches, meantmoving each sheet by hand one at a time. Having dont lots of building of darn near everything over the years,I've seen a need for some sort of jacks, as well as clamps and otherdevices to move large or heavy objects on a horizontal plane. Yet,there is nothing made to do this. Bottle jacks dont work on their side,C-clamps, and Pony clamps all tighten INWARD. Of all the tools onm themarket, there seems to be nothing made to move heavy objects OUTWARD.If you're erecting a wall, and the wall is a little off the floor on oneend, a C-clamp or other clamp will pull it inward. But to move itoutward, your only method is to use a big hammer (which in some cases isnot possible, such as the plywood attic floor). Yes, there is the "come along". That tool will work in some places witha large open area behind it, but it wont...

Aug 08, 2012 Last reply: 5 months ago 43 Replies

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dave 5 months ago

Have you ever seen a railroad jack? Google railroad jack. They are a very heavy duty screwjacks that come various sizes and jacking potential. They operate similar to the threaded adjuster on top of a bottle jack but much more beefy.

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