So I kept seeing folks talking about this jack schuler thing online, right? Pictures of folks using it for lifting all sorts of stuff, looked kinda clever. Figured, hey, why not try it myself? Always up for a bit of hands-on messing around.
First thing first, needed the parts. Scavenged around my garage, found some decently thick plywood scraps – figured that would be strong enough. Measured and cut four pieces for the sides and ends. Didn't have any fancy templates, just went for rectangles roughly double the length they were wide. Grabbed some nails and my trusty old hammer.
Started assembling the basic box shape. Pounded the nails through the sides into the ends. First mistake: Didn't pre-drill any holes. Ended up with a couple of nasty splits in the plywood edges. Annoying, but pushed on. The box felt kinda wobbly. Added some diagonal braces I cut from thinner wood scraps, nailed those into the corners inside the box. That made it much sturdier. Felt better already.
Now for the tricky bit everyone calls the 'schuler lift' part. Found some smooth, round pieces of scrap wood, like dowels but thicker, about an inch and a half across. These would be my rollers. Needed something to raise them. Cut two smaller blocks of plywood, maybe 3 inches wide and 6 long, for each roller. Drilled holes this time! Holes just big enough for the round wood pieces to turn freely. Positioned one block on each side of the box, near an end, and nailed them solidly in place so the holes lined up.
Slipped the round wood rollers through the holes. They spun! Good sign. Now, I needed a 'shelf' or platform thing that would ride on these rollers. Cut another rectangle of plywood the width of the inside of the box and about half the length. Carefully placed it on top of the rollers, centred. Second snag: The plywood shelf rocked sideways slightly on the curved rollers. Cut some small guides from plywood offcuts and tacked them onto the sides of the box, just above the roller blocks, to keep the shelf from sliding off to the sides.
Alright, time to test. Wanted to lift a heavy toolbox. Placed the toolbox onto the plywood shelf inside my jack schuler contraption. Stuck a lever under the front edge of the shelf – just a sturdy piece of scrap lumber. Lever action time. Pushed down hard on the lever. The shelf started moving forward, riding on the rollers, and the toolbox began rising. It worked! Kinda. It was seriously hard to push. The rollers felt sticky, needed grease maybe? Applied some old bike chain lube onto the rollers where they touched the shelf. Much smoother!
Tried it again. Much easier. Could lift the heavy toolbox up to maybe eight inches. Held it there pretty solidly, too. Definitely felt the mechanical advantage. Needed to lower it carefully by pulling up slowly on the lever. Was pretty cool seeing the basic principle work. Does it replace a proper hydraulic jack? Nah, not really. But for lifting awkward things an inch or two, super handy. Fun project figuring it out piece by piece.
