Base Jacks: Adjustable Screw Jack with Base Plate

What is Base Jacks?

A base jack is a scaffolding component used for scaffold height leveling in construction. It is featured with threaded screw spindles and a wide flat base plate at the bottom and be placed at the start(feet) of scaffolding legs.

Scaffold base jack is also called adjustable base jack(adj base jack), scaffolding levelling jack, scaffolding levelling feet, scaffold adjustable leg, jack base, scaffold leg levellers or scaffold levellers, scaffold base jack, screw jack with base plate etc. It is one type of the scaffold adjustable screw jack.

How To Use Base Jack?

1. 1. Inspect the ground. Place a timber or plastic pad before the base jacks if the gourd is soft.
2.  Located Base Plate. Place the base jack on solid ground or the timber or plastic pad.
3. Turn the jack nut (jack collar) on the spindle of the base jack to adjust the height to a rough same level.
4. Put the first tier of scaffold uprights on the base jacks and fix the uprights with scaffold ledgers(horizontal).
5. Use a spirit level to check the scaffold’s horizontal alignment and slightly turn the base jack nut down and up until the scaffold level is adjusted perfectly.
6. Level all the base jack across the scaffold until the scaffold is uniformly balanced.
7. After the first tier of the scaffold is finished and levelled, we can erect the 2nd and 3rd scaffolding.
8. Put scaffold diagonals and decks on
9.  Erect more scaffolding uprights, horizontals, diagonal braces, and planks until they reach the needed height.

Base Jacks  and Sole Boards

Sole boards can be placed underneath the base jacks to make the scaffolding foundation solid enough and prevent sinking. Three types of sole boards are available here.

Timber sole boards

Big Plastic Sole Boards

Small Plastic Sole Boards

Base Jack Features:

• Adjustable Height: The Scaffold Base Jack offers a versatile height adjustment mechanism, allowing you to precisely level your scaffold frames for a solid foundation, even on uneven ground.
• Heavy Duty Construction: Crafted from high-strength steel, this base jack supports substantial loads, ensuring your scaffolding is stable and secure, even in demanding conditions.
• Corrosion-Resistant Finish: This product, with a rust-resistant coating, is designed to withstand harsh weather and construction environments, extending its lifespan and maintaining performance.
• Quick and Easy Setup: The user-friendly design allows fast, tool-free adjustments, saving valuable time during scaffold assembly.
• Enhanced Safety: Provides a reliable and safe foundation for scaffolding, preventing instability or tipping that can lead to accidents on construction sites.
• Compatible with Standard Scaffolding Systems: This product is perfect for use with both traditional and modular scaffolding and ensures compatibility with most scaffolding frames.

Base Jack Applications:

• Construction Sites: Ensure your scaffolding is level and stable for construction projects.
• Industrial Maintenance: Perfect for scaffolding used in routine inspections or machinery repairs.
• Renovations & Repairs: Provides solid foundation support for scaffolding during home or building renovations.
• Event Staging & Temporary Structures: Secure temporary scaffolding setups for stages and other event structures.

Base Jacks and Scaffolding Jacks

Base Jacks VS Screw Jacks

Screw jack is a much broader concept than base jack in scaffolding construction. Screw jacks include base jacks but also include U-head jacks, forkhead jacks, J-head jacks etc.

The base jack is one type of screw jack with a base plate at the bottom, which is used as the feet of scaffolding or levelling leg of the scaffolding and is always placed at the bottom or feet of the scaffolding.

Other types of scaffolding screw jacks, like U head, forkhead, and J head, are the opposite; they are placed at the top of the scaffold and used to support beams for construction, shoring, and formwork.

Thus scaffolding screw jacks not only include levelling jack bases or scaffold feet (base jack) but also include adjustable scaffolding jacks for shoring and support.

Base Jack VS. Scaffold Base Plate

Scaffold base plates are scaffolding components placed at the bottom of a scaffold structure. Like the base jacks, they serve as scaffold feet to distribute the load from the scaffolding to a larger area and provide a stable foundation to prevent it from sinking. However, they are simple, non-adjustable scaffold feet. 

Scaffold base jacks are also called an adjustable base plate. They are designed with screw spindle parts. Thus, more than distributing load and providing a stable foundation, the base jack has the significant function of “levelling scaffold height” and is more used for uneven ground. Thus, they are mostly called levelling jacks.

If you have a base plate and want an adjustable function, you can integrate the base plate with universal jacks to form the base jack with the adjustable function. 

Base Jack VS. Universal Jack

Universal jacks are adjustable screw jacks scaffolding but without a base plate welded on compared to scaffold base jacks. This “open” makes universal jack “universal” or “versatile“:

1. Universal Jack + Fixed Base Plate = Scaffolding Base Jack (Levelling Jack Base)
2. Universal Jack + Fixed U Head = Adjustable U Head Jacks
3. Universal Jack + Fixed Fork Head = Adjustable Fork Head Jacks

Base Jack and Shoring Jack

Shoring jacks are one type of adjustable steel props or post-shore placed between floor and structure and used to support vertical loads from slabs, construction, and building directly in formwork, falsework, and shoring systems. They are designed with inner tubes, outer tubes, top and bottom plates, lock pins, prop nuts, or prop cups.

Base jacks are scaffolding components placed at the bottom of scaffolding frames to level the height of the scaffold and adjust the uneven ground condition. They are called levelling jacks, scaffold feet, or adjustable scaffold legs. They do not support slabs and structures directly. Base jacks are designed with jack spindles, jack nuts, and base plates.

Key Differences Between Shoring Jacks and Base Jacks

Solid and Hollow Base Jacks

Solid Base Jacks

Solid base jacks have solid spindles threaded from solid round bars. They are used mostly for frame scaffolding. Modular scaffold systems, such as kwikstage and tubular scaffolding, sometimes use solid spindle base jacks, too.

The spindle diameters of the solid screw jack bases are OD26mm to OD48mm. Among them, traditional frame systems often use OD30mm, OD32mm, and OD34mm.

Hollow Base Jacks

Hollow base jacks for scaffolding levelling have hollow spindles made of welded or seamless scaffold tubes. They are more popular than solid base jacks because they are lightweight, easy to handle, and highly load-bearing.

Hollow-type scaffold jack bases with diameters ranging from OD30 to OD48mm. Among them, the 38mm diameter scaffold jack bases are the most popular sizes for scaffolding, used in both scaffold systems (cuplock, ringlock, kwikstage, quick lock) and traditional tube and clamp scaffolding(all of them have standard 48mm diameter scaffold verticals)

6 Ton Jack Base VS 4 Ton Base Jacks

According to load capacity for the OD38mm scaffold jack bases, they are 6-ton jack base and 4-ton jack base.

6-ton jack bases are hollow scaffold jack bases made of 5 mm-thick scaffold tubes designed to support more weight (a safety workload of at least 6 tons) on the scaffold.

4-ton base jacks are hollow-type scaffold base jacks made of 4 mm-thick scaffold tubes in scaffolding designed to take a safe working load of more than 4 tons.

48mm Diameter Base Jacks

48mm diameter scaffold jack bases are the levelling feet for the shoring system scaffold, including shoring frames, Crab 60 shoring system, 60mm ringlock hi load shore system scaffold, etc. (which are with vertical elements in the range of 56 to 60mm diameter).

600mm Base Jack For Scaffolding

600mm scaffold base jacks are the most popular levelling jacks in height for scaffolding.  The levelling range is normally 40mm to maximum 450mm. Following is the weight of each diameter of 600mm scaffolding leveling jack bases.

Base Jack Plate Sizes

The scaffold Levelling Jack Base Plate is ordinarily square.  The popular sizes include :

• 120x120mm
• 140x140mm
• 150x150mm
• 152x152mm
• 160x160mm
• 180x180mm
• 200x200mm

The thickness of the base plate, according to different scaffold systems, is generally in the range of 4mm to 10mm.

Base Jack Nuts(Handles)

There are three types of scaffold base jack nuts.

• Forged Jack Nuts
• Cast Steel Jack Nuts
• Cast Iron Jack Nut

**Forged Jack Nut:** Forged jack nuts are produced through a process involving high-temperature heating followed by drop forging into specific shapes and sizes. After forging, machinery is required to create the internal threads.

**Cast Steel Jack Nut:** Cast steel jack nuts feature a smooth surface and provide stable functionality. Similar to forged jack nuts, they require machinery to create inner threads after the casting process.

**Cast Iron Jack Nut:** Cast iron jack nuts are the most commonly used type for scaffold jack bases. They are more affordable and can support high loads. However, their surface quality is not as high as that of forged or cast steel jack nuts. Notably, the internal threads of cast iron jack nuts are formed during the casting process itself, which eliminates the need for additional machining and significantly reduces costs.

Forged VS Cast Jack Nuts

Base Jacks Finishing

There are three types of finishing for the scaffold jack bases.

• E-galvanized
• Painted
• Hot dip galvanized

E-galvanized jack bases are often referred to as zinc-plated or cold-galvanized. They have reasonable durability at a lower cost.

Painted jack bases are coated with paint, providing an added protection layer. You can choose the colour for the jack bases to paint the scaffolding base jacks.

Hot-dip galvanized base jacks are the most durable option, typically lasting over 15 years. However, they are also the most expensive type of base jack.

Galvanizing vs. Painted Base Jacks

Base Jacks H.S. Code

An H.S. Code (Harmonized System Code) is a standardized numerical classification system used to identify and categorize traded goods for customs and international trade. It is maintained by the World Customs Organization (WCO) and is used by over 200 countries.

The base jack’s HS code is 7308.40.00 (scaffolding, shuttering, and propping equipment made of iron or steel).

• 7308 – iron or steel structure
• 40 – scaffolding and similar structures
• 00- Additional classifications details

Base Jack Scaffolding Standards

Scaffold base jacks are tested according to En 12811 standards in manufacturing for load capacity and safety.

Galvanizing quality is tested according to ISO 1461 standards.

Why Choose Our Base Jack?

• Precision Leveling: With the screw jack base design, you can adjust the height of your scaffold frames with ease, ensuring a perfectly level and stable structure every time. Say goodbye to shaky scaffolding.
• Heavy-Duty Construction: This levelling jack is built from high-strength steel and can withstand heavy loads while providing long-lasting durability, even in the toughest environments.
• Rust-Resistant: Our jack base has a protective coating that resists corrosion, ensuring that your equipment remains in excellent condition no matter the weather conditions.
• Quick Setup: The scaffold base jack is easy to install, saving you time on the job. The height adjustment mechanism is straightforward, making it a great tool for fast-paced construction environments.
• Versatile and Compatible: Our screw jack base works seamlessly with standard scaffolding systems, offering versatility for various applications, including commercial, residential, and industrial scaffolding projects.
• 4 TPI (ACME) & Coarse Threaded: Coarse threaded scaffold base jack is more durable and easy to hot dip galvanized. You can find both traditional ACME threaded and coarse thread types in Wellmade.
• EN12811 Tested: Wellmade’s scaffold base jacks are tested according to EN12811 standards in load capacity.
• ISO3834 and EN 1090 CE Certified: Wellmade is CE Certified scaffold manufacturing. The base jack is of high quality and conforms to CE.
• Offer Welding Quality Report:  Welding quality is the most important factor in the scaffold base jack quality. Wellmade uses CE-certified wire for welding and test penetration according to CE product requirements.
• Offer Load Capacity Test Report: You can have the ultimate test report for your scaffolding base jack orders.
• Offer MTC Of Base Jack Raw Material: All raw materials of the scaffolding base jack are tested before being used in mass production.
• Painted and Galvanized:  Painted, coated, zinc plated, or hot dip galvanized are all available here.
• Forged, Cast Iron, Cast Steel Jack Nut: Any type of jack nut is available in Wellmade

Base Jack Shipping & Delivery 

• Shipping: By Sea or By Train, Truck
• 30-Day Production Lead Time
• Door to Door-to-door delivery Export to USA and Canada

Contact Us

For more information or to place a bulk order, contact us at:
📧 sales@wm-scaffold.com
📞 (+86)2583557331

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