Deadlift Jack - Custom/DIY

Name: Deadlift Jack - Custom/DIY
Brand: Custom/DIY
Rating: 4.44 (9 reviews)

A DIY deadlift jack is a homemade lever tool – built from scrap plywood, galvanized pipe fittings, or welded steel – that lifts one end of a loaded barbell just enough to slide plates on or off without help. Builders on GymRadar and YouTube report material costs of roughly $15-$30, well below the $65-150+ price of a comparable commercial jack like Rogue’s or REP’s Genesis Jack, with builds ranging from a 10-minute pipe-and-tee assembly to a plywood or welded-steel jack that takes an afternoon. Results are strong once a design is dialed in – one plywood build has stayed in daily gym use for roughly 10 years, and lifters report jacking up working sets well past 300 lb with no issues – but first attempts commonly need a round of tweaks (a wider base to stop tipping, a flatter bottom edge so it holds position, tape on the bar channel so it doesn’t slide) before the jack is fully dialed in.

Type	DIY / homemade, not a manufactured product
Build time	10 minutes to a few hours, depending on design and tools
Common designs	Pipe-and-tee lever jack, plywood "fishhook" hook-style jack, welded steel jack
Tools required	Basic hand tools (wrench, jigsaw or band saw, drill/hole saw), or a welder for steel builds
Typical bar clearance	8.5"-9.5" from floor to the underside of the loaded bar
Typical material cost	$15-$30
Reported load capacity	Successfully used loading/unloading working sets past 300 lb; one design supported roughly 400 lb on an 800 lb deadlift

What is a Miscellaneou?

What’s in Miscellaneous

This is the catch-all for the conditioning tools and accessories that don’t fit a single equipment class — weighted vests and plate carriers, medicine and slam balls, plyo boxes, ab mats, and the odds and ends that round out a garage gym. Items land here because their job (loaded carries, jumps, core work) cuts across the categories rather than sitting neatly inside one.

Who it’s for

Anyone filling in the gaps around the big pieces. If you already have a rack, bar, and plates, this is where you find the vest for rucking and weighted push-ups, the ball for slams and wall throws, or the box for step-ups and box jumps. Match the tool to the training you actually do — a plate carrier for conditioning and rucking, plyo boxes for explosive work — rather than buying the whole shelf.

How it compares

	Deadlift Jack - Custom/DIY	Rubber Tread Slam Balls	Squat Wedge / Slant Board	CAPITAL SPORTS Bludgeon Steel Training Clubbell
GymRadar rating	4.44/5	4.44/5	4.44/5	4.44/5
Price			$179.94
Type	DIY / homemade, not a manufactured product
Build time	10 minutes to a few hours, depending on design and tools
Common designs	Pipe-and-tee lever jack, plywood "fishhook" hook-style jack, welded steel jack
Tools required	Basic hand tools (wrench, jigsaw or band saw, drill/hole saw), or a welder for steel builds
Typical bar clearance	8.5"-9.5" from floor to the underside of the loaded bar
Typical material cost	$15-$30
Reported load capacity	Successfully used loading/unloading working sets past 300 lb; one design supported roughly 400 lb on an 800 lb deadlift

4.4/5 · 9 GymRadar reviews

Reviews by source

Expert	4.44/5	9 reviews
Youtube	4.2/5	4 reviews

DIY deadlift jacks are a builder-community staple: cheap, quick lever tools assembled from Home Depot pipe fittings, scrap plywood, or welded steel that let a solo lifter jack a loaded barbell up for easy plate changes. Value is the clear standout – material costs run $15-$30 across the pipe, wood, and welded-steel builds covered here, against $65-150+ for a comparable manufactured jack, and GymRadar owners rate it 4.67/5 on value specifically, the highest of any dimension. Durability holds up well once a design is dialed in: one plywood build has stayed in daily use at a gym for roughly 10 years, and another lifter reports a jack supporting roughly 400 lb of an 800 lb deadlift with no issues. The weakest dimension is build quality, since there’s no factory QC – even careful YouTube builders needed a second attempt to fix a jack that tipped too easily or wouldn’t hold its position on a too-rounded base, and one GymRadar reviewer who has cycled through several DIY builds over the years recommends just buying a full-size commercial jack instead if space allows. Community opinion on the Starting Strength forums splits further – some lifters find a jack (DIY or bought) genuinely useful for loading heavy pulls solo, while others skip one entirely in favor of oversized plates, washers, or loading ramps.

+Value: material costs run $15-$30 (pipe fittings or plywood) versus $65-150+ for a comparable commercial jack (YouTube: pbuonocore7; endofthreefitness.com)
+Value: GymRadar owners rate it 4.67/5 on value specifically, the highest-scoring dimension (GymRadar, n=9)
+Durability: one plywood build has stayed in daily gym use for roughly 10 years with no issues (GymRadar reviewer LC2)
+Functionality: successfully jacks up working sets well past 300 lb, including a build supporting roughly 400 lb on an 800 lb deadlift (YouTube: DieselMike; GymRadar reviewer Kevin Rahill)
+Versatility: multiple proven design families -- pipe-and-tee, plywood "fishhook", welded steel -- let a builder match materials and tools they already have (endofthreefitness.com; YouTube: Svyatoslav Popovich, Testify Strength & Conditioning)

−Build quality: no factory QC -- first attempts commonly tip too easily or won't hold position until reinforced or reshaped (YouTube: Svyatoslav Popovich, Testify Strength & Conditioning)
−Build quality: the bar can slide within a pipe-fitting jack unless taped in place (endofthreefitness.com)
−Functionality: an owner who has tried several DIY styles (pipe, wood, welded) still recommends buying a full-size commercial jack instead if space allows (GymRadar reviewer Keith Honeycutt)
−Functionality: some experienced lifters skip a jack entirely, finding oversized plates, washers, or loading ramps just as fast (Starting Strength forum)
−Durability: no standardized long-term testing across designs -- durability reports are individual builders' own anecdotal experience