DoorJak®: An Extra Hand You Pay For Only Once

March 3, 2010
This new tool enables locksmiths to remove, service and install doors weighing up to 750 pounds without hiring an assistant.
DoorJak®: An Extra Hand You Pay For Only Once This new tool enables locksmiths to remove, service and install doors weighing up to 750 pounds without hiring an assistant.

Over the years, I have installed replacement doors, removed glass (Herculite) doors to service the mounted locks, removed and installed wooden doors when they required trimming in order to accommodate building settling or earthquake damage, changed out butt hinges for continuous hinges and serviced or replaced pivots and floor closers.

If the doors were lighter weight or would not be damaged or break if they accidentally fell, I would usually remove and install the door myself. If the door was too heavy, I would seek help. The hard part of help is you have to pay the person for the entire time they are at the job, not just the ten minutes or so required to remove, position and then install the door.

An extra employee eats into the profit margin. Damaging or destroying a door, or hurting yourself will do more than eat into the profit margin.

I received a call in late 2009 from an institutional locksmith who had just seen a demonstration of the DoorJak® 100. The DoorJak is like an adjustable hand truck attached to a four-wheeled base. He proceeded to tell me how he or one of his fellow employees could remove, service and install a door weighing up to 750 pounds single-handedly.

I contacted the manufacturer, Hardnox LLC, and wrote a vignette in my January column. I called a few commercial and institutional locksmiths who install doors to discuss their interest in the DoorJak.

I then made arrangements with the manufacturer to visit their facility and take part in a door removal and installation demonstration. The DoorJak 100 is their heavy duty model capable of handling doors up to the manufacturers rating of 750 pounds.

The patented, DoorJak 100 is based on a four swivel wheel steel cart approximately 24” square. Attached to this base is a foldable mast hinged at the forward edge, having a collapsible arm mechanism at the rear. The unit is designed to collapse for storage to approximately 28” by 48” by 15” tall. The rear wheels have wheel locks to keep the door at a specific location.

The front end of the DoorJak 100 has a 1/8” thick steel lift plate-equipped mast onto which the door is positioned. The lift plate-equipped mast is designed to accommodate the positioning of an installed door in order to not only remove the door, but more importantly to position a door back into the opening, locate the butt hinges in their proper positions and install the screws in order to secure the door into the opening.

To accommodate this, the DoorJak 100 has the capability to move up-and-down, tilt forward or back, side-to-side and have one edge raised or lowered to accommodate an in or out-of-plumb or square jamb. Individual height adjusters for the left and right side allow for up and down movement of 2 inches. The hand wheel adjusts the door into and out of true plumb from 84 to 94 degrees. A strap secures the door when tilted beyond 90 degrees. The side shifter moves the door up to one inch from center.

During the demonstration, one person was able to safely position and remove an installed door and move the door to another location for servicing. Once servicing was complete, the door was moved back into position at the jamb and adjustments were made to locate the butt hinges in their proper positions and install the screws, once again securing the door.

To accommodate an inswinging door, the DoorJak 100 mast is collapsible enabling it to be set to 75 degrees, an angle sufficient to position the door beneath the jamb in order to pass through the doorway. The door is held in place with a ratchet operated strap. Two wheels are built into the mast to prevent scratching or damage to the door face.

There are two models of the DoorJak. The DoorJak 50 is the portable installation cart for door up to 250 pounds. The DoorJak 100 is full featured a heavy duty model. Both models have non-marking full-swivel wheels w/ locks.

DoorJak is manufactured of powder coated steel and comes with a one-year limited warranty. Hardnox is a minority-owned corporation featuring “Made In The USA” products from Santa Barbara, CA.

For more information, contact your local locksmith distributor or Hardnox LLC at Web Site: www.doorjak.com.