TxAgfisher wrote:That's pretty slick, does the bar just sit under the axle?

Yes, at each end of the bar is a piece of angle iron that goes under the axle and cradles it. The ends of the angle iron are wrapped in white duct tape so they are hard to see in the photos. The bar and angle need to be heavy gauge. I don't recall what that bar is but either 1/4" or 3/8". If you build one make it heavy duty. The first version bent on the Bearhawk, a 2,500 lb GW airplane; probably weighs about 1,600 lbs when being jacked up.

soyAnarchisto wrote:Univair makes a special bracket to attach to sprung gear legs (like a 180) so you can jack them up with a bottle jack. It's an Atlee Dodge part. I've never seen one in action, and wonder how good they are.

[url]http://www.univair.com/atlee-dodge/cessna-parts/ad180-jp-cessna-jack-pad//url]

I have a similar jack pad which I bought from Aircraft Spruce--less expensive, but it works fine with a bottle jack on my P172D. The picture shows it upside down--the pointy thingy rests on the top of the bottle jack, and the pad jams itself on the spring steel leg of the gear. A gentle tap with anything, like a wrench, or hammer, or even a piece of wood, will dislodge it after lowering the jack. Of course, I'm not replacing tires with larger ones, so I don't have to lift it very far. I haven't bothered to pad it with tape or anything, because the paint on my gear legs is chipped up already. If I had pristine gear legs, I might pad it to protect the paint.

Cary

I made my own version of the Spruce leg adapter out of some scrap for about $5. Forgive the crappy welds. It's semi-adjustable for different shape/width legs and could be adaptable to nearly anything with the addition of an extra properly placed hole or two. Just place the pad of the floor jack on the exposed bolt end on the bottom part.

Your images don't show up.

hotrod180 wrote:Your images don't show up.

Shoot. They should now?

Crenshaw wrote:I made my own version of the Spruce leg adapter out of some scrap for about $5. Forgive the crappy welds. It's semi-adjustable for different shape/width legs and could be adaptable to nearly anything with the addition of an extra properly placed hole or two. Just place the pad of the floor jack on the exposed bolt end on the bottom part.

Can not see it too well but, the weld looks a little "Cold". A tad more amps? Thanks for posting your ingenuity!

8GCBC wrote:Can not see it too well but, the weld looks a little "Cold". A tad more amps? Thanks for posting your ingenuity!

I think you're exactly right- not very good penetration. Sturdy enough so far to pick up a corner of the little 150 though! My welds have certainly improved over the last couple years- couldn't tell you why though, definitely no formal training on my end...

Crenshaw wrote:

8GCBC wrote:Can not see it too well but, the weld looks a little "Cold". A tad more amps? Thanks for posting your ingenuity!

I think you're exactly right- not very good penetration. Sturdy enough so far to pick up a corner of the little 150 though! My welds have certainly improved over the last couple years- couldn't tell you why though, definitely no formal training on my end...

Formal training is the worst way to learn welding out here in the Pacific Ocean! Hands on is paramount! Never stop learning ... Love your idea for the jack pad, however. Thanks again.