Jack Axle Adapter

[MrRobinGrimes]

Here are a few photos of my father-in-law Bill making a bottle jack axle adapter for me. I know you can buy them online for about $25 but this was a special project. Six months ago Bill had open heart surgery and it's been a long recovery, but he's finally doing really well. It's probably been 2 years since he's been able to turn on the welder. Bill loves to weld but didn't have a project, so when I mentioned the need for an axle adapter, he jumped at the chance to make something now that he's feeling stronger.

So start with a 20 ton bottle jack and a round axle. Now make an adapter.



Bill used a piece of scrap 4" C channel


He cut off a 3.5in piece and we bought a pipe nipple that would fit over the jack head. We were only able to find a 2" to 3" pipe adapter at Home Depot. (Everything is PVC now days. We were lookig for a 2" pipe cap.)


Extending the neck of the bottle jack just happened to fit perfectly inside the pipe to rest on the bottom of the C channel.


(Side note: Bill made two saw horses many years ago that are stackable for storage, hence the word "TOP" on the saw horse.)

Bill welding the pieces together. (First time he's been able to weld in about 2 years)



Bill painted it silver to match the jack.
The finished product.
(Bill said the weld is strong but looks terrible. He's so out of practice he couldn't hold the bead steady.)



I think it turned out GREAT. Thanks Bill!

[Captain Joe]

Great job Bill.

[Tom S.]

Very cool, but will it fit under the axle when the tire is flat?

[MrRobinGrimes]

Great question Tom and we measured the height, but without flattening the tire I can't be sure. Best guess is that it will fit. If not I'll buy a shorty bottle jack and still use the adapter.

[DQDick]

Nice job. Never hurts to have a welder in the family. Wish I did.

[oldelmer1]

Very nice job, if he goes into mass production, I'd buy one.... hint hint. LOL.

[K0LCB]

Looks good. A little bit of cribbage under flat tire might help if you don't have clearance

[Rondo]

Thanks Robin! Just another project to keep my mind off the cold weather and getting the hitch itch I'm having out of my head too! Looks good and may have to crank up the new meg welder and experiment a little to see if I can duplicate Bill's design. Have to work on the rear trailer hitch clamp also for my mudflap bar too. Fun, Fun, Fun!
Oh, for those that are going to experiment with this, Ace Hardware has the pipe nipples for the conversion too!

[psomers]

Great job and looks very professional but are you suppose to be jacking on axels?

[Tom S.]

quote:Originally posted by psomers

Great job and looks very professional but are you suppose to be jacking on axels?

It depends. How's that for a definitive answer?

If you are changing a flat tire and do it the way Robin intends to do it, it will be fine. The "no jacking on axle" comes from people putting the relatively small top end of a hydraulic jack against the tube and trying to raise the unit. This can put enough stress on the tube to bend it, especially if you go too high (which takes weight off the other axle and transfers it to the axle you are raising) or have the jack placed outside the U-bolts. The channel iron that Robin had welded up will spread out the weight and should prevent any problems.