On Mon, 07 Feb 2005 18:49:37 -0600, Richard J Kinch
wrote:

Grant Erwin writes:

http://www.truetex.com/mattock.htm

I've heard these called "Johnson bars".

No, that's a different item in both design and function. The J-bar is
designed to roll with minimum lift height. Mine is designed to stay put
and lift high enough to get 1" roller-bars underneath.

In Minnesota, land of many Johnsons, the Johnson bar is basicially a
hooked bar lacking the Kinch improvement of the load-spreading roller.
The degree of hook defines the range of lift. My J-bar has enough
hook to lift a mill so pipes can be placed to roll it around.

Load-spreading roller is a good idea, but it's still line contact on
the floor. Another approach is to use a load-spreading plate of
1/4 or thicker steel under the Jbar.