FEL Joystick control - for tinkerers

[Estif]

I've noticed there are a few folks here who seem to like tinkering, so when I got these pictures back I thought I'd show off one of my creations.

The story is that when I got my tractor it had a 2-lever type of loader control - one lever for raise/lower, one lever for dump/curl. Worked fine, but I just couldn't help noticing the joystick controls on the newer tractors. And I kept grabbing the wrong lever when I was looking more at the work than at the controls. So...envy being the mother of invention in this case, I spent a little time in the shop and built this joystick control. It just bolts on to the original valve. Been using it for a few weeks now. GREAT improvement. But I still haven't got around to turning the knob for the end of the lever.

Hope nobody minds, but I just had to show off a little. Thanks.

Steve

 

[Bird]

Looks good, Steve. I know some folks who prefer the two separate levers, but I'm like you; I prefer the joystick.

Bird

 

[dullpain]

Estif - That ain't showing off. That's sharing a great idea. What this forum is all about. Look forward to hearing more from you.

 

[Harv]

Estif -

Looks like some excellent tinkering to me. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

More than that, it looks like you know what you're doing -- puts you ahead of some of us. /w3tcompact/icons/crazy.gif

Feel free to "show off" as much as you want. There's a good chance we might all learn something.

 

[LazyK]

Estif...holy rat raisins, Batman! Maybe some of these veterans of the tractor world know how to or you made a single lever joy-stick but can you give a Cliff Notes briefing to a "...see Spot run." guy?
I'm a JD4200 HST runner w/420 loader. I'm really tired of dumping my ballast or bucket load putting my knee into the loader control lever.(even with the lock-out engaged) Nice mod!

Lazy K - Chip

 

[Estif]

Thanks to everyone for the kind words.

Chip, I thought about maybe scanning some sketches, but the time is short before the Thanksgiving pilgrimage, so I'll try a few words...

The existing loader control was a couple levers that moved the plungers on two hydraulic valves, one for lift and one for dump/curl. I removed the levers and built a different mechanism to move the plungers on the existing valves. I did make careful notes to show how with the hoses connected like so, pushing the plunger would do this and pulling would do that. Fortunately, it turns out that's not real important, because you can get the whole linkage built, then just move the lever and see how the bucket moves. And swap hoses to correct it. I went and crawled over lots of other equipment at auctions and dealers to see which way was "standard", just in case I might ever have to drive something else.

The crawling all over other equipment is the best illustration I can think of for how my linkage really works. Everybody uses the same type of hydraulic valve (double-acting? I see how they work, but I'm not up on the terminology yet.), usually ganged in pairs. A loader needs two valves for lift and dump, a backhoe needs four: swing, boom, crowd, and curl. Everything I looked at that used a joystick control used a similar mechanism to get the one lever pushing and pulling the two valves. It was easiest to see on a Cub Cadet tractor at a dealer, and on a Terramite and a Case 580 TLB at an auction. Mine's implemented just slightly different, 'cause I made a 2-axis gimbal with bolts for pivots on the axes, and the manufacturers seem to have a source for these funky u-joint-like parts, but the principle is the same. Mine's all built with stock steel and hardware from Home Depot.

I hope all that was enlightening. I had a lot of fun doing it. I'm revelling in my indoor shop with heat and A/C. And it was a great chance to really get some practice in with the oxy-acetylene outfit I inherited from Grandpa a couple years ago. Been so busy moving and building I haven't had much chance till now.

Steve