Grapple fixed grapple for bucket?

[bucmeister]

Actually that looks very-y-y interesting. I can see how it would work to grasp a brush pile enough to keep it from falling off of the bucket or some short 1-2 foot long forks. Maybe I could figure out how to just run a pipe through the torque tube since mine is open then have the articulation arms pivot off of the back edge of the bucket.

 

[3RRL]

Bingo, in order for it to work as a stationary grapple then it will have to be mounted to the arm of the loader not the bucket assembly which is where a hydraulic grapple would go. You are essentially trying to pinch the load with the bucket just like on an excavator does with a thumb on the dipper arm.

At least that is my $0.02 worth.

Exactly. Otherwise it would just curl WITH the bucket. Has to be fixed to the arms.

 

[kennyd]

Didn't EddieWalker come up with something like this for his TLB? It was in the long thread about patents wasn't it?

Eddie, where are you?

 

[hz293]

So I'm not crazy afterall. Wait till I tell my friends. lol... You've answered the question of where to attach the top link. I'm assuming that the torque tube is the one that runs between each loader arm. Is that correct?

 

[kennyd]

HA!
I found his post about it...
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/build-yourself/77068-my-invention.html?highlight=patent

He is holding back on exactly how they are mounted, But I think you will get the idea

 

[DJLX]

Another thing to do would be replace the hydrualic cylinder with a electric actuator then you wouldn't need the hydro lines valve, etc. just a wire. So of those actuator can deliver 1000 lbs of force.

 

[IslandTractor]

An electric actuator in an interesting idea but it looks like they are still pretty much as expensive as hooking up a hydraulic diverter on a tractor. I think the cheapest solution is still to put in a rear remote and run hydraulic lines from there to the grapple. Works fine to control the grapple and there are other uses (toplink, backhoe etc) that the rear remote can be used for in the future.

 

[FL4400]

You could acutally make the grapple pivot on the bucket with some type of a rod hinge and use a top link that would keep it staionary while the bucket is curling upwards. With the pivot point the grapple would not move but the bucket could still travel.

 

[Riddler]

I had a non-hydraulic thumb mounted to my BH boom last year. It is a simple, but heavy duty mechanism that is welded to the boom arm near the bucket. When not in use, it stores close to the boom arm, so it doesn't interfere with digging or anything else. When I need to use it, I manually extend the thumb to one of two fixed positions, depending on how much room between the thumb and bucket curl I am looking for.

I found that it definitely accomplishes the task intended, which is to provide effective, but intermittent, grab capability. If your goal is to do grab work over sustained periods, then the difference between the fixed and hydraulic thumb begins to become more pronounced. For example, to grab with the fixed thumb, your boom and bucket need to be positioned in a narrower range than with a hydraulic thumb. If you're grabbing and moving lots of stuff, the convenience of not having to be as precise with the tractor's position relative to the object, the boom's distance and angle, etc., can add up. For what I use it for though, which is a lot of "one shot" grabs and moves, it has been a much better choice than a hydraulic thumb. In other words, I have been totally satisfied with its capabilities, durability and ease of operation.

 

[schmism]

I had a non-hydraulic thumb mounted to my BH boom last year. It is a simple, but heavy duty mechanism that is welded to the boom arm near the bucket.

ya somehow its not that simple though... the more i think about it the more it seems your gonna need a second bar of linkage in there ot make it work....

with the BH arm the piviot (ie hinge point) for the grapple doesnt move in relation to the bucket when you curl the bucket.... i its always attached to the arm and the arm DOES NOT move....

the "problem" with the bucket is the hinge point for the grapple is attached to the bucket.... so the hing MOVES with the bucket... so theres a linar translation of the hinge point in relation to the fixed loader arm = not ideal.

it sounds simple, but if you were to clamp some 2x4's and whatnot to the front of your FEL to mock it up... i think youd see the issue....