Yea, the peice in this attachment is what the J.D. Loader manual calls a combination base frame, from which they built a pallet mover, a manure fork, a bale spear, etc. Mine will be a grapple. The Pipe top cross member you see is actually 2" heavy pipe slid over 1.5" heavy pipe. The 1.5" is welded in for torsional strength, and the 2" is loose on the 1.5" (it can turn). I am thinking this will make it easy to build the moving (hydraulic) upper jaw of a brush-handling grapple. The lower cross member is 1/4" x 4 x 4 angle iron, but will probably have another pc of the same material welded into it to make it a 4x4 tube, depending on how I decide to attach the lower (fixed) tines of the brush grapple. That is undefined. The attachment to the loader boom matches the J.D. idea, as you can see. I turned the pins on the lathe, and the upper members that look like a shepard's cane, are sawn out of 1/4" x 4" flat iron, with a pc of 1" pipe sections in half and welded in to interface with the loader 1" big pin. It quick-taches just like the bucket. On the front there are also a couple of 5/16" chain hooks.
thanks for the ballasting reminder. I am ordering a box blade today, and will be adding weight to that also. I am thinking I will post a 400 pound limit on the gin pole.