Bale spear advise

   / Bale spear advise #1  

Paul N

Silver Member
Joined
May 30, 2012
Messages
133
Location
Buffalo, MN
Tractor
AC C, AC 170 gas, AC 180 diesel, Agco Allis 8630 FWA diesel, Farmall H, Farmall M
I need to build a FEL bale spear. I was looking at hayspear.com, they have plenty of choices, and seem reasonably priced. There is a choice of two different weld on sleeves that the spear slips into. One is a tapered sleeve with a nut on the end, and the other is a straight sleeve with a cross bolt. They're the same price. Is one preferable over the other? Also, for a 4 foot bale, is 33" long enough, or should I go with 39" ? I'm thinking that a short spear would be easier penetration, and less stress from leverage on the spear when sliding the bale off into the feeder. Anyone have any thoughts?
 
   / Bale spear advise #2  
I just put 1 on a tractor bucket (top). I like the spear with the nut on the back but there is really a meaningless difference between the 2. Mounted to the top of your bucket you'll need to reinforce it well as most buckets are not built for "loading" in this area, at least a 3x3x3/8 angle (full width) & even then keep your eye on it for much flex. Consider mounting the slieve at an angle that is "square" to the cutting edge & the top edge so that the cutting edge will hit the bale edge. (visualize a line from the cut. edge to the top & mount the slieve so that it is at a 90* angle to it) Another consideration is that if you have either a large bucket, or are working with smaller bales, you want to be able to position your "spear" flat or paralell to the ground in the center of a bale, without your cutting edge hitting the ground.
 
   / Bale spear advise #3  
Go with the 33in if its too long you will not be able to go completely through the bale.
 
   / Bale spear advise #4  
I have the sleeve version of a spear bolted on a frame I made of 3x3 square tubing. My spear is smaller in diameter compared to the neighbor's spear. That skinny spear penetrates easier than the thick spear. Not a big deal if you are sticking the bale from unwrapped side but it makes a difference if you are grabbing a bale from the wrapped side. If you lived where I do you are moving fescue, oat, rye or bermuda bales which generally weigh less than a thousand pounds. If you are moving heavy rounds then the thicker spear may have more value.
 
   / Bale spear advise #5  
My brother in law bought on of the kind that mounted on the FEL bottom lip but it really flexed the bucket when lifting. He had one for the 3 PH that he didn't use, so I got him to order one of the QA plates from everything attachments. I cut off the 3 point hitch brackets and welded the QA plate on to it. He was really light on the rear when using the bolt on spear, but now, he just drops his FEL bucket and hooks up the spear and what with it being closer to the tractor AND not having the weight of the FEL bucket on also, he can now lift 1000# + bales with ease and stack them 2 high. Before it was really iffy with the bale up high as the rears wanted to come off the ground when you stopped lowering it a little to quick.
 
   / Bale spear advise #6  
I forgot, the QA plate was less than $150.
 
   / Bale spear advise
  • Thread Starter
#7  
I'm in the process of upgrading my loader to a SS quick attach system, so the spear will be on a separate plate, not the bucket. It's on a 7,000+ pound tractor, so I'm hoping it should handle a 1200# bale.
Gary, how long is your spear?
 
   / Bale spear advise #8  
Have a 44" spear with the straight sleeve and pin through it. I run it on a skid steer on 1200 lb bales all the time and it works like a charm. Mine is on a quick attach plate. I never liked the bucket type ones. You lose the weight on the bucket plus the bale is 2' further away from the tractor. I do like the 3 point ones, I can get a bale front and back, cuts my trips down, depending on how far from the bales to the feed lot.
 
   / Bale spear advise #9  
Have been looking at ssqa bale spears and have seen a couple that have two long spears at the bottom. Looks like they could be used as a forklift also.

Lucas Hay Spears Double Spear | Lucas Bale Spear Double Spear

Would having two spears make it hard to pick up a 4x5 bale? Would the bale just slide around instead of the spears going into the bale? Is there a reason other than expense that you hardly ever see one with two spears?

Thank you for your time,

HCF
 
   / Bale spear advise
  • Thread Starter
#10  
HCF

I have already talked to some people about that. As you well know, there are pros & cons to each design. A single spear takes all the stress, and if there are no short stabilizers, the bale can spin on you. A 2 spear setup will cut the load stress in half, and of course the bale can't spin, but when moving some very tight bales, the spears don't always come out so easy. My favorite idea was using pallet forks. Visibility would be great on a skid loader, but on a tractor, the forks are pretty much out of sight when close to the ground. A friend of mine has pallet forks. He tells me that the forks can cut the twine. I don't know how it would work on net wrap.

It seems everything is about trade offs.

Paul
 
 
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