Mickey_Fx
Veteran Member
After seeing my bucket forks, tractor Ernie said I should post this project to the forum, so here it is.
I had the need for a pair of forks for picking up brush piles and limbs. I got the idea from an uncle that made a set for his larger tractor.
The forks slip over the leading edge of the bucket and are secured at the back with chain binders. Only takes a min per fork to attach to the bucket. With the load supported at the front which is much stronger than most of the bucket and at the back edge where the bucket is bent up to make the bottom, little stress is applied to the weaker sections of the bucket.
I used 2x3x1/8" rect tubing and closed end of the tubeing at both ends. I modified the front of the tubing to provide for a 4" bevel and also rolled up the bottom at the leading edge so as not to dig into anything easily with the forks flat on the ground.
Doing some quick calculations these 3' long forks only bend 1/32" with a 300# load applied at the leading end. Didn't observe and flexing of the bucket. I did apply a 500# load between the 2 forks and didn't observe any issues with either the bucket or loader itself. With this much weight so far out in front the tractor was getting light on the feet at the rear and I had the tiller on for balance. The front axle/tires had to be WAY over loaded. I wouldn't recommend anyone trying to lift this kind of weight out at the tips of the forks but it did give me an idea if the structure could support this amount and what would happen at the back end of the tractor. I could possible see lifting maybe 400# IF the load were near the front of the bucket, and one were to move slowly over somewhat smooth ground. More typically I could see these forks lifting 200-300# with a margin of sately.
I had the need for a pair of forks for picking up brush piles and limbs. I got the idea from an uncle that made a set for his larger tractor.
The forks slip over the leading edge of the bucket and are secured at the back with chain binders. Only takes a min per fork to attach to the bucket. With the load supported at the front which is much stronger than most of the bucket and at the back edge where the bucket is bent up to make the bottom, little stress is applied to the weaker sections of the bucket.
I used 2x3x1/8" rect tubing and closed end of the tubeing at both ends. I modified the front of the tubing to provide for a 4" bevel and also rolled up the bottom at the leading edge so as not to dig into anything easily with the forks flat on the ground.
Doing some quick calculations these 3' long forks only bend 1/32" with a 300# load applied at the leading end. Didn't observe and flexing of the bucket. I did apply a 500# load between the 2 forks and didn't observe any issues with either the bucket or loader itself. With this much weight so far out in front the tractor was getting light on the feet at the rear and I had the tiller on for balance. The front axle/tires had to be WAY over loaded. I wouldn't recommend anyone trying to lift this kind of weight out at the tips of the forks but it did give me an idea if the structure could support this amount and what would happen at the back end of the tractor. I could possible see lifting maybe 400# IF the load were near the front of the bucket, and one were to move slowly over somewhat smooth ground. More typically I could see these forks lifting 200-300# with a margin of sately.