grapple hydraulic setup 1026r

[swick1]

I got the bottom half of the grapple put together today. It's getting hard to man handle now

 

[swick1]

Too many buckets

 

[swick1]

I made some more progress this morning. The plasma cutter made the holes about 0.050" undersize, so i had to drill them out, but they were hardened by the nitride layer that the plasma cutter makes and it was a pain in the butt. I started working on the top half and i'm getting ready to tack the hinges on this evening. It's just too hot to work in the daytime when I don't have any shade with our temperatures of 94 degrees and 70% humidity.

 

[Artisan]

I do not know how powerful your tractor is, but if shes a brute
I would be addin' some gussets swickster. Instead of a hole your
favorite superhero logo / whatnot is fun...

I bought my own hose maker. I am SO GLAD I did instead of being
at the mercy of the kid at NAPA I was able to make them my way
at my speed. I hooked up one end and hand fit it, then routed
the hose to the other end and measured.
Kinda comes out perfect that way.

 

[swick1]

Thanks artisan. I'm going to put some gussets on the horizontal tines like you suggest. The quick attach plates should stiffen the vertical tines.

 

[dstig1]

I don't think those gussets are really needed if you are already using 3/8" steel. Nobody seems to have lateral stability issues within the grapple itself. Now if you are considering more gusseting, I would suggest the joint at the bottom rear where the uprights and the horizontal tines join at the square tube. Deeper gussets there may be wise as that could affect the strength during digging/prying operations.

 

[swick1]

More progress today. The cylinder is interfering with the grapple when it is fully open because i drew a welded cylinder in my modeling software, but decided to buy a tierod cylinder. I guess it didn't save me $10 after all I will fabricate a new bracket for the rod end because my range of motion is still about an inch less than what I would like.

I decided to use bolts and washers from tractor supply because that's what the dingo grapple uses. I am going to get some longer bolts so only the smooth part under the head is taking the shear loads. I also put washers between the hinged parts so i could accommodate warping from the welding process. I figure it's easier to grind down a washer surface to get a nice fit than it is to grind my grapple.

 

[swick1]

I cut out a new bracket. Now everything fits! I am almost finished welding now! I decided to use grade 8 bolts as pins and cut down the threads so only the smooth unthreaded parts are actually rolling in the hinge.

 

[gumshu]

Nice job! I wish I knew something about welding. :thumbsup:

 

[swick1]

gumshu: Just pick up an angle grinder and an old AC stick welder from craigslist and you can be welding for about $300. I didn't know anything about stick welding until last fall when I started messing around with building attachments. So far I've built a ripper, boom pole, plow, trailer mover, and pallet forks. I think I've burned through about 10lbs of rod. I'm just now learning vertical up. I think edge prep is more important than technique, but of course, both are important.

This video will get you started: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWdgEaXWDxQ&feature=related

Here are the pictures from last night. I couldn't get them to upload yesterday.

old (top) and new (bottom) brackets