Angry Beaver project (FEL build)

[Freakingstang]

Did some wheelin' and dealin' over the last couple weeks and ended up with this loader setup off of an old economy tractor. I believe it was home made at some point in time... It was a complete setup with hydraulics, hyd tank, pump, cylinders, spool valves and hoses. The bucket is 42" wide and seems like a perfect match for the little beaver.









even got a set of hayforks with it. I'll eventually make a grapple for this so I can use it to move brush and trees around.



instead of trying to modify what was there....I just started over....

I did resuse the sleeved bushings off of the old loader frame.... Here are my sophisticated set of Freakin' plans...lol



here is the start of the mockup....I used some 2x4's to get the propper angles...(no pics, sorry) easier and cheaper trial and error with free 2x4's...

[Freakingstang]

I started with a 32" piece of 1 1/2" x 3" tubbing as the cross beam for the uprights. This is what the uprights and rear sub frame will hook into. This tubing is 3/16" wall. I then took a piece of 1" box tube, 1/4" wall and slid it inside. I did this to maximize support and minimize clearance issues as the cross beam will sit between the trans tunnel and the driveshaft. I did this to utilize ground clearance. I made a wide "V" notch in the center of the tube for clearance on the drain plug of the bellhousing. It will be fully reinforced and boxed back in before it is all said and done





then, after much measuring and spacing, I decided to make the uprights removable. I cut some 1" ID tube and notched the inner support tube to act as a sleeve for the 1" bolt that will come up through the bottom into the upright posts.

[Freakingstang]

For the upright posts, I used 2 1/2" box tube, 1/4" wall. I used 3/8 plate and drilled 7/8" holes in the pivot plates and welded them to the tubes. I'll eventually box in the backside and add some more reinforcement to them.

For the bottom of the upright tube, I used a 4"L x 3"W 1/2" plate. I drilled a 1" hole in the plate and then welded a nut on the topside of the plate. The nut will sit inside the box tube upright. I did this incase I want to ever remove the setup.



now it was time to build the boom arms. I had two 6 foot sections of 2x3" 1/4" wall tubing just laying around for a special project.... I cut the bushings off the old loader boom and squared everything up and welded them in place...they have bronze inserts that can be changed if needed. They use a 7/8" pin.

[Freakingstang]

with the uprights and boom arms almost finished, it was time to start putting pieces in place.



for mockup I'm using the one single bucket dump cylinder that I have. I cant afford to buy a matched set right now (new home owner) so I'll probably just use what I have for now until I can afford to put a twin dump cylinder setup on it, but will make it so I can easily add the twin cylinders down the road







this was from the initial mockup before much welding had been done. Notice the clearance issues on the right side where the air cleaner is... I ended up cutting the mounting ears off the bucket and moving the arms out from 24" inside to 28"...I need to fab up a need boom crossmember and bucket cylinder mount.



I started on the rear subframe today. It will tie the cossbrace (under the uprights) into the rear. I'm using some 4x4" 1/2" plates that will be bolted to the rear end. From there 2x2"1/4" wall box tube will tie in on each side ofcross brace.I forgot my phone when I was at the shop today, so you'll have to wait for pictures. I hope to get 99% of the fabrication done tomorrow on my day off so I can start working on the hydraulics.


For the hydraulics, I have an Electric PTO on the front of the tractor. I'm thinking about using that with the aux oil pump that I got with the loader setup for faster cylinder times than the tractor hydraulics. Only issue I can forsee with that is the location ofthe hydraulic resevoir. I'm contemplating making a resevoir built into the boom as a cross brace out of 6"x3" 1/8" wall tubing......

more pics and fab work to come!

[duwem]

Neat!

On my JD loader the reservour is in the left upright.

[Freakingstang]

Done a bunch of work in the last few days... Completed the rear subframe, built a Hyd tank, built mounts for the trans to crossmember and built more support brackets to help tie in the subframe to the chassis.







Started my Hyd tank with a piece of 1/8" wall 3x6" tubing x20" long. If I did My calculations right it should be close to 1 1/4 gallons with the knockout for the pto shaft.







Welded in 1/2" NPT bungs for the feed and return. And then a 1" bung for the fill/breather

[duwem]

You are making good progress, but here are some things to think about with your hydraulic tank.

Its shallow and wide, which means that if you operate on an angle your fluid level will change a lot and could overflow.

On my JD it sits upright and is probably a 2x4" tube thats at least 2' long.


Also, make sure you dont block too much of the grill inlet.

[Freakingstang]

Thanks. I don't plan on the tank being completely full and doing the math I have almost double the capacity of your tank. With a special check valve bleeder it will let air out and not oil. I took the radiator into consideration and that's why I decided to do that. I also needed a place that would allow a sufficient gravity feed to the pump that will be mounted directly below the pto. I'm also taking a little longer than it normally would as I am making everything bolt-on and removable so I can restore the tractor when I'm done playing with my property.

Did some measuring. With the 18" stroke cylinders should be in the 6'3" to 6'6" lift to the bottom of the bucket when level (depending on mounting tab location). should be plenty for my needs!



I still have to make some upright supports. I would like to tie the uprights into the front and tie the cross beam into the engine frame plates. I think I'm going to plate and weld the engine "frame" plates with some 1/4".

[KubotainNH]

Looks good. So far the only thing I wonder about besides bracing (I assume you're not done in that department) is the curl cylinder setup. From the pics it appears that it will have some movement when not curled because of the cylinder angle. Looks to me that all it would need is the bucket mount point moved closer to the front lip. I'm looking forward to more pics.

[Freakingstang]

Looks good. So far the only thing I wonder about besides bracing (I assume you're not done in that department) is the curl cylinder setup. From the pics it appears that it will have some movement when not curled because of the cylinder angle. Looks to me that all it would need is the bucket mount point moved closer to the front lip. I'm looking forward to more pics.

Not done with bracing. I was trying to get the uprights and boom arms all setup so I can move the tractor from my shop at work to home. I plan on using 1 1/4" box tube to tie the uprights into the front crossmember that I fabbed up previously for a front snow plow mount and or front weight plates. It consists of a Reese style receiver hitch with 3/8" plates that bolt to the inside of the front frame rails.


Yeah, the bucket mount will be moved farther forward. I've been more worried about getting everything else squared up and installed. I haven't welded the "single" bucket upper mount yet. It's just been sitting in place during all the pics and the current bucket curl mount was from the old economy setup.