Really important to have your pallet forks match

[beowulf]

I have the Woods PF17 pallet fork with quick attach. They are, to my way of thinking, heavy, thick, strong and in no way bendable. But I did bend one. And until you have a set of pallet forks with one pallet fork at a different angle than the other (even 5 to 7 degrees) you won't know how much of a problem that presents in picking up things on the level.

So, my question is how do I fix this. I once took both forks into a machine shop and asked to have them aligned to match again. I assumed they might heat them up or whatever. They did not hesitate taking them or even say it would be a problem. Two weeks late I picked them up but when I brought them home they did not match - they were off by the exact same angle. I am sure they had not touched them. Whether they didn't even try or just didn't care - well, I don't know.

Suggestions? Back to a different machine shop? There is no way I can do this myself - they are really thick at the bend.

And just how did I do it you ask. Well, I think it happened when I was trying to dislodge and move a large boulder and apparently one fork was more stuck, or got more resistance than the other - I would think the lifting power of the tractor would have given out before one of those forks bent but, well, it did bend. I don't use them as much as I used to but it would be nice to have it fixed. A temporary fix has been to tie a 2x4 on one fork.

 

[Leejohn]

Didn't you check them before you put them on, might be the mount where the forks hook up.

 

[beowulf]

Didn't you check them before you put them on, might be the mount where the forks hook up.

They matched perfectly for years - until they didn't. When you take them off and lay one on top of the other you can see the difference - one is bent.

 

[roadhunter]

I bent a st of forks on my tractor and then tried to bend the other to match and ended up going too far. I had to put a plate on the back of 1 fork to space it away from the frame as my forks pivot at the top. For a rigid set that will be more difficult. Maybe carefully try bending the other to match.

 

[Birdhunter1]

I found a stump and put the bent fork on the other side, held my brakes in and used the fork to try and push the stump towards the front end of my tractor. However my tractor is heavy so it would not drag and the stump was big and it would not give.

 

[beowulf]

I bent a st of forks on my tractor and then tried to bend the other to match and ended up going too far. I had to put a plate on the back of 1 fork to space it away from the frame as my forks pivot at the top. For a rigid set that will be more difficult. Maybe carefully try bending the other to match.

Mine do pivot at the top so the plate idea may be the way to go. I'll see if I can figure out a way to do that and check on what I have around here that will be the correct thickness, size etc. to raise the lower-bent one up to the correct level. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[roadhunter]

Mine do pivot at the top so the plate idea may be the way to go. I'll see if I can figure out a way to do that and check on what I have around here that will be the correct thickness, size etc. to raise the lower-bent one up to the correct level. Thanks for the suggestion.

Mine were bad enough to need a 1" thick spacer. I welded it top and bottom and called it good. Works fine so far. They are still off a bit but I have been able to manage so far. IT's a PITA moving pallets. I will certainly take better care of my next set as it really nice having them match.

 

[Industrial Toys]

I've seen commercial forks that were wrapped around at the end, maybe a foot. No idea how someone could do that! I just get my forks off scrapped fork trucks for a couple hundred bucks (CDN). Not even worth going to a machine shop.

 

[beowulf]

I found a stump and put the bent fork on the other side, held my brakes in and used the fork to try and push the stump towards the front end of my tractor. However my tractor is heavy so it would not drag and the stump was big and it would not give.

Before I try to attach a plate so that the bent fork becomes more level. I may try to put the prong end against a large oak tree and try to use the tractor to squeeze the angle in a bit. I will have to assess the wisdom of this after I see it all laid out on the ground. I have tried crazier things with success.