Building a small 3pt hitch logging arch

[mjncad]

The hook up point is a piece of 2"x3/4" flat bar, with three 1" holes. Here's a pic of drilling the holes, this little piece was pretty hard to hold on to, but a pipe wrench subdued it:

Good lord! You drilled three 1" holes in 3/4" thick plate and held it in place with nothing more than a pipe wrench! You're a stronger man than me. I'm looking forward to seeing the finished product!

 

[nh DRAGON]

Verticaltrx, Real nice job! I finished mine this winter but have had only small trees to try it out on so far.

 

[Verticaltrx]

I have one suggestion...looking at the pics I see the lynch pins (they have the bail that snaps over to keep it locked.
I've lost those doing work in the woods, and came very near to breaking a casting when one arm came off. They apparently get ripped open with a stick or heavy brush, and don't know they are missing until it is too late.
In places where I could, I replaced them with a bolt and lock nut. Now with the quick hitch, I even replaced them at both ends of the lift arms.

That is an excellent idea, I have had them come off as well. We have a JD 4400 that has snapped the lower 3pt mounts off the rear axle housing twice, as a result of the pin coming out and the lift arm jamming back under the tractor when it backed up.

Good lord! You drilled three 1" holes in 3/4" thick plate and held it in place with nothing more than a pipe wrench! You're a stronger man than me. I'm looking forward to seeing the finished product!

Actually the first three steps (1/4, 1/2, 3/4" bits) I didn't use the pipe wrench, with real sharp bits it barely tried to spin at all. I need to sharpen my 1" bit, it was a little too grabby, hence the need for more control.

Verticaltrx, Real nice job! I finished mine this winter but have had only small trees to try it out on so far.

Its neat to see how many people came up with a very similar attachment, seems like a design that works well.


I've got lots of wood to haul out, in the first action pic you can see that big pine log hiding under the snow. Its about 30" diameter and 16' long, should be a real good test once the snow melts. Together my father and I burn 15+ cords a year and I also mill a good bit of pine, red oak, and locust for various building projects. As such there is always plenty of wood to move, and with it spread out over 150ac I stay plenty busy in my time off.

 

[rd_macgregor]

I have one suggestion...looking at the pics I see the lynch pins (they have the bail that snaps over to keep it locked.
I've lost those doing work in the woods, and came very near to breaking a casting when one arm came off. They apparently get ripped open with a stick or heavy brush, and don't know they are missing until it is too late.
In places where I could, I replaced them with a bolt and lock nut. Now with the quick hitch, I even replaced them at both ends of the lift arms.

I had a brush mower ride up the back tire after a lower lift arm came off (lots of excitement that day!!). There were several bent parts, but I was lucky not to have sliced up the tire (or me). All that stuff is bolted solidly now.

The receiver tube might be a handy place to slide in a hitch-mounted winch.

BOB

 

[sizzami]

heres mine , ive posted this pic before but , havent seen bunch blades like I have it makes it nice not to have to turn around to push the logs.

 

[DiskDoctr]

heres mine , ive posted this pic before but , havent seen bunch blades like I have it makes it nice not to have to turn around to push the logs.

Nice! Including the operator/brush shield. Interesting to integrate a blade with it. Do you have problems with the blade getting hung up on debris such as tree limbs and brush?

- JC

 

[sizzami]

no hangups works good and is handy sometimes because its lighter than my winch

 

[Verticaltrx]

Just a follow up, the 3pt hitch logging arch is working well. It mostly gets used behind the 2550 JD in the pics and my fathers 5045e, both of which are much larger than the unit was designed for. It is holding up well, surprisingly even the cat. I hitch pins are still straight. Below are a couple pics of it hauling out an almost 8000lb Oak log.

 

[PhysAssist]

Did you make any further additions or mods to the design?

That is a big ole log.

T

Just a follow up, the 3pt hitch logging arch is working well. It mostly gets used behind the 2550 JD in the pics and my fathers 5045e, both of which are much larger than the unit was designed for. It is holding up well, surprisingly even the cat. I hitch pins are still straight. Below are a couple pics of it hauling out an almost 8000lb Oak log.
View attachment 355063
View attachment 355064

 

[dieselcrawler]

heres mine , ive posted this pic before but , havent seen bunch blades like I have it makes it nice not to have to turn around to push the logs.

Wow... very nice.

Haveing the blade has several advantages... and is why I think I will add some hooks to my box blade. Only disadvantage of that is the added lenth and reduced lift ability.